Old Su

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Old Su (Su Song)
Alias(es)	Duke Su; Prime Minister Su; Duke of Zhao
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Su Manor; Northern Song court; documented in the modern era as a graduating senior of the USTC Physics Department 166 182
Occupation/Role	Polymath, astronomer, inventor, educator, former prime minister, and political adviser
Status	Alive in the modern era in a 22-year-old body, retaining his Northern Song memories 181 182
First Appearance	Chapter 105

Background / History

Su Song was a four-dynasty veteran of the Northern Song court who ultimately became prime minister, Prince’s Junior Guardian, and Duke of Zhao. Before his rise, he spent nine years working in the imperial library; after being summoned by the emperor, he answered every question with ease and became Crown Prince’s Attendant. 166 399

His long-serving steward, Xie Yuannian, entered Su Manor through a family connection in 1055 and remained in his service for forty-six years. Su Song later instructed Xie to retire comfortably with his savings, but Xie instead guarded Su Song’s tomb after his death; the Xie family subsequently remained connected to Su Song’s descendants for generations. 210

In 1100, Su Song was over eighty but remained notably vigorous: he walked through the streets daily, worked the manor’s vegetable garden with a hoe, travelled between Bianjing and Jingkou, practiced swordplay, and visited friends. He had intended to retire to Jingkou, but Xu Yun’s arrival and the scientific work that followed kept him in Bianjing. 106 141 209

The 1100 Instance

Xu Yun initially entered Su Manor under the identity of Wang Lin. Su Song’s attitude changed after Xu Yun helped save Wang Yue, recognizing that the youth’s knowledge had genuine value rather than being mere posturing. 122

Su Song became Xu Yun’s principal collaborator and student. He funded practical projects, supplied materials through his household, and used his influence to recruit craftsmen, mathematicians, and court support for projects including a telescope. 124 136 147

When court turmoil followed Empress Dowager Xiang’s death, Su Song was reluctantly brought back into political affairs because no acting prime minister was available. He later confronted Xu Yun over the disastrous consequences of introducing “Master Guo” into court politics, believing Xu Yun had betrayed his trust. 166 168

After Xu Yun revealed a vision of the Northern Song’s future collapse, Su Song chose to support Prince Jian’s coup against Zhao Ji. He used his prestige to help protect officials, advised Prince Jian on legitimizing the succession, and proposed staging an extraordinary auspicious sign for the new ruler’s ascension. 170 171 172

Su Song continued work on astronomy and physics after the coup, but died carrying regrets over his political role and the uncertainty of whether his actions had truly saved the dynasty. 179

Return to the Modern Era

As a special mission settlement reward, Xu Yun received a 22-year-old Su Song with complete documentation and all memories from his previous life. 181

Su Song accepted the reality of being brought nine hundred years into the future with unusual composure. He quickly deduced that Xu Yun’s “Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect” was fabricated and that Xu Yun’s strange knowledge came from later generations. 182

Learning that the Northern Song had fallen devastated him, particularly when he saw the names Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan connected to its collapse. Nonetheless, he chose to follow Xu Yun’s guidance while adapting to the modern world. 182

He set himself the goal of raising his mathematics, chemistry, and biology to university level, and his physics to second-year postgraduate level, within one year. Although he learned modern devices quickly, he later struggled with elementary-school mathematics and grew impatient at his inability to contribute meaningfully to modern science. 183 352 399

Appearance

In the 1100 Instance, Su Song was an elderly man whose palms were wrinkled “like dry tree bark,” though his health and physical energy were comparable to a much younger man. 106 182

Following his arrival in the modern era, he possessed the body of a 22-year-old man. His hands were smooth, his joints had regained youthful vitality, and his facial features resembled those of his son. 181 182

• Elderly Su Song remained physically active enough to travel, practice swordplay, and work in his garden. 106
• His modern identity carries a normal ID card and household registration in Tong’an County, Xiamen, Fujian. 182
• He was initially dressed in a plain Anta winter coat upon appearing in Xu Yun’s apartment. 182

Personality

Su Song is intensely curious, intellectually resilient, and unusually open-minded. Repeated technical failures over his long career forged his composure, but direct observation of the microscopic world still left him apprehensive and awed. 148

He is first and foremost a scholar. The educational potential of chalk and a blackboard excited him more deeply than several technical inventions, because he had been both an academy teacher and the founder of a family school in Jingkou. 131

Despite his scholarly focus, Su Song is politically perceptive and pragmatic. He understood the danger of the court’s power vacuum, joined Prince Jian’s coup to preserve capable officials, and immediately focused on the legitimacy and public acceptance of the new regime. 171 172

His second life makes him impatient. Having already reached the height of political and scholarly achievement once, he struggles to accept being a beginner again in a world whose scientific knowledge vastly exceeds his own. 399

“This place is either the underworld or heaven, or it's the other era you mentioned. The latter seems to be easier to accept.” 182

