Su Xun, the father of Su Shi and Su Zhe, is from Meishan, Sichuan. Although he claimed to be "in rags" in his letter to Ouyang Xiu, he was actually a rich boy in the local area. His father, Su Xu, is charitable, and his two brothers, Su Lian and Su Xun, were admitted to Jinshi and went out to be officials. Su Xun had no worries about his family and had no intention of imperial examinations. He likes Ren Xia and Zhuang You. /kloc-married into the Cheng family at the age of 0/9. Having been married for several years and having no children makes him more attractive to mountains and rivers. He travels to temples and Taoist temples and is happy to give them to monks and Taoists. Until the age of 27, my eldest brother Su Lian died. Facing his elderly father and having children, he realized the burden of his family and angrily began to study.
At first, Su Xun also wanted to follow the old path of his two brothers, study exam-oriented composition and prepare for the examination. He politely declined the usual young friendship and closed the door to study and write. After two years of hard work, he was admitted to Jinshi and maocai. He thought it over carefully and sighed, "I haven't learned enough about this." Burn all the hundreds of exam-oriented articles I wrote and decide not to take the road of imperial examination. He specializes in the works of sages such as The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and Zi Han (Han Yu). At the same time, he read hundreds of works, sat upright and devoted himself to the study of practical knowledge, and successively entered four realms: he felt awe when he began to contact the truth told in these articles; Then I was surprised to understand the expression of these articles; Later, I felt suddenly enlightened and felt that the article should be written like this. Finally, I felt that I had more and more words to say, and I couldn't help it, so I wrote it down. In this way, he studied hard for seven or eight years, and in the second year of Jiaqing (1056), he led Su Shi and Su Zhe to Bianjing and dedicated his articles to Ouyang Xiu, a literary leader and academician at that time. Ouyang Xiu praised it after reading it, thinking that it can be comparable to Jia Yi and Liu Xiang, and strongly recommended it to the court. At that time, officials and scholars scrambled to recite. This year, Su Xun was 48 years old. The following year, his two sons joined the ranks of scholars and caused a sensation in Beijing. In the third year, recommended by Ouyang Xiu, the court called him to the Scheeren Institute to take the exam, but he did not change his original intention of taking the imperial examination, saying that he was ill and refused to reply. In the fifth year of Jiaqing (1060), he was recommended by Han Qi as a librarian of a provincial school, and he embarked on his official career. This year, he was 52 years old.
Su Xun not only studied hard by himself, but also attached great importance to the education of his children. He is not only a loving father of his two sons, but also a rare teacher for them. Su Xun's article is full of metaphors, subtle analysis, incisive arguments, sharp words and lively style, which has a far-reaching influence on his two sons. Father and son often write on the same topic and learn from each other. The Theory of Six Kingdoms, which has been handed down to this day, is an example. Su Xun said "disadvantages" (six countries died because of accepting or not accepting Qin), Su Shi said "scholar" (talent) and Su Zhe said "potential" (the general trend of the world). The second son's Theory of Six Kingdoms basically discusses history on the basis of history, while Su Xun satirizes the present with the help of the ancient, which is more in line with reality. Among the three "six countries", essays are the first. At the same time, he also led his second son to visit famous temples to broaden his horizons and improve his temperament. Su Xun named his two sons "Shi" and "Zhe" according to their temperament and wishes, hoping that Su Shi could make a difference and Su Zhe could avoid disaster. This is indeed far-sighted. In practice, family education in Su Xun is very successful. Su Shi and Su Zhe are not only on the same list, but also become three of the eight great masters in Tang and Song Dynasties with him, which is unique in the cultural history of China.
White hair doesn't regret studying late, the key lies in whether you can work hard. We should break the rules. In a learning society, we should not only attach importance to education at the starting line, but also attach great importance to adult continuing education and vigorously advocate and promote lifelong learning. The early success of Su Shi and Su Zhe is certainly enviable, and the later success of Su Xun is also worth learning from today. (Text/Korean)