Nature’s changing faces: Su Shi

Whatever the weather or season, Hangzhou’s natural scenery never fails to enchant. And perhaps no writer conveys this better than Su Shi (also known as Su Dongpo). Su Shi was a leading Song Dynasty figure who, like Bai Juyi, served as governor of Hangzhou. He similarly left his mark on the city in the form of Su Causeway, which connects the north and south-east sides of West Lake.

Again, like his predecessor, Su Shi became closely connected with Hangzhou’s West Lake through his writing. His sparely worded poems capture fleeting yet sublime moments in nature – take the poem Drinking by the Lake: Clear Sky at First, then Rain, in which he writes:

The shimmer of light on the water is the play of sunny skies
The blur of colour across the hills is richer still in rain

In these two contrasting lines, Su Shi underscores the transience of nature, with each change that occurs bringing out a different, yet equally beautiful, quality in the landscape. Visit West Lake during the rainy late summer months to see for yourself.