The Gay Genius Chapter1

I. The central question

This chapter is let us to know who is Su Tungpo. Firstly, Lin Yutang told us something about Su Tungpo in his mind. He understand Su Tungpo  because he like him. However, maybe he knew that was a subjective view. Then he wrote about Su Tungpo's life and politic experiences, which we may called the Su Tungpo in history. The important thing which Lin Yuntang wanted us knew about Su Tungpo waa more than this. From page 26 to 29, Lin showed us Sun Tungpo as a great genuis in literature. Just like an old Chinese saying goes, "the article style is just like the author's personality". In Sung dynasty, Su Tungpo was faced the unfair treatment and ruthless publishment, but the history of literature gave his the appropriate evaluation. We can regard him as a great poet, a famous literary giant, a genuis reformer of article and poetic. These words are never too much for him.

II. The sentences

1. There is a current Chinese saying that final judgment upon a man is possible only when the cover is nailed on his coffin. A man's life is like a drama, and we can judge a drama only when the curtain drops.

这两句中，前一句为“盖棺论定”，后一句用戏剧落幕做对比，对西方读者而言，更加通俗易懂

2. At the time of Su Tungpo's youth there was a brilliant galaxy of scholars gathered at the court of the Chinese emperor.

a brilliant galaxy of   “如星辰汇聚”

3.When a cause becomes holy, the means used to achieve it inevitably becomes vile.

l林语堂笔下时而出现的说理也十分精彩，‘’神圣的目标背后，往往是无所不用其极的手段。”

III. Thought

无论是序言还是第一章的首段，林语堂丝毫不掩饰他对苏东坡的喜爱，不禁让人怀疑，仅凭一己之喜好为苏轼作传，是否太过流于主观了呢？然而，这种想法却是对林语堂先生的低估。林语堂先生以自己的热忱，展现了心目中的苏东坡，随后引入细致的考证，苏轼的文集的保存与流传情况等等，让我们客观地了解到历史上的苏轼，而不至于受林语堂先生的影响而产生先入为主的观念。但是，林语堂先生的考证也有不实之处，比如他指出苏轼诗第一个将佛理入诗的人，这样的错误简直让人咋舌，且不说谢灵运与齐梁诗人们，这样的说法让王维情何以堪？并且苏轼写给“李琪”的那首诗，原诗如下：

《赠黄州官妓》

东坡五载黄州住，何事无言及李宜。

却似西川杜工部，海棠虽好不吟诗。