Author: Liu Yong has many rumors about the cause of Su Dongpo's death, the most important one is heat stroke. Heat stroke is generally manifested as fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and increased sweating. Mild heatstroke is not life-threatening,

Author: Liu Yong

There have been many rumors about the cause of death of Su Dongpo , the most important one is heat stroke. Heat stroke is generally manifested as fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and increased sweating. Mild heatstroke is not life-threatening, while severe heatstroke can be fatal. This is the so-called " heatstroke ".

Heat stroke is usually characterized by high fever and confusion. In high-temperature and high-heat weather environments, the body's temperature regulation function is dysregulated, causing heat balance in the body to be disordered, heat dissipation is reduced, and heat accumulation in the body. The clinical symptoms of the patient are mainly manifested as high fever, unclear mind, and lack of sweating. Because the patient's head is directly exposed to sunlight, heat stroke disease is also called "sunflow disease". When the symptoms occur, the patient is weak, dizzy, and nausea. As the sweating decreases, the body temperature will rise rapidly, resulting in drowsiness and coma. When the condition is critical and serious, the patient's pulse speeds up, blood pressure increases, and his heart rate is abnormal, followed by muscle twitching, shock , and heart and lung failure and death.

In August 1101, Su Dongpo died in Changzhou, Jiangsu at the age of 66. In the two months before his death, Su Dongpo "sick and summer storm" and "fatigue and fatigue" had reached the point where he could not eat, and could not speak, and could not get up. Fever, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, and general fatigue. These symptoms are typical symptoms of heat stroke.

Su Dongpo knew a little about medicine. He believed that his disease was a "mastery of miasma" and was caused by years of miasma. In ancient times, the south was hot and humid, and the smog and water vapor was called " miasma ". Miasma is poisonous, and people who are not accustomed to the environment are prone to illness when they encounter miasma. These diseases are collectively called "miasma disease". This is of course the result taken for granted by the ancients, and there is no scientific basis. What is confusing is that Su Dongpo lived in Hainan Island with hot climate and harsh conditions for several years without heatstroke. Why did he return to the pleasant climate and beautiful scenery of Jiangnan fish and rice town, but he died of heatstroke?

1. The consequences of malnutrition

Su Dongpo's death is a gradual process. The author believes that the primary reason for Su Dongpo's sudden death is malnutrition. Malnutrition causes physical weakness, physical weakness causes a decrease in resistance, and the virus invades the body, damages normal functions, and dies even after failure. Su Dongpo was 66 years old and had long lived in ancient times. He was also a famous health care expert. If he had not suffered political persecution and suffered physical and mental damage, he would have lived longer and longer. What a pity!

Northern Song Dynasty In the fourth year of Shaosheng (1097), the court issued an edict to demote Su Dongpo again to Qiongzhou and resettle Changhua Army (now Danzhou, Hainan). It is obvious that the political enemy wants to put him to death and then hurry up. On the night before crossing the sea, Su Dongpo said goodbye to his younger brother Su Che in Leizhou, Guangdong. "I was sick and moaned, and Ziyou couldn't sleep all night." ( Su Shi "He Tao Zhijiu" small quote) Is the scene so miserable! It can be seen that Su Dongpo suffers from severe hemorrhoids. If the elderly who get hemorrhoids do not pay attention to maintenance, it is easy to cause sequelae such as nutritional loss and anemia.

At that time, the conditions in Hainan Island were very difficult. With a desperate mood of going there, Su Dongpo, with his youngest son Su , crossing the sea to the demotion site in Danzhou. They were arranged to live in the official residence for the time being. In April of the following year, Hunan Prosecutor (official name) Dong Bicha visited Guangxi. He heard that Su Dongpo lived in the Changhua military office, so he sent an envoy to cross the sea and drove Su Dongpo out of the official residence. Su Dongpo had no choice but to build three thatched huts in a tropical tree in the south of Danzhou City, and named the thatched hut "花官方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方方� Su Dongpo endured the torture of a difficult environment. "When he lived with his young son alone, he was happy to write books, and traveled with his father and elders all the time, if he would live for life." ("History of the Song Dynasty·Biography of Su Shi") At that time, Hainan Island suffered from disasters for years, with poor material and medicine, and its living habits were very different from that of the Central Plains. "Potato taro" is the main food for local people, and beef, mutton, pork is rare. "Mouse" and " bat " are even local delicacies. "Native people eat potato taro every meal, and recommend using rats to burn bats."(Su Shi's "I heard that my son goes from thinning Dan'er to rare meat")

