Historical data show that Su Shi's one-year-old sister Su Ba Niang, despite her profound family background, is outstanding in talent (Sima Guang once wrote in "Epitaph of Mrs. Cheng" that "the young girl Ba Niang is intelligent and studious, which is impressive in literature" and praised her knowledge and talent. Father Su Xun often praises this daughter for her great wisdom in poetry and songs. Unfortunately, however, as a noble family, Su Shi's sister's life situation is deplorable. Su Like Xiaomei didn't live a happy life. On the contrary, her congenial husband Qin Shaoyou died young in her lifetime marriage. His father, Su Xun, described in detail his daughter's tragic experience after marriage in Self-improvement (Combination).
It turned out that Su Ba Niang was betrothed to her cousin Cheng Zhicai at the age of 16. Su Xun didn't approve of his daughter's marriage at first, but based on traditional marriage customs, he finally agreed to the proposal of his wife and brother. Unexpectedly, however, Su Ba Niang's married life is extremely unsatisfactory. Instead of getting sympathy and love from her uncle's family, she was criticized everywhere and spent almost every day in depression.
One year after marriage, Su Ba Niang gave birth to a son, but after delivery, she fell ill because her husband's family neglected to take care of her. Her father, Su Xun, was very sad and had to take his daughter back to her family for treatment. Although she helped her daughter recover her physical strength quickly, Su Ba Niang's husband's family, who did not know how to converge, made trouble again and took the child away on the grounds that Su Ba Niang did not return to her husband's family to carry out women's ethics. Su Ba Niang couldn't bear the heavy blow, which led to the recurrence of her old illness. She died three days later, which made her parents and brother very miserable.
Obviously, Su Ba Niang with a tragic ending is not Su Xiaomei. In that case, why should future generations give Su Shi a sister?
As the representative of the highest literary achievement in the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shi not only has numerous masterpieces and masterpieces handed down from generation to generation, but also has a wide range of allusions and anecdotes related to Su Shi. This great writer has a strong sense of existence among ordinary people, leaving a vivid image of being free and easy, funny, versatile and lovely in many anecdotes, among which there are many elements of processing and deduction by later generations. It is really twice the result with half the effort to make up a clever girl to enhance the image effect of Su Shi.