Su Shi 蘇軾 1037-1101

Often referred to by his artistic name Dongpo 東坡, was born into a learned family in Meishan, Sichuan province. His official career was marked by a series of political setbacks, which included appointments to minor posts in distant places, the most remote being Hainan Island; yet from a literary point of view, such tribulations served to enrich his writing. One of the most prolific writers in the Song dynasty, Su Shi showed mastery of all literary forms, including poetry, fu rhapsody, and prose essays, and was recognized as the founder of the haofang 豪放 school of ci lyrics, in addition to being remembered as an outstanding calligrapher, painter, and philosopher.

Works available in English:

  • A Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry (John A. Turner).Hong Kong : Research
       Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989.
  • Blooming Alone in Winter: poems of Su Dong-po (Gordon Osing). Zhengzhou,
       China: Henan ren min chu ban she, 1999.
  • Chinese Classical Prose: the eight masters of the Tang-Sung period (Shih
       Shun Liu). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1979.
  • Selections from the Works of Su Tung-po (A.D. 1036-1101) (Cyril Drummond
       Le Gros Clark). New York: AMS Press, 1974.
  • Selected Poems of Su Tung-po (Burton Watson). Port Townsend, WA: Copper
       Canyon Press, 1994.
  • Su Dong-po: a new translation (Xu Yuan-zhong ). Hong Kong: Commercial
       Press, 1982.
  • Su Tung-p'o: selections from a Sung dynasty poet (Burton Watson). New
       York: Columbia University Press, 1965.
  • The prose-poetry of Su Tung-po. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp.,
       1935.
  • Selected poems and prose of Su Tungpo (Lin Yu-tang). Taiwan: Zheng zhong
       shu ju, 1994.

             close