May 17 - A vivid personality is often an enigma. One might say that Su Tungpo was an incorrigible optimist, an original painter, and a great calligraphist. But what comes to my mind, after listening to Professor Mo Lifeng's lecture, are the words of Lin Yutang who said the very mention of Su Tungpo elicits an affectionate and admiring smile.
Mo Lifen, a professor from Nanjing University, visited the north campus Library Auditorium last Tuesday to present a lecture entitled "In Search of Su Tongpo?"
"In my eyes, Su Tongpo is immaculate," Mo said passionately. "More than other Chinese poets, Su Tongpo is a genius, possessing a giant intellect and the guileless heart of a child."
Professor Mo Lifeng lecturing in the Library Auditorium
Su Tongpo suffered throughout his life at the political chicanery and calculations of others. Although he had once been China's "Great Prime Minister" he was later demoted to a minor magistrate, banished from the capital city of Chang'an (now Beijing), and sent into exile in Danzhou (now Hainan Island). Throughout these tribulations he retained exquisite sincerity and personal integrity.
His externalized his emotions and any criticism he may have felt in his poems and essays.
Pouring out his deep love for his long dead wife, he wrote:
In Memory
For ten years the living and the dead
Have been far severed;
Though not thinking of you,
Naturally I cannot forget!
Initially expressing discontent towards the government, he ended up with a generous and pristine heart:
A Plan for the Future
Though I have in me beautiful thoughts,
To whom can I impart them?
I shall happily enjoy my endowments from Nature,
And, when I return home,
Become an idler,
With a lute,
A bottle of wine,
By a brook decked with clouds.
Not only was Su Tongpo a talented poet, but he was also acclaimed as a duteous officer. "Su Tongpu tried his best to benefit the local people," said Professor Mo. "He was an expert in water management, and was loved and esteemed by common people for fighting a flood and building embankments in Xuzhou, harnessing West Lake in Hangzhou, and dredging the canal in Yinzhou."
"When facing the difficulties in life, we should always hold an optimistic attitude," Mo concluded. "This is the essence Su Tongpu has passed down to us and exactly what we should find from him."
As William Shakespeare wrote, "A light heart lives long." Su Tongpo is the epitome of this philosophy. With neither guile nor cunning, he went through life singing, composing, and criticizing, always expressing what he felt in his heart. The words "desperation"and "discouragement" would never be found in the dictionary he lived by!
Photos by GDUFS News Website
