A Celebration: The Year of the Boar began Feb. 18th
Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius
by Demi
Reviewed by Deb Clark
Su Dongpo is a celebrated poet, artist, writer, calligrapher and statesman of 11th-century China. Single-monikered author and illustrator Demi credits Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shih, as “the heart and soul of Chinese culture” in this handsome biography.
Was there anything this guy couldn’t do? Growing up he was so charming and talented that birds landed in his outstretched hands, people gathered simply to hear his musical voice as he recited his lessons, his art was described as mystical and he wrote poems that are admired to this day.
As an adult, Su Dongpo became an accomplished and admired government official with a record of achievements that Barack Obama would kill to claim for his own. Su Dongpo is credited with, among other things, creating China’s first public hospital, inventing sanitation systems, improving the welfare of prisoners, standardizing grain prices, granting college loans and aiding famine victims, while all the time vocally—and poetically—decrying government corruption (an endeavor that got him banished twice, although the hardship only seemed to deepen his contentment and enlightenment).
The absolute best part of this book are Demi’s detailed, Chinese-style illustrations in glowing colors outlined by luminous gold boxes. They go a long way in propping up the uneven text, at times stiff while at others divinely clever, and all throughout punctuated with choice translations of Su Dongpo’s poetry.
Su Dongpo may have been “The Very Best,” as this book concludes, but this book is simply very good. And that’s not bad at all.
Rating: *\*\
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