Tao Yuanming got the news and had to leave at once, although he looked down on such a person who gave orders in the name of more than one company. Unexpectedly, his secretary stopped Tao Yuanming and said, "This official should pay great attention to details, dress neatly and be modest, or he will speak ill of you in front of his boss."
Tao Yuanming, who has always been upright and lofty, couldn't help it any longer. He sighed and said, "I would rather starve to death than bow to such a poor man because of the official salary of five dou meters." He immediately wrote his resignation letter and left the county magistrate's post for more than 80 days. From then on, he no longer became an official.
After retiring from officialdom, Tao Yuanming farmed in his hometown and lived a self-sufficient pastoral life. In rural life, he found his home and wrote many beautiful rural poems. He described the carefree life of farmers: "It's warm in a distant village, and there's smoke in the Yi market". He wrote about his feelings of labor: "Picking chrysanthemums under the hedge, leisurely seeing Nanshan". He also wrote about the hardships of farmers' labor: "beans are planted at the foot of Nanshan Mountain, and the grass is covered with bean sprouts." "Spring is not bitter, and you are often afraid of it."
Story 23, Study Tour and Junior Officials
Tao Yuanming paid attention to physical exercise since he was a child. Every day, he heard chickens dancing and practiced well, especially fencing.
The village where Tao Yuanming's family lives is called Shangjingli, and his family's courtyard is named "Yuantianju". Tao Yuanming lived with his mother in a garden house since childhood. As a teenager, Tao Yuanming studied while farming. Work if you have a job in the field, and study hard if you don't.
In 37 1 year, Tao Yuanming 19 years old. His uncle, Tao Kui, gave Tao Yuanming a sum of money and told him to go to Beijing to study and seek an official position. Tao Kui joined the army under Fu Huan Wen at that time. He often takes care of Taoist orphans and widows, so as to be worthy of his dead brother.
The capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was Jiankang, which is now Nanjing. Studying in Beijing, Tao Yuanming really increased his knowledge and saw the incompetence of the imperial court and the darkness of society. The powerful Fu is overbearing and does whatever he wants. The Northern Expedition was defeated three times, and in order to save face, the emperor's doctrine was beaten. Send people to spread rumors in the capital, saying that the current emperor is impotent and his three sons are concubines and assistant ministers. With such rumors, Huan Wen went to Beijing and abolished Emperor Sima Yi as Haixi. Three governors were strangled with whips and hung on trees. Sima Yi and his concubine, who were abolished as the Duke of Haixi, gave birth to another child and had to be strangled and buried with their own hands to prove that Fu Huan Wen was right about impotence before they could escape. Huan Wen also framed his opponents as traitors. Sometimes hundreds of people are tied up by ropes, implicated together, how long is a mile, old and young, and taken to the execution ground for beheading. Tao Yuanming witnessed this tragic scene with his own eyes.
Beijing has a strong sense of family status. As long as you are a noble family, you can be a big official at a young age. No matter what officials do, they indulge in drinking and debauchery every day.
When Tao Yuanming arrived in Beijing, he also saw the decadent drinking atmosphere at that time. Scholars and celebrities, dissatisfied with the rule of darkness, had to drown their sorrows and consume themselves by drinking. They got together and drank heavily, closed the door, stripped naked, with long hair, crab claws in one hand and wine glasses in the other, and talked loudly. The latecomers crawled in through the dog hole. It's ridiculous not to talk about the ceremony of the monarch and the minister, not to talk about the rules of father and son, and to tease geisha casually. Tao Yuanming, who has been familiar with Confucian classics since childhood, is very uncomfortable and it is difficult to find a confidant.
People in Beijing regard Tao Yuanming as a servant of his hometown and discriminate against him everywhere. So he lived in Beijing for a while, and then went to Zhejiang and northern Jiangsu to study.
Tao Yuanming studied abroad for three years and returned to Shangjingli Village to live in the countryside. He has matured and his eyes are brighter. Tao Yuanming later wrote this experience of studying abroad into a poem, which was included in Nine Poems of Imitating the Ancient:
When I was young, I was strong and vivid, swimming alone with a sword.
Who is close to words and deeds? Zhang Ye went to Youzhou.
Hunger eats the first sunshine, thirst is easy to drink,
I don't know each other, but I see the ancient hills.
