《蘇軾文集》中，傳體僅十一篇，而為陳公弼父子所作即占兩篇。蓋兩家為世交、同鄉；其次，蘇軾曾為陳公弼屬下，初雖不協，終則盡釋前嫌；又其次，陳公弼乃「古之遺直」；又其次，蘇軾與方山子情誼至篤；又其次，方山子乃得道之「異人」；緣此五點，故獨厚陳公弼父子也。陳公弼入世，方山子出世，生平不同，故蘇軾之為傳，其趣亦大異。敘前者，以一生事功為主；寫後者，以晚年隱逸為主。敘事功，逐項鋪陳，蓋屬太史公之「善敘」，實寫也、正寫也；隱逸者既無事功可敘，乃別闢蹊徑，出之以虛、以奇。為父者事功既多，故饒於筆墨；為子者隱逸不仕，故淡淡鉤勒爾。是以兩傳之不同凡二：一正一奇、一密一疏也。

There are only 11 biographies collected in The Complete Works of Su Shi, and 2 of them are on the life of Chen Gong-bi and his son (Mr. Fang Shan). First the Sus and Chens are friends for generations and from the same hometown. Second, Su has worked under Chen, although they began with a confrontation but ended in reconciliation. Third, Chen is a righteous person. Fourth, Su and Fang Shan are intimate friends. Fifth, Fang Shan is a hermit who has found the path. For these reasons, Su has written 2 biographies for the Chens. Chen goes into the society; while Fang Shan stands aloof from worldly affairs. As they have different lifestyles, Su writes individual biographies for them in diverse styles. Depicting the former, Su focuses on his deeds. Narrating the latter, Su emphasizes on his hermit life in late years. Su describes every deed of Chen in the style of Shima Chien, authentic and positive. As there is no deed for hermits, Su begins with something profile and abstract. The father has many deeds and thus occupies a longer length. The son is a hermit and thus depicted in a lighter tone. Therefore, the narrative characteristics of both biographies are: authentic verses fictional and detailed verses sketchy.