Reading Reflection

    在苏洵考场失意，远游他乡的年月里，苏轼在他母亲的教导和弟弟苏辙的陪伴下长大，身上既没有当时文坛、教育界盛行的学究气，倒比平常人多了几分自然清新的气质。仔细想来，这和苏家的教育理念密切相关。父亲少年时意气风发，反抗当时的传统教育模式，有不凡的思想和桀骜的性格，就连弃学，祖父苏序也不多加干涉。二十七岁始读书后，他对两个儿子的教育方法定也是不同寻常人家，我猜想，应该是顺应孩子的天性和天资，在自然的灵性和文化的美感中熏陶、培养他们。由此即使父亲离家，母亲也能用自身积累的学识在德与才方面对孩子进行指导，而兄弟之间的深厚感情更是自不必说。可见从小的教育环境和理念对人的塑造非常重要啊。

    苏小妹（苏轸）其人存在与否争议很多，但是民间传说中她三难秦观的故事的确很吸引人啊~其实私心是希望苏家俩兄弟能有一个灵巧的妹妹，这样就更美好啦。不过苏小妹的‘流传’可能也是世人对苏轼和恋人表妹好事不成的弥补，林语堂写当时人对这一段恋情都知趣地避而不谈，可见大家多么喜爱苏轼。

    看到最后的页脚批注，便往后翻了下，只不过无法将苏轼晚年写给表妹的悼亡诗的中英文对应起来，我对这一段故事的情诗是空白的，到时候去找找中文译本吧。不过我很喜欢苏东坡写给王巩的那首《定风波》。

常羡人间琢玉郎，天教分付点酥娘。自作清歌传皓齿，风起，雪飞炎海变清凉。

万里归来年愈少，微笑，笑时犹带岭梅香。试问岭南应不好，却道，此心安处是吾乡。

    王巩受“乌台诗案”牵连，被贬谪到地处岭南的宾州。王巩南行，歌伎柔奴不计艰险毅然随行。元丰六年，巩北归，与东坡劫后重逢。席间请柔奴为东坡劝酒。东坡问及岭南生活的感受，柔奴不言生活酸苦，只答：“此心安处，便是吾乡。”这首词便是东坡闻言深受感动所作，并赠给柔奴。后来苏东坡被贬至岭南惠州时，身边的侍妾朝云也是依依相伴，东坡也许也想到了当年柔奴之于王巩而感叹“此心安处，便是吾乡”，只是不知道那个时候他有没有想起青年时候的她。

Guiding Question

During Su Tungpo's lifetime, who were the important people that influenced him and mattered to him from his child and youth period?

    They were his mother, his brother Tseyu and his younger cousin-sister. Su Tungpo grew up under his mother's care and education who were well-educated and considerate. Su also grew up and studied closely  with his younger brother, Su Tseyu, who was of steady, phlegmatic temperatment. Their love, devotion and constant loyalty to each other through all vicissitudes of fortune was a theme song of Su's life. Su's first love was a younger cousin-sister. But they couldn't get married because of their same family name. And Su remembered her all his life.

Words & Expressions

1.  inscription (P23)

There is an incident recorded both in the official biography of the poet in the Sung History and in the long tomb inscription written by the poet's brother.

Inscription: An inscription is writing carved into something made of stone or metal, for example a gravestone or medal.  碑文；题词

e.g. I've always benn impressed by John Keats' inscription which reads: 'Here lies one whose name was written in water.' （此地长眠者，声名水上书）

2. imperial decree (P23)

The scholars were subjected to bodily torture, persecuted, and murdered by imperial decree.

中文里的“圣旨、诏谕”以后就知道是这么表达了~

3. auspicious (P24)

However, it The friend, was New Year's Day, and the servants complained at having to remove a corpse on such an auspicious day.

Auspicious: Something that is auspicious indicates that success is likely.  吉祥的

e.g. During Spring Festival, people all wish an auspicious start for the next year.

4. serve the purpose (P25)

They struck it and it gave out a clear metallic tone; they tried using it as an ink slab, and it served the purpose very satisfactorily.

Serve the purpose: 管用；顶用。

这个词组在这一章里出现了两次，还有一次在P26：This labor served Su Tungpo well in the future, for when pleading with the emperor or drafting an edict for him, he was never at a loss to quote historic examples, used by scholars in those times as "cases" are used by lawyers today.

5. pedantic (P28)

This pedantic style may be described as a continual piling up of abstruse phrases and obscure allusions in order to "beautify" one's com- position.

Pedantic: If you think someone is pedantic, you mean that they are too concerned with unimportant details or traditional rules, especially in connection with academic subjects. 卖弄笔墨学问的，迂腐的

这个单词和后面两个词组都值得积累（abstruse phrases, obscure allusions），其实这种卖弄学问、依靠深奥晦涩的辞藻和暗喻堆砌的文章现在也不少，当时欧阳修批评的文坛风气放到现在也不为过，可惜东坡难再现。