Basic information Tao Yuanming (about 365-427), whose courtesy name was Yuanliang, was nicknamed Mr. Jingjie and Mr. Wuliu. He changed his name to Qian in his later years. When you say the name is latent, the character is bright. After his death, his relatives and friends privately named him Jingjie, and he was known as Mr. Jingjie in the world. He worked as a minor official for several years, then resigned and returned home, living in seclusion since then. Pastoral life was the main theme of Tao Yuanming's poems, so he was later called a "pastoral poet" in literary history. A native of Chaisang, Xunyang (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He was a poet, writer, poet, and essayist in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Southern Dynasty, and the early Song Dynasty. Relevant works include "Drinking", "Peach Blossom Spring", "The Biography of Mr. Wuliu", "Peach Blossom Spring Poems", "Peach Blossom Spring Poems", etc. He is good at poetry and prose, and his poems mostly describe natural scenery and scenes of life in rural areas. The excellent works among them express his weariness with officialdom and secular society, showing his aspiration to be self-sufficient and unwilling to stoop to flattery, but some also preach that "life is impermanent." , "Lean Destiny" and other negative thoughts. Its artistic characteristics are both plain and hearty. The language is simple and natural, but also extremely refined, with a unique style. Biographical introduction: Tao Yuanming was born in about the third year of Xingning (365), the reign of Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was born into a declining official family. Great-grandfather Tao Kan was the founding father of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He had outstanding military exploits and held the rank of Grand Sima, military commander of eight states, governor of Jingzhou and Jiangzhou, and was granted the title of Duke of Changsha. Both his grandfather Tao Mao and his father Tao Yi served as prefects.
When he was young, his family declined and his father died at the age of nine, so he lived with his mother and sister. Orphaned and widowed, most of them live in the home of their grandfather Meng Jia. Meng Jia is a contemporary celebrity. "He is not a stoic in his behavior, he is not boastful in his years, and he never looks unhappy. He likes to drink heavily, and does not mess up after too much. As for forgetting his pride, he acts as if there is no one else." ("The General of the Former Jin Dynasty Zhengxi") "Shi Mengfu Jun Biography") Yuanming "managed to live with his heart, and many of his grandfathers imitated him." (Catch Qinliyu) In the future, his personality and accomplishments were very much like those of his grandfather. His grandfather had a large collection of books at home, which provided him with the conditions to read ancient books and understand history. In the Jin Dynasty when scholars regarded "Zhuang" and "Lao" as their sects and deposed the "Six Classics", he not only studied "Laozi" like ordinary scholar-bureaucrats "Zhuangzi", and also studied the Confucian "Six Classics" and "exotic books" such as literature, history and mythology. Influenced by the ideological trends of the times and his family environment, he accepted two different ideas, Confucianism and Taoism, and cultivated two different aspirations: "a strong ambition to travel to the world" and "a natural love for mountains and hills".
