inner peace, poem, song dynasty, su shi, tranquility

Finding Home Within: Su Dongpo’s Philosophy of Inner Peace

In classical Chinese literature, the phrase “Where the heart is at ease, there lies my homeland” from the poem Calming the Stormy Seas by Su Shi, also known as Su Dongpo, resonates deeply with many. This poem, written for his friend Wang Dingguo’s concubine Rou Nu, encapsulates a universally admired sentiment — achieving inner peace ...

Mikel Davis

Sunlight shining through dark clouds on the ocean.

Su Shi, the Poet Who Was Also a Water Supply Engineer

Su Shi was a celebrity in the Song Dynasty with multiple identities. He was a politician, scholar, leader of the Shu Party, and a great calligrapher, gourmet, and poet. However, we may not know about Su’s other identity, that of a fantastic engineer. Su Shi served as an official in Huizhou in his later years ...

Helen London

A statue of Su Shi.

Chinese Idiom: ‘Where Water Flows, a Channel Will Form’

A popular Chinese idiom — ‘Where water flows, a channel will form’ — basically conveys the idea that success will come naturally when the conditions necessary for such success are fulfilled. There is an interesting story behind how this saying originated. The story behind the Chinese idiom Back during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), there lived a man ...

Emma Lu

Water flowing over rocks.