Brotherly love

Confucian culture highly esteems harmonious brotherly relationships. Yan Zhitui (531-597) once said, “Brothers should be like an object and its shadow, the sound and its echo.” Today, let’s hear a story of the brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

“People have sorrows and joys, separations and reunions, just as the moon has its cloudy and clear times and its full or waning periods.” “May we live long and share the beauty of the moon even though we are apart.” These lines are from a poem by Su Shi to his younger brother Su Zhe, titled “Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Full Moon Appear.” It has since become a widely renowned expression.

Su Shi and Su Zhe — within their names, “shi” and “zhe” respectively refer to a crossbar used as a handrail at the front of a carriage and the track left by a carriage, symbolizing the brothers’ companionship in their journey. Indeed, they grew up together, studied together, passed the imperial examination together, served as officials together, and weathered life’s ups and downs together.

When Su Shi was in his 20s, he wrote, “I reached 20 without any peers; at that time, I stood alone in the world.” This illustrates the depth of their brotherly bond. During the reign of Emperor Shen Zong, Su Shi was imprisoned due to what is known as the Wutai Poetry Case. Su Zhe not only pleaded to exchange his own official position for his brother’s release but also tirelessly went to great lengths to help his elder brother.

While Su Shi was detained, fearing for his life, he first thought of Su Zhe and, through a prison guard, sent the poem “Two Verses From Prison to Ziyou” to his brother. In the poem, he wrote, “With you, we are brothers through this life and the next; our bond will never end.” When Su Zhe read it, he burst into tears.

After Su Shi was released and exiled to Huangzhou, Su Zhe was banished to Jiangxi. He took dozens of family members with him and settled them in Jiangxi before escorting Su Shi’s family to Huangzhou. Later, when Su Shi was further exiled to Huizhou and had no money for the journey, Su Zhe managed to raise funds for him by various means. Throughout many years of separations and reunions, the brothers frequently exchanged letters and poems, maintaining an unbroken connection. According to records, the words “Ziyou,” Su Zhe’s courtesy name, appeared a remarkable 229 times in Su Shi’s poetry.

Su Shi passed away at the age of 66 in Changzhou, without seeing Su Zhe one last time. Upon hearing of his brother’s passing, Su Zhe was overcome with grief and wailed inconsolably.

(The author is a cultural scholar.)

(Translated by Shenzhen Daily)