Page "Su Shi" Paragraph 4

Su Shi was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi.

Su Shi once wrote a poem criticizing Wang Anshi's reforms, especially the government monopoly imposed on the salt industry.

The dominance of the reformist faction at court allowed the New Policy Group greater ability to have Su Shi exiled for political crimes.

The claim was that Su was criticizing the emperor, when in fact Su Shi's poetry was aimed at criticizing Wang's reforms.

It should be said that Wang Anshi played no part in this actions against Su, for he had retired from public life in 1076 and established a cordial relationship with Su Shi.

Su Shi's first remote trip of exile ( 1080 – 1086 ) was to Huangzhou, Hubei.

This post carried a nominal title, but no stipend, leaving Su in poverty.

During this period, he began Buddhist meditation.

With help from a friend, Su built a small residence on a parcel of land in 1081.

Su Shi lived at a farm called Dongpo (' Eastern Slope '), from which he took his literary pseudonym.

While banished to Hubei province, he grew fond of the area he lived in ; many of the poems considered his best were written in this period.

His most famous piece of calligraphy, Han Shi Tie, was also written there.

In 1086, Su and all other banished statesmen were recalled to the capital due to the ascension of a new government.

However, Su was banished a second time ( 1094 – 1100 ) to Huizhou ( now in Guangdong province ) and Hainan island.

In 1098 the Dongpo Academy in Hainan was built on the site of the residence that he lived in whilst in exile.