Two high graves by the roadside, Boya and Zhuang Zhou.
This man is hard to get, so what do I want?
This poem is popular, vivid and profound, and the dead want him to write it alive. Tao Yuanming returned to his rural home and spent three years working and studying. In 376 AD, he moved to Xunyang County and became a teacher. After teaching for several years, Tao Yuanming's literary genius was revealed. His famous work "Leisure Fu" was plagiarized by friends, and it was about his first love for a woman when he was studying abroad.
At that time, Wang Ningzhi, the secretariat of Jiangzhou, read Tao Yuanming's Leisure Fu and appreciated it very much. He decided to hire Tao Yuanming as another driver to offer a toast.
Wang Ningzhi is the son of Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His handwriting is very good, influenced by my father's inheritance. Wang Ningzhi is only an official, regardless of things, and advocates "governing by doing nothing". Obsessed with alchemy and chanting Buddha, practicing "five meals" He not only practiced at home, but also set up a Taoist temple room in the official office. In the Taoist temple room, you can make an alchemy and recite spells, and worship ghosts in the streets.
In 380 AD, 29-year-old Tao Yuanming was introduced to the Taoist temple in Wang Ningzhi. Wang Ningzhi said to Tao Yuanming, "I admire you after reading your essay" Leisure Fu ",so that you can put on official clothes and take charge tomorrow. It is not difficult to be an official, as long as you know how to govern by doing nothing. "
Tao Yuanming's farewell drinking ceremony should be in charge of a country's weapons supervision, local public security, money and grain storage and adjustment, household registration land tax, farmland water conservancy, military uniform supply and so on. He cares about everything, but he can't care about anything. Let's say hukou land tax. At that time, taxes were levied per capita. Due to years of war, the population has dropped sharply. Rich people hide their population and don't report it. Tao Yuanming took people down to check the household registration, but he ran into a wall everywhere and found nothing. Wang Ningzhi practices every day, worships gods and ghosts, and has no intention of asking for anything. Tao Yuanming read Confucian books and learned the truth of loyalty to the monarch and helping the people. The reality disappointed him.
One day, Tao Yuanming saw that the courtyard of the mansion was full of wood. After asking, I found out that Wang Ningzhi had misappropriated the funds for strengthening the Yangtze River Dam and wanted to build a Taoist temple in the secretariat. When Tao Yuanming heard Ji Yan's words, he immediately ran to Wang Ningzhi Taoist Temple and interrupted his practice.
"Never use this money and food to reinforce the Yangtze River levee and build a Taoist temple! Once there is a flood in the flood season, life will be ruined! "
Wang Ningzhi raised his eyelids and stared at him and said, "I'm observing the weather at night. This year is a drought year, and the Yangtze River does not deliver water. I will also give you the task of building a Taoist temple. "
Hearing this, Tao Yuanming broke into a cold sweat. He left Wang Ningzhi, returned to his residence, took off his official hat and official uniform, packed up his luggage and went home.
After returning home, Tao Yuanming became a teacher again.
This year was really a drought, and Jiangzhou people escaped. A few months later, Wang Ningzhi sent someone to ask Tao Yuanming to be the master book. The official is greater than the wine sacrifice. Anyway, Tao Yuanming didn't go.
The story of Tao Yuanming
Story 3: Tao Yuanming was married three times in his life. The first two wives died young, and the third wife Zhai was younger than him and accompanied him all his life. Tao Yuanming's marriage was unfortunate, and his middle-aged wife was killed twice. Tao Yuanming's marriage is also happy. His three wives are all very virtuous and have deep feelings.
In 376 AD, Tao Yuanming got married at the age of 25. After marriage, he left the garden house and moved to Xunyang County. He first taught, and then left without saying goodbye to Jiangzhou secretariat Wang Ningzhi, where he offered a drink offering. Tao Yuanming came home and learned that his wife was pregnant. Mother and good wife are afraid that he is distracted in officialdom and want to hide it for a while.
The ancients said that "there are three unfilial things that make you great". Tao Yuanming is naturally happy when he is a father at the age of thirty. Who knows that his wife is in labor, and the child in her belly has just stretched out a leg. At that time, the conditions were very helpless, and he watched adults and children die. After the funeral for his wife, Tao Yuanming was desperate.
