Tao Yuanming's status and influence in literary history depend on his prose and poetry, which is no less important than his poetry. In particular, "The Biography of Mr. Wu Liu", "The Story of Peach Blossom Spring" and "Returning to Xi Ci", these three chapters best reflect his temperament and thoughts, and are also the most famous.
"The Biography of Mr. Wu Liu" has only more than 120 words of text and more than 40 words of praise, but it has left a biography of himself with full expression. "Book of Jin·Biography of Tao Qian" says: "Qian rarely has a high interest, so he tasted the "Biography of Mr. Wuliu" to describe himself. ... People at the time called it a true record." Before Tao Yuanming, Sima Qian wrote the "Autograph" and Wang Chong wrote I have read "Autographs", but they are the prefaces to "Historical Records" and "Lunheng" respectively, and are only autobiographical in nature. Ruan Ji wrote "The Biography of Mr. Adult". Although he expressed his aspirations and interests through Mr. Adult, it is not an autobiography. Tao Yuanming's "Mr. Wu Liu's Biography" takes the form of an official historical biography, but it does not focus on describing life events, but focuses on expressing the taste of life, with the characteristics of self-narrative feelings. This writing method was Tao Yuanming's first. Since then, Wang Ji's "Mr. Wu Dou Biography" and Bai Juyi's "Mr. Zuiyin Biography" were deeply influenced by him. In more than one hundred words, "The Biography of Mr. Wu Liu" uses extremely concise pen and ink to express different popular characters and clearly draws a line with the secular world, thereby creating a noble, free and easy hermit, contented, contented, and happy in poverty. image. Mr. Wu Liu then became a figure who entrusted the ideals of ancient Chinese scholar-bureaucrats.
"Come Back and Come Back" is a declaration of leaving the official career and returning to the countryside. The scenes of returning home, the scene of reunion with family after arriving home, and the scene of farming in the coming spring are all written in imagination. The poet's yearning for freedom can be seen in the realistic imagination. The article is full of colorful paragraphs, ups and downs of rhythm, and pleasant kisses, which present the poet's ecstatic state in front of readers. For future generations, all returns and all liberations can be expressed through this article, so it has eternal vitality. Ouyang Xiu said:
"There are no articles in Jin Dynasty, only one piece of Tao Yuanming's "Come Back and Come Back"." (Yuan Li Gonghuan's "Notes on Tao Yuanming's Collection" Volume 5 Quotation) Although it is not necessarily a rigorous review, this is The mastery of writing is really unparalleled'.
The story of "Peach Blossom Spring" is similar to other fairyland stories, describing a beautiful fairyland outside the world. However, it should be emphasized that the ideal model provided by Tao Yuanming has its special features: the people living there are actually ordinary people, a group of people taking refuge, not gods, but they have retained more of their true nature than the world's people. That’s all; their peace, tranquility, and happiness are all achieved through their own labor. Many ancient fairy tales describe immortality and wealth. There is neither immortality nor wealth in Peach Blossom Spring, only a scene of farming. When Tao Yuanming first retired to seclusion, he was only thinking about personal progress and retreat. When he wrote "Peach Blossom Spring", he was no longer limited to individuals, but also thought about the future of the entire society and the happiness of the people. Tao Yuanming's step to take this step is related to his years of hard work and poor life experience. Although the Peach Blossom Spring is just a fantasy, it is very valuable to be able to propose this fantasy.