Fortunately, Su Dongpo was having fun in pain and did not lose confidence in life. The harsh environment destroys the old man's body and mind. In his letters to his relatives and friends, he mentioned that he was old and thin more than once. Su Dongpo once said in a letter to his nephew Su Yuanlao : "Recently, his hair is white and thin, but he is as strong as before." Su Dongpo, who has a tall and strong figure, has transformed into a thin, shriveled, and weak white-haired old man. Insufficient nutrition directly led to his physical weakness.

2. The end of life after the disaster

Su Dongpo had already planned to live in Hainan, but unexpectedly, "there is no way out", the political situation of the Northern Song Dynasty underwent dramatic changes. Yuanfu in the first month of the third year (1100), Song Zhezong died, Song Huizong ascended the throne, and the world was amnesty. In May of that year, Su Dongpo was pardoned and moved to Lianzhou (now Hepu, Guangxi) to settle down, ending his three-year exile career in Hainan Island. Late at night on June 20, Su Shi, accompanied by his youngest son Su Guo, crossed the sea from Chengmai County, and returned north and left Hainan. In November, he arrived at Yingzhou (now Qingyuan, Guangdong), and Su Dongpo received an edict from the court: "The official will return to the court and be promoted to the Yuju Temple in Chengdu, and live in foreign military and states." That is to say, he can enjoy the treatment of a retired official and spend his old age in peace. Su Dongpo decided to go to Changzhou, Jiangsu to settle down. He bought a farm in Yixing County under Changzhou. The family reunited there and could have no worries about food and clothing.

Su Dongpo was ecstatic after the disaster. During his return to the mainland and to the new resettlement, he traveled from land and land, and along the way he was full of good things and surprises. Su Dongpo is famous all over the world and has many fans. Wherever he goes, he has welcomed officials, relatives and friends, and banquets and social events. Su Dongpo met new friends, monks, Taoist priests all the way, traveled around famous mountains and temples, singing poems and writing calligraphy and praising them at the invitation. He was very excited and refused to accept everyone and worked hard. But he is already a sixty-year-old man after all. How can he bear such trouble? On the way home, he was exhausted and fell ill many times.

After New Year's Day in the first year of Jianzhong Jingguo (1101), Su Dongpo and his party crossed Dayuling . On the 13th of the first lunar month, they arrived in Qianzhou (now Ganzhou, Jiangxi) and stayed there for more than two months. During this period, "I was ill after a long time, but fortunately I was cured." After going through hard and hard trekking, Su Dongpo's body seemed to become weaker and weaker. On April 16, they arrived at the mouth of Hukou, Jiangxi and went downstream again. In late May, when he arrived in Zhenzhou (now Yizheng, Jiangsu), Su Dongpo was "sick and storm", "fatigue and ill" and had reached the point where he could not eat, and could not speak, and could not get up. Su Dongpo was infected with heat stroke, and his diet was not smooth and he ate cold drinks, which caused dysentery and , so weak that he was bedridden. However, even so, there were still endless visits and invitations to banquets, so Su Dongpo had to beg them to give up.

html In late June, Su Dongpo finally arrived in Changzhou and rented a house in a Sun family. Su Dongpo was plagued by illness and had a premonition that he would soon die. In his memorial report to the court according to the custom, he wrote: "I have arrived in Changzhou now. All diseases are crippled, swollen and full of limbs, and thirsty and blood are gone. Those who cannot eat at all will have been in more than 20 days, and they are expected to die." On July 28, he died suddenly at the Sun family's house in Changzhou.

