1.Central Question
Q: Why does Su Tungpo want to resign from the court?
A: Because he is an independent, courageous person, unwilling to participate in the party contest. There are certain rules of the game, played chiefly behind the scenes. The first rules is, a good politician is one who has mastered the art of saying nothing with a great number of words. The second rule is that he should oblige his friends. The third rule is that he should take care not to offend. Unfortunately, Su Tingpo was not this type, and he broke all these rules of success in politics. As a subject, he believed, to be loyaled to the monarch, it is necessary to truthfully feedback everything, which would irritated the sycophantic. This showed that he was loyal to the people, loyal to the monarch. At the same time, he was very indifferent to fame and wealth, just thinking about the idyllic life he had thought of.
2.Sentences
（1）But if Su Tungpo was running away from politics, politics was running after him.
可是评姨，事情偏有湊巧泌参，蘇東坡若是躲避政治璃吧，政治偏要找他梆暖。
這句話生動形象地表明蘇東坡政治生涯的無奈灭袁，政治就像個影子一樣歧沪，和他如影隨形歼秽，即使他想歸隱。
（2）But free speech was useless unless the scholars themselves had acquired the spirit of independent thinking and courageous criticism.
但是文人若不能獨立思考梯找，無批評的勇氣唆阿，言論自由也終會無用。
（3）What troubled the government at this time, as at all times in China's history, might be called overpopulation of mandarins.
當時最使朝廷感到困惑的锈锤，其實在中國歷史上歷代皆然酷鸦，就是冗吏充斥。
