About Su Shi

Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan, art name Dongpo, was a Chinese scholar-official, active as a poet, essayist, calligrapher and painter during the Song dynasty. A major personality of the Song era, at times holding high-level political positions, Su was also an important figure in Song Dynasty politics, aligning himself with Sima Guang and others, against the New Policy party led by Wang Anshi, gaining some level of popular support through his actions, and also sometimes experiencing politically motivated reversals to his government career.