Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan (子瞻), art name Householder Dongpo (東坡居士), was a Chinese literatus, scholar-official, poet, writer, calligrapher, painter and gastronomist of the Song dynasty. Born into a prominent literary family in Meizhou, he was the son of Su Xun and brother of Su Zhe. Despite ambitions for high office, he became a repeated target in factional struggles between reformers and conservatives at the court, and he spent much of his career in exile, periods during which his literary output flourished. January 14, 1037 – August 31, 1101; died at 64. Alive at the same time as Omar Khayyám, William the Conqueror, Peter Abelard, Anselm of Canterbury, and Bernard of Clairvaux. Wiki link