In 385 AD, 34-year-old Tao Yuanming became the groom's official again. In the second year of marriage, the eldest son, Asu, was born, and the newborn brought great joy to the Taos. Two years later, the second son, A Xuan, was born. A runner named Xuan Gang gave birth to twins with his wife, named Ayong and Antonie. Tao Yuanming loves his precious son, especially the twins. When studying at night, he couldn't restrain his inner happiness. He crept to the bed and looked at the baby's little face in the dim light, like two pieces of red jade, which looked exactly the same. With a special happiness, he got into his wife's bed.
In 392 AD, Tao Yuanming's second wife got consumption, vomited blood and passed away. Tao Yuanming was very sad to know that his wife was overworked for her family. I gave birth to four children in six years and was busy with the livelihood of a family of seven people, old and young.
After his wife died, the burden of family fell on Tao Yuanming's mother's shoulders. When I come back from teaching every day, I see four children who are not sensible. These four children are enough for the mother to take care of. Who will do the housework? You can't live without a housewife.
Mrs Meng discussed with her uncle Tao Kui, proposed to Tao Yuanming, and waited until the next spring to get married.
Tao Yuanming's third wife surnamed Zhai. Mrs Zhai is a junior of Tao Yuanming, virtuous and capable. First of all, I have served my mother-in-law well, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is harmonious. Committed to raising four children left by Tao Yuanming's ex-wife. After her renovation, the family is in good order and happy. Tao Yuanming only needs to teach, go home to read and write, and the children will not quarrel around. Mrs. Zhai has a good figure and is very capable of doing farm work. Whenever the farm is busy, when transplanting rice or harvesting, she works with Tao Yuanming, which is more agile than Tao Yuanming.
After two years of marriage, Zhai gave birth to a young son named A Tong for Tao Yuanming. Because Mrs. Zhai can bear hardships and stand hard work, the life of the Taos is getting better and better. The crops in the field are bumper every year, and the food can't be eaten. Every year, we brew some wine to drink. Whenever new wine is brewed, Mrs Zhai will give Tao Yuanming a big bowl at the tip. As long as there is wine at home, Mrs Zhai will prepare wine for Tao Yuanming at every meal. Tao Yuanming thinks drinking is a very comfortable thing. Drink a little comfortably, drink too much comfortably, and you will get drunk if you drink too much.
When Tao Yuanming lived at home, the children in Doby drank themselves and forgot the heart of fame and fortune. Of course, he is depressed sometimes. Sometimes I feel old, sometimes I want to die. His two wives, in particular, died at a young age, which had a great influence on him. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the average life expectancy of people was less than 50 years old, and many princes and nobles died in their thirties and forties. Tao Yuanming is 45 years old. He thinks he will fall down one day. Tao Yuanming doesn't believe in life. He believes that life and death are natural laws and irresistible. This year, he wrote three elegies for himself. The first song is:
Where there is life, there is death, and sooner or later there is no fate.
Last night, I was the same person, but today I am in the ghost book.
Where the soul is scattered, it will be dry and empty.
A charming child cried from his father, and a good friend caressed me and cried.
If you don't know the gains and losses, you can feel right and wrong!
Long live the century, who knows the honor and disgrace?
But I hate drinking enough when I'm alive.
Tao Yuanming's poems are as clear as words. Although the sentences are shallow and profound, they are dull and emotional, but they are dry and true, natural and interesting.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was very valuable to see life and death thoroughly like Tao Yuanming and put forward the proposition that "there must be death in life". Unlike some people who practice alchemy, recite spells and fantasize about immortality.
Tao Yuanming realized that when people die, everything is settled, especially as time goes by, who can judge the merits and demerits, the gains and losses of honor and disgrace! Why not have a few more drinks while you're alive? Hans Zhang of the Western Jin Dynasty once said, "It is better to have a glass of wine right away than to make me famous." . Tao Yuanming seems to feel the same way. In the last two sentences of this poem: "But when I hate being alive, I can't drink enough." Although it is almost humorous, it is also heartfelt. The second of the "three elegies" is:
There was no wine before, but now it's empty.
Spring mash gives birth to floating ants, when can we taste it better!
The old man cried beside me before the food box was full of me.
If you want to speak silently, you want to see things without light.