When Tao Yuanming was a boy, he had the ambition of "flying across the world with strong ambitions, and thinking about far away places" ("Miscellaneous Poems"). In the eighteenth year of Taiyuan (393 years) of Emperor Xiaowu, he cherished the idea of ??"greatly benefiting the people" "With the wish, Ren Jiangzhou offered wine. At that time, the clan system was very strict. He was born in a common people and was looked down upon by others. He felt that he was "unworthy of his official duties and had to relieve himself after a few days" ("Book of Jin·Biography of Tao Qian"). After he resigned and returned home, the state called him again to be the chief clerk, but he also declined. In the fourth year of Emperor Long'an's reign (400), he went to Jingzhou and worked as a subordinate under Huanxuanmen. At this time, Huanxuan was controlling the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, waiting for the opportunity to usurp the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Of course, he was unwilling to join the ranks of Huanxuan and become the confidant of this ambitious man. He wrote in his poem: "How can I leave here and go as far away as West Jing." ("Xin Chou went on leave in the seventh month of the year and returned to Jiangling for a night trip to Tukou"), which showed regret for the official Huanxuan. "Born of long-term travel and love, how can I be drowned in nourishment?" ("Two poems from "The capital is still blocking the wind in Guilin in the fifth month of the year of Gengzi") expresses a deep sigh for the official life that depends on people. In the winter of the fifth year of Long'an, he resigned and returned home because of his mother's death. In the first month of the first year of Yuanxing (402), Huanxuan raised his troops to confront the imperial court, invaded Jiankang, and seized the military and political power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the second year of Yuanxing, Huan Xuan publicly usurped the throne in Jiankang, changed the country to Chu, and imprisoned Emperor An in Xunyang. He worked hard in his hometown and financed his own business. He closed his door and chanted: "I sleep under the Hengmen, and I am isolated from the world. No one knows that the Jing Fei is always closed during the day." This expressed his disdain for Huan Xuan's proclaimed emperor. In the third year of Yuanxing, Liu Yu, General Wu of the Jianjun Army and Governor of Xiapi, joined forces with Liu Yi, He Wuji and other officials to raise troops from Jingkou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) to attack Huan and ping the rebellion. Huanxuan was defeated and went west, taking Emperor An, who was imprisoned in Xunyang, to Jiangling. He left home and joined the army under Liu Yu's curtain (it is said that Tao Yuanming joined Liu Yu's army after he captured Jiankang). When Liu Yu led his troops to attack Huan Xuan, he imitated the story of Tian Chou who was loyal to the Eastern Han Dynasty and traveled in disguise. He disguised himself and traveled privately. He ventured to Jiankang and told the story of Huan Xuan's kidnapping of Emperor An to Jiangling. He reported to Liu Yu and completed his mission. Willingness to fight against the usurper. He was so happy that he wrote a poem to clarify his ambition: "I am unknown at forty, and I am not afraid of this. I have a famous car, and I have a famous horse. Although it is thousands of miles away, who dares not to reach it!" (Chapter 4 of "Rongmu") Liu Yu fights After entering Jiankang, his style of work was also quite extraordinary. The politics of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had long been plagued by the long-standing corruption phenomenon of "a hundred ministers failed to relax". After Liu Yu's "exemplifying things by one's own example" (leading by example), he first used threats and prohibitions. (a majestic prohibition was issued in advance), "all officials inside and outside were solemnly dedicated to their duties, and customs were changed." His character, talents, and achievements are quite similar to Tao Kan, and he once had a good impression of him. However, not long after the scene started, we saw that in order to eliminate dissidents, Liu Yu killed the whole family of Diao Kui who had contributed to the crusade against Huan Xuan, and the innocent Wang Yu and his son. Based on his personal feelings, he appointed Wang Shi, a close figure of Huan Xuan who everyone thought should be killed, as the Minister of Records. He held such an important official position as the governor of Yangzhou. These dark phenomena disappointed him. In the poem "The Beginning of the Song of Zhenjun and Joining the Army, Jing Aqubo" he wrote: "My eyes are tired of the different mountains and rivers, and my mind is thinking about living in the mountains and rivers." Immediately afterwards, he resigned and lived in seclusion. In the first year of Yixi (405), he was transferred to the Ministry of General Jianwei and Jiangzhou Governor Liu Jingxuan as Jianwei to join the army.
In March, he was ordered to go to Jiankang to resign on behalf of Liu Jingxuan. After Liu Jingxuan resigned, he also resigned. In the autumn of the same year, his uncle Tao Kui introduced him to serve as the magistrate of Pengze County. Eighty-one days after he took office, he encountered a postal dispatch from Xunyang County. The official said: "We should tie up our belts to welcome him." He sighed: "How can I He bowed his head to the village boy for five buckets of rice, and then he was awarded the seal and resigned. Tao Yuanming's thirteen years of official life ended when he resigned as magistrate of Pengze County. These thirteen years were the thirteen years in which he kept trying, being constantly disappointed, and finally despairing in order to realize his ideal ambition of "helping the common people". The final poem "Returning to the Song" expresses the determination to break with the upper ruling class and not to collude with the secular world.
