Su Shi

Life passes like a spring dream without a trace.

Su Shi (苏轼; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), also known as Su Dongpo, was a Chinese writer, poet, painter, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and a statesman of the Song dynasty.

Quotes

The brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days;
The dimming hills give a rare view in rainy haze.
The West Lake looks like the fair lady at her best
Whether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.

• 水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。
  欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜。
  • The brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days;
    The dimming hills give a rare view in rainy haze.
    The West Lake looks like the fair lady at her best
    Whether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.
    • "The West Lake, the Beauty" (《饮湖上初晴后雨》) (1073), in Song of the Immortals: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry, trans. Yuanchong Xu (Beijing: New World Press, 1994), p. 200

• 横看成岭侧成峰，远近高低各不同。
  不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。
  • From the side, a whole range; from the end, a single peak;
    far, near, high, low, no two parts alike.
    Why can't I tell the true shape of Lu-shan?
    Because I myself am in the mountain.
    • "Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple" (《题西林壁》) (1084), in Selected Poems of Su Tung-p'o, trans. Burton Watson (Port Townsend, Wash.: Copper Canyon Press, 1994), p. 108

For ten long years the living of the dead knows nought.
Though to my mind not brought,
Could the dead be forgot?

• 十年生死两茫茫。不思量，自难忘。
  • For ten long years the living of the dead knows nought.
    Though to my mind not brought,
    Could the dead be forgot?
    • "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the Twentieth Day of the First Month" (《江城子·乙卯正月二十日夜记梦》), in Song of the Immortals: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry, trans. Yuanchong Xu (Beijing: New World Press, 1994), p. 202

• 清夜无尘，月色如银 。 酒斟时须满十分。 浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。 叹隙中驹， 石中火， 梦中身。 虽抱文章，开口谁亲？ 且陶陶乐尽天真。 几时归去，作个闲人， 对一张琴， 一壶酒， 一溪云。

  • O the clear moon's speckless, silvery night!
    When filling thy cup, be sure to fill it quite!
    Strive not for frothy fame or bubble wealth!
    A passing dream—
    A flashing flint—
    A shadow's flight!

    O what is knowledge, fine and superfine?
    To innocent and simple joys resign!
    To be myself and in contentment face
    A valley of clouds—
    a sweet-toned ch'in—
    A jug of wine!
  • "Random Thoughts, to the Tune of Shinghsiangtse" (《行香子·述怀》), in Lin Yutang Chinese-English Bilingual Edition: Selected Poems and Prose of Su Tungpo, trans. Lin Yutang (Taipei: Cheng Chung Book, 2008), p. 145

• 事如春梦了无痕。
  • Life is like a spring dream which vanishes without a trace.
    • As quoted in Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu, Chapter 1: 'Wedded Bliss'; translated by Lin Yutang in The Wisdom of China and India (1942), p. 968
    • Variant translation:
      • Life passes like a spring dream without a trace.
        • Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living (1937), p. 156

Quotes about Su Shi

• There had to be one Su Tungpo, but there could not be two.
  • Lin Yutang, The Gay Genius (1947), p. vii

• The mention of Su Tungpo always elicits an affectionate and warm admiring smile in China.
  • Lin Yutang, The Gay Genius (1947), p. vii

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Su Shi on Wikipedia
• Media related to Su Shi on Wikimedia Commons
• Poems by Su Shi at blackcatpoems.com
• Su Shi Index at chinese-poems.com