Beautiful lives in difficult times
A Read the article about Su Dongpo. Write a T if a sentence is true, an F if it is false or an NM if it is not mentioned.
A great writer in times of trouble
Su Dongpo was one of the most famous writers in the Northern Song Dynasty. He showed great talent at a young age and rose quickly in his career. However, a major political case later changed the course of his life.
The Wutai Poetry Case
In his forties, Su Dongpo was involved in the Wutai Poetry Case. Some officials read his work as secret attacks on the new policies of the time. He was taken to prison and was questioned again and again. Some of them even wanted him to be put to death. Although he escaped death, he was sent to Huangzhou (now in Hubei Province), a remote area far from the capital.
Life in Huangzhou
When he arrived in Huangzhou, life was very hard for him. He once wrote about "cooking simple vegetables in an empty kitchen" and "burning wet reeds in a broken stove". With the help of his friends, he started to farm a piece of wasteland on an eastern slope (山坡) in Huangzhou. From then on, he called himself Dongpo Jushi.
Peace in nature
As time passed, Su found peace. He got along well with the local people and made many close friends. He made sweet wine to share with his neighbours. He was also said to have created the famous dish Dongpo pork. During his four years in Huangzhou, he continued to write and produced many wonderful works, full of wisdom and beauty.
Su Dongpo had a difficult life after the Wutai Poetry Case, but he didn't give up. Instead, he learnt to live with hardship, found peace in nature and turned his troubles into great writing.
1 Some officials thought Su's writings attacked the new policies of the time.
2 Su's family moved to Huangzhou with him.
3 Su started to farm a piece of land with the help of friends.
4 Su made wine and sold it to support himself in Huangzhou.
5 Su wrote his most famous poem in Huangzhou.