The ancient wise men once said that the same enemy is like a brother, and going to the country together is like a father and son. In times of crisis, there is no more reliable pillar than family affection.
As a result, ancient dignitaries and royalty tended to promote people who were related to them. This phenomenon persists today, with many small businesses being typical examples of family businesses.
So, is family affection worth relying on? Taking Su Shi as an example, his fate was almost all held up by his younger brother Su Zhi. For the sake of his brother, Su Zhi even became the prime minister.
Grow together
In the history of China, countless outstanding families have been born, and they have shown unique brilliance in different eras.
From a literary point of view, the Su family is undoubtedly a bright star, and three literary giants have emerged in a short period of time.
Among the eight great families of the Tang and Song dynasties, there were three members of the Su family, they were father Su Xun, and brothers Su Shi and Su Zhi.
Strictly speaking, Su Xun is not a competent father, because he has been living a "mixed life" life when his son is growing up.
Despite his high achievements in literature, he was unable to financially support his two sons and did not set a good example due to his long absence from home.
Fortunately, the Su family's mother took on the burden of educating their children, and the two brothers later achieved outstanding achievements. After realizing this, Su Xun returned to the family in time, prompting the two sons' abilities to be rapidly improved.
Under the cultivation of the family, the Su brothers not only achieved great literary achievements, but also inherited the fine tradition of the literati of that era - to obtain meritorious fame.
Perhaps out of deep brotherhood, the two chose to go to Beijing for the exam in the same year. It was in this year that they met the nobleman in their lives, Ouyang Xiu, one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song dynasties.
In fact, the year they participated in the imperial examination, the competition was particularly fierce, because the candidates of this session were very strong, such as Zeng Gong, Wang Shao, etc. were all players of this year.
However, for Su Shi and Su Zhi, this is not a problem. With their outstanding literary talent, they quickly won the appreciation of many examiners, especially Ouyang Xiu.
Ouyang Xiu once praised: "Reading Shishu, I don't sweat it. Hurry up, the old man should avoid the road, let him out of the ground. ”
Ouyang Xiu's evaluation of Su Shi itself was not terrible, what was really fearful was Ouyang Xiu's influence.
At that time, in addition to being a literati, Ouyang Xiu also served as the invigilator (Ministry of Rites) of that imperial examination, so his admiration for the Su family brothers soon spread throughout the court and the public, including the then prime minister Han Qi.
With this advantage, the Su brothers became famous in the imperial examination, and their career began rapidly.
However, no one expected that the fate of the Su family brothers would change drastically after that. Su Shi's fate has had ups and downs, but Su Shi has risen all the way and become his brother's most solid "umbrella".
Su Shi's tortuous experience of being belittled
Su Shi experienced a total of three demotions on the way.
The first disparagement stemmed from a battle of political ideas at the time.
During Su Shi's tenure, Wang Anshi launched a huge movement to change the law, known as the "new law" at that time.
The new law has its advantages, but also its drawbacks. Su Shi believed that there were great drawbacks in the reform of the new law, so he did not stand on the side of supporting the new law.
It is true that Su Shi was not a leader in opposing the new law, but he had a high position in the literary world. When everyone learned that Su Shi opposed the new law, it immediately caused an uproar.
This had a great impact on the promotion of the new law and made Su Shi the target of public criticism. These people collected Su Shi's poetry and selected fragments from it to use as evidence of Su Shi's opposition to the imperial court. Thus was born the Wutai poetry case.
If the first time he was belittled because he made inappropriate remarks, then the second time he was belittled was somewhat "wronged".
At this time, Song Shenzong died and Song Zhezong took the throne. Due to the great influence of the Su brothers in the folk and literary circles,
They were again recalled to the palace. However, the good times did not last long. Because of his past political stance, Su Shi was suppressed again and demoted to Huizhou.
Su Shi's third disparagement also stemmed from political reasons. By this time, the supporters of the new law had fully seized the power of the court, in order to consolidate the position of their own team.
The New Law faction decided to carry out a sweeping purge of those who had supported the old law. As expected, Su Shi became a victim of the "lying gun" again this time.
After experiencing the third time he was degraded, Su Shi became a veritable "man of letters". It is conceivable that it would be difficult for the entire Song Dynasty to identify officials whose fate was more tragic than Su Shi.
Throughout Su Shi's experience of being degraded, his personal experience is indeed suffocating. However, for Su Shi himself, just being belittled was already a blessing in the midst of great difficulties.
If Su Shi hadn't come forward and "turned the tide", Su Shi might have died as early as the Wutai poetry case. When the Wutai Shi case broke out, Su Shi had been thrown into prison, and his life hung in the balance. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Su Zhi appeared in time.
Su Zhi: Su Shi's "umbrella from the wind
As the younger brother of the Su family, Su Zhi's status in literature is slightly inferior to that of his brother Su Shi and his father. However, this is not because Su Zhi lacks talent, but because he is busy with other matters.
