Sun Di (1081–1169) was a Southern Song official and writer of poetry and prose. His courtesy name was Zhongyi and his sobriquet Hongqing Jushi; he came from Jinling in Changzhou (present-day Wujin, Jiangsu). He is also found under the name Sun Zhongyi. He once served as supervisor of Nanjing Hongqing Palace, from which he took his sobriquet.
Life
In 1109, the third year of the Daguan era, he passed the jinshi examination; in 1114, the fourth year of Zhenghe, he passed the ci examination and became a collator in the Secretariat Library.
On Qinzong’s accession, he was promoted from Director of the Directorate of Education to Investigating Censor after arguing the case of students who had petitioned at court, and was sent out as prefect of Hezhou; he was soon summoned to sit for the examination for Secretariat Drafter and served concurrently as Acting Director of the Hanlin Academy. As a censor, he joined colleagues in impeaching Cai Jing.
When Jin forces captured Bianjing, Sun Di drafted Qinzong’s surrender memorial to the Jin; after Gaozong’s accession, he was dismissed over the memorial and assigned to Guizhou. He was soon again tested for the post of Secretariat Drafter.
In the second year of Jianyan (1128), he became prefect of Pingjiang and subsequently served as Supervising Secretary and Vice Minister of Personnel, concurrently acting as Director of the Hanlin Academy. In the third year, he became Minister of Revenue in the third month and Longtuge Academician in the fourth, served as prefect of Wenzhou, and was then transferred to Pingjiang; in the eighth month he was dismissed for disturbing the people and appointed supervisor of Nanjing Hongqing Palace.
In the first year of Shaoxing (1131), he was restored as Longtuge Academician and appointed prefect of Lin’an; in the second year, he was stripped of office for embezzling military funds and placed under confinement at Xiangzhou. Released in the fourth year of Shaoxing (1134), he withdrew to Taihu the following year, lived there for more than two decades, and later retired.
In Shaoxing 13, he was reinstated as a Fengyilang through an imperial grace associated with the suburban sacrifices; in Shaoxing 26, he was restored as a Left Chaofenglang, and in Shaoxing 30 he was restored as an Assistant Academician of the Fuwen Pavilion and retired. He was ennobled as the Count of Fuyang. During the Xiaozong reign, he was ordered to compile accounts of Cai Jing, Wang Fu, and others for submission to the historiographers; he died in the fifth year of Qiandao (1169), aged eighty-nine.
His career also drew condemnation: he attached himself to Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan and vilified Li Gang, then ingratiated himself with Wan Qixie and slandered Yue Fei, and was despised by his contemporaries.
Family and connections
His father was Sun Yanqing and his father-in-law was Zhang Liang; Sun Ji was listed as an agnatic uncle, Sun Daya as a nephew, and Ji Ji as the husband of a granddaughter. Hu Songnian was his friend, and Zhang Yu was his fellow examination companion.
Literary work
His poetry and prose were considered accomplished, especially his parallel prose in the four-six style; he was ranked alongside Wang Zao, Hong Mai, and Zhou Bida.
The forty-two-juan Hongqing Jushi ji (《鴻慶居士集》) contains seven juan of poetry, much of it written after his demotion in Shaoxing 2; the Nei jian chidu (《內簡尺牘》) was also transmitted. His poetry is also found in the fragmentary Song-printed Sun Shangshu daquan wenji (《孫尚書大全文集》), originally fifty-seven juan with thirty-three surviving, in a seventy-juan Ming manuscript bearing the title 《南臺陵孫尚書大全集》, and in the Wenyuange Siku quanshu edition.
References
- CBDB Sun Di (7343)
- 搜韵 孫覿 (25005)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 孫覿 (A018342)
- Wikidata Sun Di (Q10945673)