Reading Reflection

????在蘇洵考場失意，遠(yuǎn)游他鄉(xiāng)的年月里，蘇軾在他母親的教導(dǎo)和弟弟蘇轍的陪伴下長大，身上既沒有當(dāng)時文壇、教育界盛行的學(xué)究氣，倒比平常人多了幾分自然清新的氣質(zhì)。仔細(xì)想來，這和蘇家的教育理念密切相關(guān)。父親少年時意氣風(fēng)發(fā)，反抗當(dāng)時的傳統(tǒng)教育模式，有不凡的思想和桀驁的性格，就連棄學(xué)，祖父蘇序也不多加干涉。二十七歲始讀書后，他對兩個兒子的教育方法定也是不同尋常人家，我猜想，應(yīng)該是順應(yīng)孩子的天性和天資，在自然的靈性和文化的美感中熏陶、培養(yǎng)他們。由此即使父親離家，母親也能用自身積累的學(xué)識在德與才方面對孩子進(jìn)行指導(dǎo)，而兄弟之間的深厚感情更是自不必說?？梢姀男〉慕逃h(huán)境和理念對人的塑造非常重要啊。

????蘇小妹（蘇軫）其人存在與否爭議很多，但是民間傳說中她三難秦觀的故事的確很吸引人啊~其實私心是希望蘇家倆兄弟能有一個靈巧的妹妹，這樣就更美好啦。不過蘇小妹的‘流傳’可能也是世人對蘇軾和戀人表妹好事不成的彌補，林語堂寫當(dāng)時人對這一段戀情都知趣地避而不談，可見大家多么喜愛蘇軾。

????看到最后的頁腳批注，便往后翻了下，只不過無法將蘇軾晚年寫給表妹的悼亡詩的中英文對應(yīng)起來，我對這一段故事的情詩是空白的，到時候去找找中文譯本吧。不過我很喜歡蘇東坡寫給王鞏的那首《定風(fēng)波》。

常羨人間琢玉郎，天教分付點酥娘。自作清歌傳皓齒，風(fēng)起，雪飛炎海變清涼。

萬里歸來年愈少，微笑，笑時猶帶嶺梅香。試問嶺南應(yīng)不好，卻道，此心安處是吾鄉(xiāng)。

????王鞏受“烏臺詩案”牽連，被貶謫到地處嶺南的賓州。王鞏南行，歌伎柔奴不計艱險毅然隨行。元豐六年，鞏北歸，與東坡劫后重逢。席間請柔奴為東坡勸酒。東坡問及嶺南生活的感受，柔奴不言生活酸苦，只答：“此心安處，便是吾鄉(xiāng)。”這首詞便是東坡聞言深受感動所作，并贈給柔奴。后來蘇東坡被貶至嶺南惠州時，身邊的侍妾朝云也是依依相伴，東坡也許也想到了當(dāng)年柔奴之于王鞏而感嘆“此心安處，便是吾鄉(xiāng)”，只是不知道那個時候他有沒有想起青年時候的她。

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；題詞

e.g. I've always?benn?impressed by John Keats' inscription which reads: 'Here lies one whose name was written in water.' （此地長眠者，聲名水上書）

2. imperial decree (P23)

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

中文里的“圣旨、詔諭”以后就知道是這么表達(dá)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；頂用。

這個詞組在這一章里出現(xiàn)了兩次，還有一次在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. 賣弄筆墨學(xué)問的，迂腐的

這個單詞和后面兩個詞組都值得積累（abstruse phrases, obscure allusions），其實這種賣弄學(xué)問、依靠深奧晦澀的辭藻和暗喻堆砌的文章現(xiàn)在也不少，當(dāng)時歐陽修批評的文壇風(fēng)氣放到現(xiàn)在也不為過，可惜東坡難再現(xiàn)。