In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a literary giant, with his otherworldly pastoral poetry creation and profound prose achievements, leisurely faced the ups and downs of his career and the poverty of life. He is Tao Yuanming.
Tao Yuanming's family, although there was the glory of the famous general Tao Kan in the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but with the passage of time, the status of the family gradually declined. Tao Yuanming's father died early, which made the family fall into disarray. However, Tao Yuanming was not discouraged by the withering of his family, but studied at home and engaged in literary creation. This also laid the foundation for his later literary achievements.
Tao Yuanming has repeatedly appeared in his official career, resigned repeatedly, and experienced several twists and turns. He refused to serve as an official, preferring to retreat to the mountains and forests. This life choice gave him more time to devote to literary creation. His outstanding contribution to pastoral poetry led to the creation of the school of pastoral poetry. Through works such as "Five Songs of Returning to the Garden and Pastoral Home", "Twenty Songs of Drinking", and "Persuading Farmers", he wrote the freshness of peasant life and the hard work of labor into poetry for the first time, expanding the field of poetry creation.
In addition to idyllic poems, Tao Yuanming also has many epic poems, such as "Wei Jing Ke", "Yong Er Shu" and "Yong Sanliang". These poems reveal Tao Yuanming's political ambitions, showing his concern for the current situation and his fierce and bold side. This is not only a reflection of the times, but also an expression of his inner turmoil.
Tao Yuanming also has an excellent performance in prose. "The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring", "The Biography of Mr. Wuliu", "Words of Return" and other works, with a fresh, elegant, fluent and free style, outline his ideal social picture and personal philosophical outlook. These works, whether it is the fictional Peach Blossom Spring, or the deep thinking about Mr. Wuliu and himself, all show Tao Yuanming's outstanding talent in literary creation.
Tao Yuanming lived in poverty in his later years and faced hunger many times, but he was never willing to pay the price of another career. He had a premonition that his life was coming to an end, so he wrote the "Elegy Poem". This set of elegiac songs is full of thoughts on life, the world and parting, and expresses his deep yearning for "returning to the future". This also became the masterpiece of his life, drawing a leisurely end to his death at the age of 63.
Tao Yuanming, a literary giant with a bumpy career and a poor life but a literary dream. His outstanding performances in idyllic poetry, epic poetry, and prose propelled him to the highest peak in the history of Chinese literature. His open-mindedness, which is calm and peaceful, and who is happy with poverty, not only won him personal peace of mind, but also set a model for future generations to pursue literature. Under the washing of the years, Tao Yuanming's literature has been handed down, just like the peach blossom source in his pen, and has become a spiritual pure land that people yearn for.