A question about "Sansu"

Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi are called the "Four Great Masters"

Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi are called the "Four Great Masters"

Explanation: Su Xun: Born in 1009 AD and died in 1066 AD, courtesy name Mingyun, nicknamed Laoquan, a native of Meishan, Meizhou, and a famous writer in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Su Xun and his sons Su Shi and Su Che are both famous for their literature and are known as the "Three Sus" in the world. When Su Xun was young and failed many times, he burned all his previous writings, studied hard behind closed doors, and studied the Six Classics and hundreds of schools of thought, and finally became a great master.

When Su Xun was forty-seven, he brought his son Su Shi and Su Che to Beijing. He was appreciated by the literary giant Ouyang Xiu and presented his 22 articles including "Book of Quan" and "Lun on Heng" to the Song Dynasty. Renzong's literary reputation became famous, and scholars rushed to imitate him. Prime Minister Han Qi also appreciated his literary talent and appointed his secretary the post of Provincial Secretary. Later he served as the chief registrar of Wen'an County in Bazhou.

Su Xun's works are mainly historical and political commentaries. His articles are vigorous, his arguments are sharp, he is good at using metaphors, his language is clear, and he has a unique style. Su Xun said that his article "states the needs of the world and applies them to the present." He wrote "On the Six Kingdoms" and analyzed that the reason for the demise of the Six Kingdoms during the Warring States Period was "bribing Qin". He pointed out that offering sacrifices to enemy countries actually strengthened the enemy's power and weakened one's own. He euphemistically criticized the Northern Song Dynasty's improper worship of the Khitan and Western Xia Qujie. . In important treatises such as "Heng Lun" and "Letter from the Emperor", he put forward a set of propositions for political innovation. He believed that in order to govern the country well, one must "assess the situation" and "determine what to do." He advocated "promoting prestige", strengthening the administration of officials, breaking the spirit of sloppiness and laziness, inspiring the enterprising spirit of the people in the world, and revitalizing the Song Dynasty. In "Assessing the Situation", "Assessing the Enemy", "Military System", "Book of Power", "Xiang Ji", "Guangshi", "Tian Zhi" and other articles, the article "Assessing the Enemy" further exposed the policy of bribing the enemy. In essence, they are remnants. "Military System" puts forward ideas such as reforming the military system, restoring military examinations, and trusting generals. "Book of Power" systematically studies strategic and tactical issues. In "Xiang Ji", he pointed out Xiang Ji's strategic mistake of not taking advantage of the victory to attack Xianyang. He also emphasized strategic and tactical principles such as avoiding the real and attacking the weak, attacking the weak with the strong, making good use of surprise and suspicious troops, fighting a decisive battle quickly, and winning by surprise.

Su Xun’s lyrical prose is not many, but there are also excellent chapters. In "Sending Shi Changyan to the North as Envoy", he hoped that his friend Shi Changyan, who was on an envoy to Khitan, would not be afraid of violence, despise the enemy, and write in an imposing manner. "Portraits of Zhang Yizhou" narrates Zhang Fangping's deeds in governing Yizhou, creating an image of a feudal official who was tolerant of government and loved the people. "Wooden Rockery" uses objects to express feelings, praising a kind of self-reliance and upright spirit.

Su Xun's prose has clear arguments, powerful arguments, sharp language, unbridled and eloquent persuasion. Ouyang Xiu praised him for his "arrogant and eloquent arguments", "up and down, up and down, in and out, he must create something profound and then stop" ("Epitaph of Su Jun, the Chief Secretary of Wen'an County, Bazhou"); Zeng Gong also commented that his article "points to things" "Analysis of principles, introduction of metaphors", "Annoyance can not cause chaos, and wantonness can not flow" ("Su Mingyun's Lament"), these statements are relatively pertinent. The artistic style is mainly majestic and full of changes. Some articles are known for their twists and turns. In "Shangtian Privy Book", Su Xun also commented that his writing has "the excellence and softness of a poet, the purity and profundity of a poet, the gentleness and simplicity of Meng and Han, the majesty of Qian and Gu, and the simplicity and simplicity of Sun and Wu". The language of his articles is simple and concise, concise and meaningful; but sometimes he can elaborate and compare, and is especially good at making vivid metaphors. For example, "Brother Zhong Zi Wenfu Shuo" uses Feng Shui to describe a natural description, that is, An example.

Su Xun’s essays also contain many insightful insights. He opposed the flashy and weird contemporary prose and advocated the study of ancient prose; he emphasized that articles should "get my heart" and write "what is in my heart"; he advocated that articles should be "written with a purpose" and "words must reflect the faults of the world." He also discussed the common requirements and different writing methods of different literary styles. He is particularly good at evaluating the styles and artistic features of various prose works through comparison. For example, "The First Book of Ouyang Neihan" has very accurate comments on the articles of Mencius, Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu.

Su Xun did not write many poems, but he was good at writing about the Five Ancients, which was simple and vigorous. Ye Mengde, a native of the Song Dynasty, commented that his poems are "profound and interesting, and his words are not in vain, just like his prose" ("Shilin Poetry Talk"). His "Ouyang Yongshu White Rabbit", "Yishan Farewell", "Yan Shu", "Reply to the Second Ren", "Two Poems of Farewell to Wu Daizhi Zhong Fuzhi Tanzhou", etc. are all excellent works, but their overall achievements are far behind. inferior to prose.

Su Xun's works were popular in many editions during the Song Dynasty. Most of them were originally lost. What survives today are the fragments of the "Collected Works of Lao Su, Lei Bian Zengguang" published in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The popular editions include the shadow version of the Song Dynasty "Sibu Congkan" and the 15 volumes of "Jia □ Collection". (Guo Yuheng)

Part of the information is excerpted from: Middle School Chinese Language Network.

"A father and son, three poets, four masters of writing throughout the ages."

Song Dynasty and Wang Pizhi's "Mianshui Yan Tan Lu" [says: "Su's writing is good in the world, and his writings are the best in the world." The text is called San Su. "Xun is Lao Su, Shi is Da Su, and Zhe is Xiao Su."

Qing Dynasty and Zhang Penghui wrote the couplet of the Three Su Temples: "A father and son, three poets, four great writers through the ages."

Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi are called " "Four Families".