Tao Yuanming resigned and returned home, living a life of "self-financing". His wife, Mr. Zhai, shared the same ideals with him. She lived in poverty and contentment. "The husband plowed in front and the wife hoeed in the back." The mother-in-law worked together to maintain life. She was getting closer and closer to the working people. When I returned to the fields, my life was pretty good. "The square house is more than ten acres, with eight or nine thatched houses, elm and willow shade on the back eaves, and peach and plum blossoms in front of the hall." Yuanming loved chrysanthemums, and they were planted all around the house. "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the Nanshan Mountain" ("Drinking") is still popular today. He is addicted to alcohol and will get drunk after drinking. When a friend comes to visit, no matter how high or low he is, as long as there is wine at home, he will drink with him. He got drunk first, and then said to the guest: "I'm drunk and want to sleep, please go." In the fourth year of Yixi, his residence in Shangjing (the foothills of Yujing Mountain in the west city of Xingzi County today) caught in a fire, and he moved to Lili (today's Lilitao Village of Xingzi Hot Spring). , life is more difficult. If there is a good harvest, you can also "have a great time drinking spring wine and picking vegetables from my garden." If there is a calamity year, "you will be hungry in the summer and sleep in bed in the cold nights." In the last years of Yixi, an old farmer knocked on the door early in the morning, brought wine to drink with him, and persuaded him to become an official: "Under the tattered eaves, there is not enough room for a high place. Everyone in this life is still the same (no distinction between right and wrong), I hope you will gurgle the mud (referring to the mud) He replied: "I am deeply aware of my father's words. I can learn from my innate temperament, but if I don't like it, I won't be able to go back." ("Drinking") With a "harmony but different" tone, he declined the old farmer's advice. In his later years, his life became increasingly poor. Some friends took the initiative to send money to him, and sometimes he would come to ask for a loan. His old friend Yan Yanzhi was appointed as the prefect of Shi'an County in the first year of Jingping (423), the Young Emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty. He passed by Xunyang and went to his house to drink every day. Before leaving, he left 20,000 yuan, which he sent all to the restaurant and drank one after another. However, he has principles when asking for loans or accepting alms. In the first year of Yuanjia (424) of Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, Tan Daoji, the governor of Jiangzhou, personally visited his home. At this time, he was sick and hungry for several days and could not get out of bed. Tan Daoji advised him: "When a sage is alive, if there is no way in the world, he will hide, and if there is a way, he will come. Today, in a civilized world, how can you suffer like this?" He said: "How can you dare to look for the virtuous, because your ambition is not enough." Tan Daoji gave him some advice. Liang Rou was waved away by him. He resigned from office and returned to his hometown for twenty-two years, living a poor pastoral life, and his determination to remain poor and uphold integrity became stronger with age. In mid-September of the fourth year of Yuanjia (427), when he was still conscious, he wrote "Three Preparatory Elegies" for himself. In the last two sentences of the third poem, he said: "There is no way to die. The body is supported by the same mountain." "A", showing that he views death so plainly and naturally.
In 427 AD, Tao Yuanming completed his sixty-three years of life (the year of Tao Yuanming's birth still needs to be verified, so the theory of sixty-three years here also needs to be verified) and passed away. He was buried in the Tao family cemetery at the foot of Nanshan Mountain, at the foot of Mianyang Mountain at the junction of Jiujiang County and Xingzi County in Jiangxi Province today. Today, Tao Yuanming's tomb is well preserved. The tombstone consists of three stone tablets, one large, two small, and one large. In the middle is the regular script "The Tomb of Mr. Jingjie Tao Gong of Jinzheng Tu" in regular script. On the left is an epitaph, and on the right is an inscription "Returning to the West". It is from the Qing Dynasty. It was established by the descendants of Tao in the first year of Qianlong's reign.