Su Zhe

Su Zhe (Chinese: 苏辙; 1039–1112) was a politician and essayist from Meishan, in modern Sichuan Province, China. As it was common for people in ancient China to have alternative names, he was also called "Zi You" or "Tong Shu".

Su was highly honored as a famous politician and essayist in the Song Dynasty, as were his father Su Xun and his elder brother Su Shi. All of them were among "The Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". Sansu temple where they lived was rebuilt into Sansu Museum in 1984, and this building has been one of the most famous cultural attractions. Su Zhe left many fine works and most of them have been widely read.

Su died in 1112, at the age of 74.

Life

Su Zhe was born on 20 February 1039 in Meishan, which now belongs to Sichuan Province. At the age of 18, he and his brother Su Shi passed the highest level civil service examination to attain the degree of jinshi, a prerequisite of high government office.

In 1070, Su Zhe wrote a letter to the emperor to point out that it was not wise to reform. And he also wrote to the chancellor Wang Anshi to criticize the new laws. Su Zhe's first remote trip of exile was to Junzhou, Shanxi Province. In 1079, his brother Su Shi wrote a poem just to criticise the chancellor Wang Anshi because he was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi. However, his political opponents said that he was criticizing the emperor, so the government sent Su Shi to the prison and then had him exiled for political crimes (乌台诗案). Su Zhe respected his brother very much and the brothers had good relationship, so Su Zhe tried to save his brother from the prison and he hoped that he can use his official position in exchange for his brother's safety. But unfortunately, he was also involved in that case and was exiled to Junzhou.