Tao Yuanming
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| Xìng 姓: | Táo 陶 |
| Míng 名: | Qián 潛, or Yuānmíng 淵明 |
| Zì 字: | Yuánliàng 元亮, or Yuānmíng 淵明 |
| Hào 號: | Wǔliǔ Xiānsheng 五柳先生 (Five Willows) |
| Shì 謚: | Jìngjié 靖節 |
Tao Yuanming (traditional Chinese: 陶淵明; simplified Chinese: 陶渊明; pinyin: Táo Yuānmíng; Wade-Giles: T'ao Yüan-ming) also known as Tao Qian (simplified Chinese: 陶潜; traditional Chinese: 陶潛; pinyin: Táo Qián; Wade–Giles: T'ao Ch'ien) (365–427) was a Chinese poet of the Six Dynasties poetic period (ca. 220 - 589 CE). Generally regarded as the greatest poet during the centuries between the Han and Tang dynasties: Tao Yuanming, later known as Tao Qian, is also the foremost of the "recluse" poets,[1] or the poets who seem to have written their best while in reclusion and/or those poets in who's poems the theme of countryside solitude particularly resonates. In Tao Yuanming's poems can be found superlative examples of the theme which urges to drop out of official life, move to the country, and to take up a cultivated and leisurely life of wine and song. However, at the same time, Tao's poetry also shows an inclination to fulfillment of duty, such as feeding his family. Although not new to his predecessors and contemporaries, Tao's deftly skilled handling of his themes won widespread admiration from his time and down through the centuries, in China. Despite Han poetry foreshadowing of some of his particular symbolism and the general "returning home to the country" theme, much subsequent Chinese painting and literature would require no more than the mention or image of chrysanthemums by the eastern fence to call to mind Tao Yuanming's life and poetry. Later, his poetry and the particular motifs which Tao Yuanming was such a particular exemplar of would prove to importantly influence the innovations of Beat poetry and the 1960s poetry in the United States and Europe, in the twentieth century, and subsequently, as Tao Yuanming has gone on to occupy a position as one of a select group of great world poets.
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[edit] Names
As far as his name goes, "Master of the Five Willows" seems to be a soubriquet of his own invention, which he used when quite young.[2] There is a surviving prose, autobiographical essay from his youth in which Tao Yuanming uses "Five Willows" to allude to himself. After this, Tao refers to himself in his earlier writings as "Yuanming"; however; it is thought that with the demise of the Eastern Jin dynasty in 420, that he began to refer to himself as "Qian", meaning "hiding", as a signification of his final withdrawal into the quiet life in the country and his decision to avoid any further participation in the political scene.[3] Tao Qian could also be translated "Recluse Tao".[4] However, this in no way implies an eremitic lifestyle or extreme asceticism; rather a comfortable dwelling, with family, friends, neighbors, musical instruments, wine, a nice library, and the beautiful scenery of a mountain farm were Tao Qian's compensation for giving up on the lifestyle of Tao Yuanming, government servant.[5]
[edit] Life
Tao Yuanming was born during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), which was a time of military uncertainty and political infighting. However, he would live into the times of the succeeding Liu Song Dynasty, one of the Nanbei period's southern kingdoms.
[edit] Background
Tao Yuanming's great-grandfather was the eminent Eastern Jin general and governor, Tao Kan (259-334), and his grandfather and father also both served as government officials.[6] However, the family circumstances into which Tao Yuanming was born were only those of moderate poverty and lack of much political influence.[7]
[edit] Birth and childhood
Tao Yuanming was born in the year 365, in Chaisang[8] (柴桑), which is southwest of modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi, an area of great natural beauty. The name of his ancestral village, Chaisang, literally means "Mulberry-Bramble".[9] Nearby sights included Mount Lushan, Poyang Lake (then known as P'eng-li), as well as a good selection of nature's features located in the immediate vicinity of Chaisang.[10]
[edit] Career
Tao Yuanming ended up serving more than ten years in government service, personally involved with the sordid political scene of the times.[11] He served in both civil and military capacities, which included making several trips down the Yangzi to the capital Jiankang,[12] then a thriving metropolis, and the center of power during the Six Dynasties, the ruins of the old Jiangkang walls can still be found in the modern municipal region of Nanjing. During this period of service in a series of minor posts, Tao Yuanming's poems begin to indicate that he was becoming torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude.
[edit] Family
Tao Yuanming had five sons.[13]
[edit] Retirement
In the Spring of 405, Tao Yuanming was serving in the army, as aide-de-camp to the local commanding officer.[14] The death of his sister together with his disgust at the corruption and infighting of the Jin Court prompted him to resign, factors which had led to his become convinced that life was too short to compromise on his principles. As he himself put it "為五斗米折腰": he would not "bow like a servant in return for five bushels of grain", a saying which has entered common usage meaning "swallowing one's pride in exchange for a meager existence" (the 'Five bushels of grain' being the specified salary of certain low-rank officials. For his last 22 years, he lived in retirement.