I used to sleep in Gaotang County, but now I live in Huangcao Township.
Once out, it's still early to go back to night.
This poem is about people being mourned from funeral to mortuary after death. Immediately after the last article, I want to drink when I am alive, and the cup is always empty. Nowadays, the commemorative table is full of wine glasses and dishes. You can't drink if you want, and you can't eat if you want. My relatives cried with their coffins in their arms. My mouth was silent and my eyes were dull. Once out, buried in the wild, buried underground, dark, farewell to this world.
The third of the "three elegies" is:
Weeds are boundless and poplars are rustling.
In mid-September, severe frost sent me out of the outer suburbs.
No one lives on all sides, and the high grave is a banana.
The horse cries to the sky, and the wind is depressed.
It's not a thousand years since the secluded room was closed.
A thousand years later, there is nothing the wise can do.
Always send people away and return to their homes.
Relatives or sorrows, others have also sung.
What's the way to die? I'm on the same mountain.
This poem describes the whole process of funeral and burial, especially the undertaker. The environment and atmosphere of the cemetery are vivid, and the performance of the undertaker is reasonable. Finally, he said, "What's the way to die?" It means nothing to say after death. Entrust your body to nature and turn it into a cup of dirt at the foot of the mountain. No one can do anything about this fate, whether it is dignitaries or ordinary people. Tao Yuanming's open-mindedness is unprecedented.
Story 5: Tao Yuanming resigned and returned to his hometown, living a life of "dedicating himself to his capital". His wife, Zhai, shares his interests. She is happy and humble. "The husband plows in front and the wife hoes in the back." * * * Living with the working people is closely related to the working people. At the beginning of returning to the field, life was ok. "There are more than ten acres of square houses, eight or nine straw houses, the back eaves of Liu Yin and the front of peaches and plums." Yuan Ming loves chrysanthemums, and chrysanthemums are planted everywhere at home. "Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan" ("Self-Miscellaneous Poems") has been well-known so far. He is a heavy drinker and will get drunk when he drinks it. When friends visit, no matter how high or low, as long as there is wine at home, they will drink together. He got drunk first. He said to the guest, "I'm drunk, so I can go." For four years, Yixi lived in underground Beijing (now at the foot of Xiyujing Mountain in Xing Zi County) and moved to Lili (now Tao Lili Village, a hot spring in Xing Zi), making life even more difficult. If there is a bumper harvest, you can also "enjoy drinking spring wine and picking vegetables from our garden" to prevent "hunger in summer and sleeping at night" in disaster years. As we approached Yixi, an old farmer knocked at the door early in the morning, brought wine to drink with him, and advised him to be an official: "It is not enough to live high under a broken roof. I have been a Shang Tong all my life (right and wrong are not divided), I hope you are muddy (referring to the same stream). " He replied, "I was deeply impressed by my father's words and I was very angry." Fiber (enter) can be learned honestly, but it is not a mystery? And * * * enjoy this drink, I can't drive back. "(Drinking) declined the old farmer's advice in a tone of" harmony but difference ". In his later years, his life became poorer and poorer, and some friends offered to give him money to help him. Sometimes, he can't help asking for a loan. His old friend was appointed as the magistrate of Shi 'an County in the first year of Jingping (423). After Xunyang, I went to his house to drink every day. When I left, I left 20 thousand yuan, sent them to the hotel and drank them one by one. However, he asked for a loan or accepted charity in principle. In the first year of Yuanjia, Song Wendi (424), Tandaoji, the secretariat of Jiangzhou, paid a personal visit. At this point, he was sick and hungry for several days, and he couldn't get out of bed. Tan Daoji advised him: "Sages are alive, but if there is no way in the world, they will be hidden. Where there is a road, there is a road. This child (you) was born in the civilized world, why should he suffer? " He said: "I dare not look at sages, but I don't have that big ambition." Tan Daoji gave the meat to Liang, but he waved away. He resigned from his post and returned to his hometown for 22 years. He has been living a poor and rural life, but when he is old, his interest in keeping poor and honest is getting stronger and stronger. In the middle of September in the fourth year of Yuan Jia (427), when he was still conscious, he wrote three elegies for himself. In the last two sentences of the third poem, he said, "What if I die?" This shows that he views death so naturally.