Su Shi’s courtesy name is Zizhan, He Zhong, and his nickname is “Dongpo Jushi”. He is known as “Su Dongpo” in the world. A poet and poet of the Northern Song Dynasty, a literary figure of the Song Dynasty, he was one of the main representatives of the bold and unrestrained poets and one of the “Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties”. The history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Su Shi’s writings were banned. Liang Shicheng cried to Emperor Huizong, ‘What crime did my ancestors commit?’ Only then did Su Shi’s writings gradually become popular in the world.
Throughout, Liang Shicheng claimed to be the “son of Su Shi” and the “body of Su Shi”, referring to Su Shi’s wandering son, and the Su family did not deny this. According to the “Qi Dongye Yu: Zhu Mo Shi”, Liang Shicheng, out of consideration for brotherhood, even said to his family’s accountant, “If the scholar Xiao Su spends less than ten thousand guan, there is no need to sue me. Just pay as you wish
Liang Shicheng was one of the Six Thieves of the late Northern Song Dynasty, a famous traitor in history, and one of the villains who destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty. Even the well-known Gao Qiu was not qualified to be listed as one of the “Six Thieves”, which shows how much evil Liang Shicheng had committed. And Su Shi was a literary giant of his generation, with a righteous character, why did he have a son of a treacherous minister?
1、 Su Shi’s wonderful private life
In history, Su Shi was a leader in the literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty. Throughout his life, he was bold and straightforward, speaking out for the country and the people. However, his private life was extremely exciting. He once said, “I have several concubines in my family,” and the most favored one was Wang Chaoyun. Wang Chaoyun was originally a courtesan. At the age of 38, Su Shi redeemed the 12-year-old Chaoyun and later took her as a concubine. During Su Shi’s difficult career, Wang Chaoyun accompanied him and gave birth to his fourth son Su Dun (who died young). Except for Wang Chaoyun, some of Su Shi’s other concubines did not leave their names.
Of course, this was also the daily life of literati in the Song Dynasty. Whether in public or private settings, there were often courtesans accompanying them during banquets, poetry discussions, and social events, ranging from as few as two or three to as many as thirty or forty. There are many courtesans raised at home, some of whom are gifted by others, and some are entertaining friends. The reason why Song Dynasty literati could be so carefree is closely related to the Song Dynasty’s preferential treatment of literati, with high social status and generous salaries, making Song Dynasty literati feel like they are living in heaven on earth.
But Su Shi’s official career was rough throughout his life, and he was often demoted multiple times. Every time he was demoted, he would often give some concubines or courtesans from his family to his friends, even if he was pregnant. It may seem difficult to understand now, but it was quite common at the time because the journey to exile was long and inconvenient for families. And when it comes to degraded land, whether bought or given away by others, literati will not lack courtesans. Once again, Su Shi was exiled. Before leaving, Su Shi gave a pregnant maid to a friend surnamed Liang, who gave birth to a son named Liang Shicheng in less than a month. Although historians are often vague, based on the reactions of Liang Shicheng and the Su family, it is highly likely that Liang Shicheng was the son of Su Shi.
2、 Liang Shicheng, one of the Six Thieves
Perhaps inheriting Su Shi’s good genes, Liang Shicheng was intelligent and eager to learn from a young age, with a loyal and honest appearance, but hidden deep in his fickle and treacherous nature. At a very young age, Su Shi’s friend surnamed Liang sent him to the palace and became a eunuch. Due to his familiarity with grammar, he was sent to work at the Calligraphy Bureau under Jia Xiang. Due to his ability to decipher the meaning of the Holy Spirit and observe words and expressions, he gradually gained the appreciation and trust of Emperor Huizong of Song. After Jia Xiang’s death, Liang Shicheng managed the external library of the Ruisi Hall and was responsible for transmitting the imperial edicts.
From then on, Liang Shicheng rose rapidly and was first granted the title of Jinshi by Emperor Huizong of Song, entering the ranks of senior intellectuals. Later, he achieved great success in his official career and was appointed as the Huainan Jiedushi, the Censorate Grand Tutor and Grand Tutor, and the Grand Preceptor of the Imperial Household Department. He also held over a hundred official positions and was known as the “hidden prime minister” by his contemporaries. Even the father and son of Cai Jing had to flatter and flatter him. Falsifying imperial edicts, buying and selling official positions, accepting bribes, interfering with government affairs, and so on, Liang Shicheng committed all sorts of evil deeds, causing chaos in the Northern Song court. He was one of the main culprits of the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty and was collectively known as the “Six Thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty” along with Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Yu, Liang Shicheng, Zhu Yu, and Li Yan.
