Yuanming:Poet of Reclusion

Tao Yuanming（C.365-427），original name Tao Qian，was a great poet of reclusion in the Eastern Jin.He once served as a minor official but retreated not long afterwards from local government，which he thought to be extremely corrupt and chose to live in accord with nature and thetrue self in the country.During his 22 years of countrylife，Tao supported his family by farming and wrote many famous poems about a quiet means of existence such as drinking，cultivating the land，enjoying natural beauty，and rustic life among friends and family.The vivid and beautiful descriptions of pastoral landscapes established him as the most famous pastoral poet.His best poems include“Untitled”，“Drinking Wine”，and“Returning to Live in the Country” Tao oian.

Tao is also renowned for his beautiful prose“The Peach-Blossom Fairyland”，about a utopia untouched by the corruption and ravages of civilization.The story is about a fisherman who was led by a clear stream to a happy world with mountains around it，where people were living in harmony and had no desire to return to the world they had eluded.Most scholars believe there is no such a place，and that it is only an aspiration and dream in Tao’s heart.

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