“Little Xu, you're right, I was indeed a bit impatient. Having a second life, I'm naturally a bit sensitive to time.” 399

Abilities & Skills

Engineering and Mechanical Design

Su Song is an accomplished inventor whose manor contains a sophisticated water-supply system incorporating a self-priming pump, flywheel, and balance spring—technology Xu Yun considers centuries ahead of comparable Western development. 111

• Created and used a balance spring regarded as a precursor to Hooke’s later invention. 112
• Recognized the requirements for reconstructing a telescope and sought craftsmen, glass, mathematical assistance, and court resources for the project. 136
• Helped organize personnel and materials for Xu Yun’s large telescope construction. 147
• Personally used a microscope to observe and sketch sewage particles, bacteria, and other microscopic material. 150

Astronomy and Mathematics

Su Song is a professional astronomer who drew star charts and personally witnessed the 1054 supernova later associated with the Crab Nebula. 135 157

• Was receptive to the theory of a round Earth before Xu Yun formally taught it. 135
• Assisted in resolving a refraction-calculation difficulty during optical research. 148
• Maintained correspondence with the mathematician Jia Xian and sought his advice on mathematical problems. 140
• Continued work on astronomical instruments and physics in the altered 1100 timeline. 179

Education and Scientific Inquiry

Su Song immediately recognized chalk and blackboards as transformative teaching tools, connecting them to his own experience as an educator. 131

• Learned introductory physics alongside Li Qingzhao and Prince Jian. 141
• Approached microscopic observation as a disciplined investigator rather than treating it as a novelty. 148 150
• In the modern era, mastered practical technologies such as mobile phones, WeChat, tablets, and basic online learning tools. 183 198
• Demonstrated interdisciplinary analytical thinking during Huadun Biotech’s transition-metal catalysis research. 207
• Began modern life with no retained knowledge from his documented school and university education; Xu Yun assessed his initial physics at roughly high-school level and his mathematics, chemistry, and biology around junior-high level. 182 183

Statecraft and Political Strategy

Su Song’s experience as a former prime minister gives him strong judgment in court politics, succession, and institutional legitimacy. 166 172

• Was temporarily recalled to manage affairs during the court’s leadership vacuum following Empress Dowager Xiang’s death. 166
• Supported Prince Jian’s coup because his presence could shield most competent officials from retaliation. 171
• Designed the succession framework: denounce Zhao Ji at the ancestral temple, decline the throne three times, then proclaim a general amnesty. 172
• Advised Prince Jian to avoid killing Zhao Ji, treating the deposed emperor’s fate as a test of the new ruler’s restraint. 172

Relationships

• Xu Yun / Wang Lin — Initially Su Song’s servant, then his scientific collaborator and student-teacher counterpart. Su Song later learns Xu Yun’s true identity and relies on him to navigate modern life. 122 182 399
• Xie Yuannian — Personal steward and longtime retainer who served Su Song for forty-six years; after Su Song’s death, Xie guarded his tomb rather than retiring. 210
• Prince Jian / Zhao Yun — Political ally during the coup. Prince Jian seeks Su Song’s advice on succession and governance after seizing the palace. 171 172
• Li Qingzhao — Student in Xu Yun’s physics lessons and a member of Su Song’s extended intellectual circle. 141 166
• Jia Xian — Mathematician and longtime correspondent whom Su Song consulted on mathematical difficulties. 140 141
• Qifei — Master craftsman whom Su Song rescued during a famine and introduced to the Manufacturing Bureau; Qifei’s family regards Su Song as its benefactor. 147
• Zong Ze — A master-disciple associate who assisted Su Song with official documents and receiving visitors during the political crisis. 166
• Su Hua — Modern descendant and director within the Su clan association; his account of the Su and Xie families deeply affects Su Song. 210

Legacy

• Su Song’s reputation is portrayed as sharply divided: those familiar with his work revere him, while many others barely know his name or confuse him with Su Shi. 106
• Modern descendants continue to maintain his tomb and ancestral hall, though efforts to research and publicize his historical legacy face limited resources and public recognition. 209 213
• In the altered 1100 timeline, his descendant Su Tong leads the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1343, practically demonstrating that Earth is round. 179
• His resurrection is explicitly framed as an opportunity to create history anew rather than merely correcting public perception of his past achievements. 181

Trivia

• Xu Yun initially feared Su Song might die again from shock when told the truth about the modern era, keeping emergency heart medicine close by. 182
• Su Song visited his own grave at Wuzhou Mountain and had to purchase a ticket to enter the ancestral hall containing his tomb artifacts. 209
• His documented modern identity is a USTC physics graduate, yet he retained none of that life’s modern academic knowledge. 182
• He initially mistook a modern toilet for an unusually luxurious well. 183
• Li Qingzhao later characterizes him as politically astute and deliberately neutral, noting that he displayed works by friends, rivals, and even disgraced officials in the same room. 835