Crow Terrace Poetry Case: Su Shi Convicted for His Poems (1079)

Timeline

1. 1079Huzhou · ZhejiangOn completing his term as prefect of Huzhou, Su Shi submitted a memorial of thanks; censors He Zhengchen, Li Yi and others extracted phrases such as "the New Policies are unsuitable" from it and gathered lines from his writings over the years suspected of satirizing court politics, memorializing to open an investigation.
2. 1079Kaifeng Censorate (Crow Terrace) · HenanIn the eighth month an imperial order directed Censorate officers to go to Huzhou and arrest Su Shi, escorting him in fetters to the capital and into the Censorate prison; the case was presided over by Vice Censor-in-Chief Li Ding, who built the indictment on over a hundred poems including "Spring Outing at Qiantang Lake," and many at court worked to secure his release.
3. 1079Huangzhou · HubeiIn the twelfth month an imperial edict convicted Su Shi of "writings that satirized and mocked," demoting him to assistant military commissioner at Huangzhou with residence restricted to the prefecture; Su Shi left the capital for Huangzhou, beginning his Huangzhou exile and a new phase in his literary creation.