In just over a year from leaving Hainan Island to arriving in Changzhou, Su Dongpo was busy on the road with high mountains and long rivers, busy dealing with the social gatherings of many fans. He was exhausted and overwhelmed, and his life came to an abrupt end! Just imagine, if Su Dongpo had been living his life on Hainan Island, if he had not been happy and sad, perhaps what he had shown before us would be the image of Su Dongpo who was reborn in Nirvana.

3. Difficulties in despair self-rescue

Birth, old age, sickness and death, human nature. Judging from Su Dongpo's medical records, heatstroke is the main cause of the disease, but the culprit that drags down Su Dongpo's life is still a chronic disease, which is what Su Dongpo calls "year-old miasma poison". Heat stroke is a severe heatstroke and is coming rapidly, and it should not be the main cause of Su Dongpo's death.According to Su Dongpo's self-report, his symptoms are mainly "heat at night, unspeakable, and bleeding between teeth, like earthworms." Su Che called his brother "dry at the top and cold at the bottom and cannot support his qi." He had difficulty breathing and needed help from walking, so he could not walk a few steps, and he could not sit for a long time. It is conceivable how difficult and helpless Su Dongpo was in his old age who was suffering from illness.

Su Dongpo's symptoms are the so-called "miasal toxins" and "dry and cold" all of which are traditional Chinese medicine, while Western medicine believes that Su Dongpo died of various complications. Judging from his course and symptoms, it should be acute aplastic anemia. Due to various causes, bone marrow hematopoietic failure, the patient develops a comprehensive complication of anemia, bleeding, and infection, which ultimately leads to death.

When faced with diseases, the first choice is to seek medical treatment. Su Dongpo was ill in Zhenzhou. His good friend Mi Fu went to Baisha East Garden to visit him in the heat of the summer and sent him a cooling medicine - Ophiopogon jelly. To this end, Su Dongpo wrote the poem "When I woke up and heard Mi Yuanzhang was in heat to Dongyuan to deliver Ophiopogon jelly." The poem says:

A pillow is worth ten thousand yuan, and no one is willing to buy a north window to sleep. Happy and warm stomach, and drink it, know that it is Dongpo by hand.

Su Dongpo thought that the medicine of Ophiopogon japonicus was very effective, and he had greatly increased his energy and his symptoms were alleviated. After that, he no longer used other medicines, so he took ginseng, poria and Ophiopogonis , and decocted three Chinese medicines into thick juices by himself. When he was thirsty, he took out some and took them slowly. He also likes to drink Astragalus porridge , and thinks it tastes delicious, replenishes qi and blood , promotes diuresis and reduces swelling. However, later doctors commented that Su Dongpo was too superstitious about supplements and used the wrong heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs. The reason for his death was the consequences of taking tonics indiscriminately. "The medicine is not suitable for the disease, which will cause injury to the child. I will cherish it for you."

One day, Su Dongpo learned that his beloved disciple Qin Guan died of heatstroke in Tengzhou (now Teng County, Guangxi). Su Dongpo couldn't help but feel extremely sad and cried, unable to believe the bad news. Three months ago, they were just gathered in Leizhou, Guangdong, and said they should take care of each other and hope to see each other again. Su Dongpo had always been deeply guilty of himself because he had implicated many friends and disciples and was convicted and demoted. Unexpectedly, Qin Guan actually left by himself now. Later, news of some friends dying from illness came one after another. Su Dongpo was completely disappointed, and his will defense line collapsed. He said to everyone, "I have several sons of the deceased, and I can't redeem myself for a hundred lives, what can I do?" It's all my fault. Even if I die a hundred times, I can't save the bad luck I brought to them.

Su Dongpo is confident that he will not violate his destiny. "If you cannot die thousands of miles of the mountain, you will live in the fields and feel the worries of not being able to arise. Isn't it fate?" (Su Shi's "Wi Lin, the elder of Jingshan"). He faced the upcoming death calmly and quietly bid farewell to his life with his sons.

[Author Profile] Liu Yong, from Mianyang, Sichuan, is currently a civil servant, loves writing literature and history, and has published books such as "Biography of Wentong Jing".

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