[edit] Death
Tao Qian died in 427 CE.
[edit] Works
Approximately 130 of his works survive: mostly poems or essays which depict an idyllic pastoral life of farming and drinking.
[edit] Poetry
Because his poems depict a life of farming and drinking. of this, he would later be termed "Poet of the Fields". Tao's poems greatly influenced the ensuing poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties. A great admirer of Tao, Du Fu wrote a poem Oh, Such a Shame of life in the countryside:
- Only by wine one's heart is lit,
- only a poem calms a soul that's torn.
- You'd understand me, Tao Qian.
- I wish a little sooner I was born!
[edit] Peach Blossom Spring
Aside from his poems, Tao is also known for his short, influential, and intriguing prose depiction of a land hidden from the outside world called "Peach Blossom Spring" (桃花源記). The name Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源 Tao Hua Yuan) has since become the standard Chinese term for 'utopia'.
[edit] Gallery
Tao Yuanming has inspired not only generations of poets, but also painters and other artists.
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Tao Yuanming statue in his hometown Jiujiang
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Tao Yuanming by Min Zhen, 18th century.
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From the book "Wan hsiao tang-Chu chuang -Hua chuan"（晩笑堂竹荘畫傳）, published in 1921（民国十年）.
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Portrait of Tao Qian by Chen Hongshou (1599-1652)
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A Song Dynasty painting on silk portraying Tao's return to seclusion in the mountains, early 12th century. Li Peng (c. 1060-1110) inscribed a poem on this handscroll entitled Returning Home in honor of Tao Qian, otherwise known as Tao Yuanming.
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A bamboo brush holder or holder of poems on scrolls, created by Zhang Xihuang in the 17th century, late Ming or early Qing Dynasty. In fanciful Chinese calligraphy in Zhang's style, the poem Returning to My Farm in the Field by the 4th century poet Tao Yuanming is incised on this cylindrical bamboo holder.
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The Three Laughers of Tiger Ravine, Soga Shohaku (1730-1781). Depicts Huiyuan (Chinese 慧遠; Hui-Yuan, Hui-Yüan in Mandarin or Fi-Yon in Gan) (334–416 AD); Tao Qian (simplified Chinese: 陶潜; traditional Chinese: 陶潛; pinyin: Táo Qián; Wade–Giles: T'ao Ch'ien) (365–427); and Lu Xiujing (chin. 陸修靜, W.-G. Liu Hsiu-ching; * 406; † 477).
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Song Dynasty painting in the Litang style illustrating the theme "Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are one". Depicts Taoist Lu Xiujing (left), official Tao Yuanming (right) and Buddhist monk Huiyuan (center, founder of Pure Land) by the Tiger stream. The stream borders a zone infested by tigers that they just crossed without fear, engrossed as they were in their discussion. Realising what they just did, they laugh together, hence the name of the picture,Three laughing men by the Tiger stream.
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"The Tale of the Peach-Blossom Land" inside of the Long Corridor on the
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A section of Peach Blossom Spring, painting by Qiu Ying
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A public domain audiobook version of Peach blossom Shangri La by Tao Yuanming - 00:05:02 - 2.3MB
[edit] Translation
[edit] Editions
- Meng Erdong ed. Tao Yuanming Ji Yi Zhu ISBN 7-80626-064-1.
- Wu Zheshun ed. Tao Yuanming Ji ISBN 7-80520-683-X
- David Hinton (translator). The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien (Copper Canyon Press, 1993) ISBN 1-55659-056-3.
- Karl-Heinz Pohl (translator). Der Pfirsichbluetenquell (Bochum University Press, 2002)
- Davis, A.R. T'ao Yuan-ming (Hong Kong, 1983) 2 vols.
- William Acker (translator). T'ao the Hermit: Sixty Poems by T'ao Ch'ien, 365-427 (London & New York: Thames and Hudson, 1952)
[edit] Commentary
- Hightower, James R. Poetry of T'ao Ch'ien ISBN 0-19-815440-2.
- Xiaofei Tian. Tao Yuanming and Manuscript Culture: The Record of a Dusty Table ISBN 978-0295985534.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Chang, H. C. (1977). Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry. (New York: Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-04288-4
- Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction,(1970), The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books).
- Hinton, David (2008). Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN 0374105367 / ISBN 9780374105365.
- Liao, Zhongan, "Tao Yuanming". Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.
- Watson, Burton (1971). CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century. (New York: Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-03464-4
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tao Qian |
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Tao Yuanming Poems in English
