Approximately 130 of his works survive, consisting mostly of poems or essays which depict an idyllic
pastoral life of farming and drinking.
Poetry ,
Ming dynasty. Because his poems depict a life of farming and of drinking his homemade wine, he would later be termed "Poet of the Fields". In Tao Yuanming's poems can be found superlative examples of the theme which urges its audience to drop out of official life, move to the country, and take up a cultivated life of wine, poetry, and avoiding people with whom friendship would be unsuitable, but in Tao's case this went along with actually engaging in farming. Tao's poetry also shows an inclination to fulfillment of duty, such as feeding his family. Tao's simple and plain style of expression, reflecting his back-to-basics lifestyle, first became better known as he achieved local fame as a hermit. This was followed gradually by recognition in major anthologies. By the
Tang dynasty, Tao was elevated to greatness as a poet's poet, revered by
Li Bai and
Du Fu.
Han poetry,
Jian'an poetry, the
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and the other earlier
Six dynasties poetry foreshadowed some of Tao's particular symbolism and the general "returning home to the country" theme, and also somewhat separately show precursory in evolving of poetic form, based on the
yuefu style which traces its origin to the Han dynasty
Music Bureau. An example given of the thematic evolution of one of Tao's poetic themes is
Zhang Heng's
Return to the Field, written in the
Classical Chinese poetry form known as the
fu, or "rhapsody" style, but Tao's own poetry (including his own "Return to the Field" poem) tends to be known for its use of the more purely poetic
shi which developed as a regular line length form from the literary
yuefu of the Jian'an and foreshadows the verse forms favored in
Tang poetry, such as
gushi, or "old-style verse". Tao's poems, prose and their combination of form and theme into his own style broke new ground and became a fondly relied upon historical landmark. 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 exemplified would prove to importantly influence the innovations of
Beat poetry and the 1960s poetry of the United States and Europe. Both in the 20th century and subsequently, Tao Yuanming has come to occupy a position as one of the select group of great world poets.
Poems The following is an extract from a poem Tao wrote, in the year 409, in regard to a
traditional Chinese holiday: :'
Written on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month of the Year yi-yu''''' :
The myriad transformations :
unravel one another :
And human life :
how should it not be hard? :
From ancient times :
there was none but had to die, :
Remembering this :
scorches my very heart. :
What is there I can do :
to assuage this mood? :
Only enjoy myself :
drinking my unstrained wine. :
I do not know :
about a thousand years, :
Rather let me make :
this morning last forever. Poem number five of Tao's "Drinking Wine" series is translated by
Arthur Waley:
I built my hut in a zone of human habitation my hut in a zone of human habitation, Yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach. Would you know how that is possible? A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it. I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, Then gaze long at the distant summer hills. The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day: The flying birds two by two return. In these things there lies a deep meaning; Yet when we would express it, words suddenly fail us. Another, from the same source is "Returning to the Fields" (alternatively translated by others as "Return to the Field"): I was young, I was out of tune with the herd: My only love was for the hills and mountains. Unwitting I fell into the Web of the World's dust And was not free until my thirtieth year. The migrant bird longs for the old wood: The fish in the tank thinks of its native pool. I had rescued from wildness a patch of the Southern Moor And, still rustic, I returned to field and garden. My ground covers no more than ten acres: My thatched cottage has eight or nine rooms. Elms and willows cluster by the eaves: Peach trees and plum trees grow before the hall. Hazy, hazy the distant hamlets of men. Steady the smoke of the half-deserted village, A dog barks somewhere in the deep lanes, A cock crows at the top of the mulberry tree. At gate and courtyard—no murmur of the World's dust: In the empty rooms—leisure and deep stillness. Long I lived checked by the bars of a cage: Now I have turned again to Nature and Freedom. 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! 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" (). The name
Peach Blossom Spring (,
Tao Hua Yuan) is now a well known, standard
Chinese term for a
utopia. This fable recounted by Tao Yuanming begins with a claim that it occurred in the
Taiyuan era of the
Jin dynasty (376–396). According to the story, a fisher gets lost and discovers a place out of time, but cannot find it again after he leaves and tells of its existence. It is a very influential story.
Legacy Tao Yuanming's literary legacy also includes his influence on later poets and authors. One example is
Song dynasty poet
Xin Qiji. Another example is
Su Shi's composition "Matching Tao's Poems", in which the
Song dynasty poet wrote a new poem in response to Tao's poems, but used the same rhymes for his lines. Another poet inspired in part by Tao Yuanming was the 16th century Korean poet
Yi Hwang. ==Critical appraisal==