Su Che 1039-1112

Su Che passed the jinshi examination at the age of eighteen and was soon called to the capital to work in the central bureaucracy. He got into trouble on his own behalf for voicing his criticism too freely and frankly, and on account of being Su Shi's brother when the latter was in disfavour. In his time there was a seesaw contest between the reformists and conservatives at court. He was in the conservative camps and his career peaked under the regency of the Dowager Empress Gao (1086-1094). On the Emperor Zhezong reaching his majority, political power was reverted to the reformists. Su Che was downgraded to minor posts in the provinces. He served in Henan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hunan, before retiring to Xuzhou in Henan to spend his declining years in solitude.

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