This is a personal piece work that I created for poet Su Shi ((1037–1101 CE), undoubtedly, is the one of the few poets that I can find “natural.” By saying natural, I mean he is authentic, free from bias and hardships. He faced adversities of course, not only faced them, but became a theme of his life. Despite his remarkable attainments in the aspects of literature and poetry, Su Shi is known as “in a constant state of either being demoted from his official position or traveling along the path leading to demotion.” Su Shi shaped his life into a masterpiece even in extreme poverty. He writes poetry as inspiration strikes, without any preferred themes, expressing genuine emotions. Rarely do I sense any deliberate or artificial elements in his poems. He enjoys cooking, sleeping, social gathering with liquor; he is not a saint, he has his moments of self-satisfaction and fear of loneliness, engaging in banter with friends… He stepped out of history with his authenticity and personality, his life is “full of life”. I feel the connection between me and Su from Song Dynasty through his writings. I find my sense of belonging when I came to US because of him. He built the bridge of me and my culture thousands years ago.
