Su Dongpo (苏东坡, 1037-1101), also known as Su Shi (苏轼), was a poet and civil servant from China’s Song Dynasty (北宋: 960-1127). He is considered as one of the finest poets in the history of Chinese poetry. One of his poems, Ti Xilin Bi (题西林壁) – Inscription of the Wall of Xilin Temple, is my all-time favorite poem. Su Dongpo wrote this poem after visiting the Xilin Temple (西林寺) on Lu Shan (庐山, Lu Mountain), located in the modern Jiangxi province. Well, there used to be a wall in the temple premises. It had been customary for the visitors to write their feelings on that wall. When Su Dongpo visited the temple during his trip to the mountain, he spontaneously wrote this poem on that wall. If you are visiting the Lu Mountain, don’t forget to visit that temple– Xilin Temple. The ancient temple is still there. 🙂
If you are interested in Mandarin Chinese, don’t forget to learn, and appreciate the life and poems of Su Shi.
On this page, I am excited to share with you selected poems of Su Shi. On this page, I will be recommending you books to learn Su Shi’s famous poems. Each book (HSK Level 1/2) includes 10 famous poems. Each poem is accompanied by pinyin, detailed explanation in the form of an essay, and vocabulary (simplified characters, pinyin, and English).
Check out the books to learn more Chinese Poems
- Ancient Chinese Poems
- Li Bai’s Selected Poems
- Du Fu’s Selected Poems
- Su Dongpo’s Selected Poems
- Du Mu’s Selected Poems
- Bai Juyi’s Poem Book Series
Su Dongpo’s Famous Poems (Part 1)
Book (ISBN: 9798887550893) links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Su Dongpo’s Famous Poems (Part 2)
Book (ISBN: 9798887550909) links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Su Dongpo’s Famous Poems (Part 3)
Book (ISBN: 9798887551043) links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.