Culture Insider: Housing issues in ancient China

A statue of Su Dongpo in Hangzhou city [Photo by Zhu Yinwei/Asianewsphoto]

4. Su Dongpo: Pay debt for his father, relief for the poor instead of buying a house

Song Dynasty great litterateur Su Dongpo's father Su Xun took the imperial competitive examinations many times, but failed on each occasion. It was only when Su Xun was more than 50 years old that he, under the recommendation of noted politician and scholar Ou Yangxiu, took up a job as a junior-level civil servant with 7 guan (strings) of copper as month salary. However, he bought a beautiful house valued at 8,000 guan in the capital city Kaifeng after borrowing a large amount of money from Su Xun's elder brother Su Huan. Seven years after buying the property, Su Xun died and the responsibility to repay the debt fell on Su Dongpo and his younger brother Su Zhe.

Su Dongpo and Su Zhe, smarter than their father, both passed the imperial exam and became officials in the Song Dynasty. Su Dongpo had an annual income of over 1,000 guan, a big sum at that time, but he was unable to buy his own house as he had to repay his father's debt.

When he was an official in Hangzhou, his wet nurse, his nephew's wife, his grandnephews all followed him there, so he had to raise the whole family and pay the debt at the same time. He didn't have much spare cash for a house yet.

When Su Dongpo moved to Mizhou, he was earning more than 2,000 guan a year, but he seemed to have little interest in buying a house. He thought that the money should be spent on things much needed. One year, a plague spread across Mizhou, Su donated 50 liang (2,500 g) gold to build several charity houses there to cure patients for free.

During his later years, Su Dongpo's career took a tumble and he was exiled and his salary reduced. In 1084, when he was nearly 50 years old, he bought his first and only house in Yixing, Jiangsu province, to settle his family. But, just like his father, he couldn't afford the price and so he borrowed 7,000 guan from his brother Su Zhe.

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