Sudongpo Legend
01 · Historical Records
The Su Dongpo legend is a legend about Su Shi, the Northern Song man of letters. From the Song and Yuan the Su Dongpo legend was recorded in the official histories and the notebooks, remarks on poetry, collected works, gazetteers and unofficial histories of various writers, and was continually enriched in the Ming and Qing and extends to the present.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Su Dongpo legend circulates in Zhejiang, Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Jiangxi. Because of the Wutai poetry case Su Dongpo was banished to Huanggang in Hubei for nearly five years, his footsteps reaching the whole of eastern Hubei, the southern foot of the Dabie mountains and the two banks of the middle Yangzi, so that the related legends are dense in number and rich in content, and Huanggang thus became one of the areas of the legend's circulation. The Huanggang Su Dongpo legend has the Huangzhou district as its core, radiating north to Tuanfeng county and Macheng city, west to the Huangpi and Xinzhou districts of Wuhan, south to Ezhou and Huangshi and east to Xishui, Luotian, Qichun and Huangmei counties and the Lushan district and Hukou county of Jiujiang, Jiangxi. During his banishment in Huangzhou Su Shi lived in poverty, ploughing at Dongpo, sowing wheat, transplanting rice and planting trees; his achievements in poetry, prose and rhapsody were outstanding, and Both a Ci and Two Rhapsodies and the Huangzhou Cold Food Observance were written at Huangzhou. The Su Dongpo legend shows from different angles his character and talent in diligent government and love of the people, relieving the distressed and aiding those in danger, optimism and self-confidence, broad learning and ready wit. Such content as recording events with poetry, expressing feeling through ci, and teasing with couplets has strong literary, artistic, interesting and philosophical quality and far-reaching historical and practical significance.
Bringing Medicine to Hukou Village
One of the legends reflecting Dongpo's care for the people's hardships.
Dongpo Rescues an Infant
One of the legends reflecting Dongpo doing good for the people.
Dongpo Pork
One of the Su Dongpo legends reflecting local scenery.
Dongpo Sows Wheat
One of the legends reflecting Dongpo's farming life.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Thus legends are current in his literary creation, couplets, play, quick-witted question-and-answer, social intercourse and travel and sightseeing, touching every aspect of Dongpo's daily life and mostly closely bound up with the local common people. The Huanggang Su Dongpo legends fall roughly into four kinds: first, those reflecting that Dongpo, though in adversity, still cared for the people's hardships and did good for them; second, those displaying his learning; third, those reflecting local scenery; fourth, those reflecting his farming life. The Dongpo spirit reflected in the legend influences the people of Huanggang generation after generation and fuses with the local culture, becoming an important part of the local folk culture.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Sudongpo Legend.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Su Dongpo legend has mainly two systems of transmission in Huanggang city, one around the Red Cliff mountain of Huangzhou and the other in the Qingzhuan lake area of Huangzhou. Besides this a great many transmitters carry on transmitting activities in the villages, schools, communities and parks around Huangzhou.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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