Older and Younger Brothers: Su Shi and Su Zhe

Abstract Here we have a pair of brothers whose relationship is known to us primarily through the hundreds of poems they exchanged with each other through their lives, during which they spent more time apart than together. To have a relationship rooted in literary work this way was not unusual in Chinese life. What was unusual was the fame these particular brothers attained, even while still alive. This article explores the nature of the brothers’ relationship as best we can discern it through their actions and what they wrote to each other, including their mutual affection, disagreements, and competition. Their lives were played out against a backdrop of high office, empire-wide renown, and political persecution. We see that their relationship to each other was in some ways the most enduring and sustaining aspect of their lives, even when their ultimate ideal of spending their final days together went unrealized.