Some people say that Su Zhi's life is basically busy with three things: promotion, scattering wealth, and saving his brother.
Although these statements are exaggerated, historical records show that Su Zhi did put a lot of effort into these three aspects.
This also starts with the Wutai poetry case. When the Wutai Shi case broke out, Su Shi faced the death penalty, and at this time, the only person inside and outside the imperial court who could save him was Su Zhi.
So, how did Su Zhi save his brother?
With his outstanding literary achievements, Su Zhi wrote the touching "Letter to Prison for Brother Shi", expressing his willingness to offset his brother's crimes with his official position.
As a result, Su Zhi was demoted, and Su Shi was able to escape prison.
This is the origin of Su Shi's famous phrase "to be brothers with the king in this life, and to marry the cause of the next life".
Since then, Su Zhi has set his own goal: promotion and making money.
Su Zhi knows the character of his brother Geng Zhi thoroughly, even surpassing their father.
He foresaw that Su Shi might make mistakes again in the future. This time I exchanged my official position for my brother's life, how should I deal with it next time? Therefore, after Su Zhi was demoted, he immediately threw himself into local work and worked hard to achieve political achievements.
Soon, with the new emperor ascending the throne, the Su brothers returned to the center of power. This time, the official positions of the two are far apart. With his achievements in the local government, Su Zhi became a right adviser, and although it seemed that his position was not high, this position had an advantage: he could directly write to the emperor.
Taking advantage of this, Su Zhi was promoted to Tobe Shilang in just one year. Once an official gains the emperor's trust, he will be promoted very quickly. Su Zhi's career experience is a good example.
In less than a year after becoming a Hubu attendant, Su Zhi was again promoted to Hanlin bachelor and had already become a "close minister" of the emperor.
However, this is far from over.
Later, with the trust of the emperor, Su Zhi was promoted again in the sixth year of Yuanyou, and after undergoing the internship period of deputy prime minister, he finally became a real prime minister and stood at the peak of power in the Song Dynasty.
At this point, Su Zhi can finally protect his brother unconditionally. Although Su Shi was still degraded later, this was only a change in official position, and people in the DPRK could no longer threaten Su Shi's personal safety.
Su Shi's living conditions have also been greatly guaranteed. Judging from Su Shi's experience in his later years, Su Shi is not only his "umbrella", but also his "treasury".
The life of Su Shi's family, Su Shi's own life, and Su Shi's travel expenses around were almost all borne by Su Shi alone.
Fortunately, the officials of the Song Dynasty had a higher level of servitude, so Su Zhi had the ability to handle everything for his brother. As a literary leader in the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shi was able to leave so many wonderful works, which is closely related to his personal life situation.
Except for the first Wutai poetry case, Su Shi was almost never troubled by money and life in his life, all thanks to the fact that he had a good brother. Therefore, Su Shi's living conditions were far better than the "rich second generation" in the feudal period.
After all, the rich second generation still needs to look at his father's face, and he is always worried that he will make a mistake. Su Shi is different, as an older brother, not only does he not need to look at Su Zhi's face, but he also often "mischievous" as an older brother.
In fact, many people who have achieved success in the field of art have a strong "umbrella" behind them. For example, Li Bai, who has a high status in Tang poetry, is as frequently degraded as Su Shi, but he still has no worries about food and clothing.
This is precisely because he has a huge web of power behind him. His wife is the granddaughter of the prime minister, He Zhizhang, the minister of Sanpin, and Li Longji's sister are all close friends of him. Li Bai was also imprisoned for participating in the coup d'état, and was rescued by his wife to escape. This is quite similar to Su Shi's experience.
Conclusion:
In the movie "A Generation of Grandmasters" there is such a line: "Some people in one door are face, and someone must be the insider." In the career path, the cooperation between good brothers is the most important. ”
For the safety of his brother, Su Zhi became the prime minister of the Song Dynasty. While Su Shi achieved literary achievements, he also won Su Shi a very high reputation. After all, Su Shi had a huge literati power behind him.
During the Qing Dynasty, there was also a pair of good brothers who supported each other in the officialdom, that is, Hejun and his younger brother. Kazukan's success is closely related to his placement of his brother into the army, in addition to his own abilities. After the death of General Agui, Wakan eventually rose to the pinnacle of power with the support of his younger brother.
Everyone makes mistakes, and the key is whether someone can save you when you make a mistake. Whether it is Su Shi or Li Bai, their brilliance in literary achievements is largely due to the "umbrella" behind them.
These "umbrellas" provided them with a stable living environment that allowed them to devote themselves fully to their creations, achieving their pre-eminent position in the history of literature. It is the support of these unsung heroes that allows these cultural giants in history to shine and pass on through the ages.