However, the next great achievement of Liang Shi’s establishment may be that he left us with Su Shi’s poetry.
3、 Liang Shicheng’s only achievement
When Su Shi became an official, it was during Wang Anshi’s reform that the court split into the New Party and the Old Party. However, Su Shi had a bold and straightforward personality, and some criticized both the New Party and the Old Party on a case by case basis. As a result, both parties were not pleased and both were suppressed. Su Shi’s fate can be imagined, as he was constantly demoted throughout his life and traveled to Hangzhou, Xuzhou, Huzhou, Huangzhou, Danzhou in Hainan, and other places.
The fundamental reason why Su Shi was imprisoned for 103 days due to his writing in the Wutai Poetry Case was the fierce struggle between the two parties. Even the New Party wanted to kill Su Shi. Later, Wang Anshi, who retired in Jinling, wrote a letter saying, “Why kill talented people in a holy world?” With everyone’s efforts, this poetry case was decided with just one word by Wang Anshi, and Su Shi was given a lenient sentence and demoted to deputy commander of the Huangzhou (now Huanggang, Hubei) regiment. So, there is a fundamental difference between the Wutai Poetry Case and the literary inquisition of the Qing Dynasty.
After the death of Emperor Shenzong of Song, there has been a constant struggle between the old and the new parties in the Northern Song Dynasty. After you sang and I appeared, I opposed for the sake of opposing, neglecting national affairs. In the later stage, it actually turned into a power struggle, which had little to do with reform or not. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Cai Jing proclaimed himself a new party and banned Su Shi’s writings, demanding the complete destruction of all the writings that Su Shi had circulated among the people. If Cai Jing and others succeed in their plan, even if later generations organize Su Shi’s articles and poems, there will probably be many lost. At this moment, Liang Shicheng finally made a contribution by crying to Emperor Huizong of Song, “What crime did my ancestors commit?” Thus, Su Shi’s writings were lifted from the ban and gradually became popular in the world.
In his later years, Emperor Huizong of Song favored Prince Yun Zhao Kai the most, and Zhao Kai intended to seize the crown prince position. Liang Shicheng made every effort to protect Crown Prince Zhao Huan. What surprised Liang Shicheng was that it was precisely because of this that Liang Shicheng died unexpectedly, which can be said to be a clever mistake.
After the Jin army marched south, Emperor Huizong of Song passed on the throne to Emperor Qinzong of Song and sought refuge in the east. Emperor Huizong of Liang, who had an old favor with Emperor Qinzong of Song, stayed in the capital. Due to the notorious deeds of Liang Shicheng, many people hoped that Emperor Qinzong of Song would uphold justice after the new emperor ascended the throne. Taixue Chen Dong and Buyi Zhang Bing wrote a letter condemning Liang Shicheng and demanding that Emperor Qinzong punish him according to law. Although Emperor Qinzong of Song did not deal with Liang Shicheng, he made Liang Shicheng nervous and never left Emperor Qinzong for sleep and food, including when going to the bathroom. But in order to quell the public opinion both inside and outside the court, Emperor Qinzong of Song found an excuse for Liang Shicheng to go outside to handle affairs. As a result, Liang Shicheng was detained as soon as he arrived. Emperor Qinzong of Song issued an edict to list the charges and demoted him to the position of Deputy Commander of the Changhua Army. Along the way, he was sent by Emperor Qinzong of Song to be hanged with a foot of white silk.
Su Shi looked back on his life and composed a poem with emotion: “Everyone raised a son to hope for intelligence, but I was misled by intelligence for my whole life. I hope my son is foolish and virtuous, and will reach the rank of Duke without disaster or illness.” Liang Shicheng was intelligent throughout his life, achieving far greater success than Su Shi’s legitimate son, but he died from his own cleverness. If he had not tried his best to stand with Crown Prince Zhao Huan and played with power tactics, perhaps he would not have been executed by Emperor Qinzong of Song.
