Tao Yuanming was the most outstanding writer in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the whole Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tao Yuanming (365-427) was born in Xunyang Chaisang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) with bright characters or hidden names. There is the Collection of Tao Yuanming. His great-grandfather Tao Kan was a famous soldier in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty. He held Qiang Bing in charge of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, served as the commander of eight states' military affairs, and made Changsha a county magistrate, which made him famous for a while. Posthumously bestow a posthumous gift on Fu. Grandfather Tao Maoguan was a prefect, and his father was an official. After being the founding father of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Dow was not as noble as the famous family in the south, but also a big family in Xunyang. It's just that Tao Yuanming's family is declining because his father died when he was young. At the age of 29, he began to serve as an official, offering drinks in Jiangzhou, and soon retired. Later, he successively served as an official with low status such as joining the army in Zhenjun and Jianwei, and lived a life of hiding and being an official.

In the first year of Yixi (45), Tao Yuanming was forty-one, and was once again appointed as the magistrate of Pengze County. However, after more than eighty days, he left his post and left the officialdom. He had his own grange and servants in his hometown. At first, his life was peaceful and complacent. Sometimes he also takes part in some agricultural labor personally as the practice of his social outlook and philosophy of life. In this kind of labor life, I am close to farmers. Later, due to the continuous disaster of farmland and the burning of houses, the situation deteriorated. But he never wanted to be an official again. The imperial court once called him as a writer, but he refused. The reason why Tao Yuanming is so is not that he is not interested in politics. Tao Yuanming, who was born in a family of bureaucrats for generations and was a founding father, had expected to make progress in his official career and make a difference in politics. "Miscellaneous Poems" said: "When I was young, I was happy without joy, and I was eager to escape from all over the world, and I was fascinated by Philip Burkart." You can see his mind. But at the same time, the literati in the Eastern Jin Dynasty generally admired seclusion and pursued spiritual freedom, which also left a profound influence on him. "Returning to the Garden House" said that "little is not suitable for vulgar rhyme, and nature loves Qiushan" and so on, which reflected another aspect of his thought. He embarked on the road of life with two contradictory wishes. At the beginning, the former desire dominated. But it was a turbulent time: the internal struggle of imperial clan and the warlord's ambition for political power constantly caused bloody killings and even fierce conflagrations. This kind of social unrest not only brings disaster to the people, but also causes serious insecurity in the upper strata of society. This makes Tao Yuanming's political ambition have to be reduced. On the other hand, in this power struggle, all the dirty and bloody plots are all under the guise of lofty morality, which makes Tao Yuanming, who is really pure in nature, unbearable. Therefore, in the end, the desire to "love Qiushan" overwhelmed the ambition to "escape from the four seas". When he joined the army as a member of the town army, he wrote a poem entitled "The Qua of the First Town Army Participating in the Army", which said: "My eyes are tired of Sichuan and different places, and my heart is full of mountains and rivers. Chatting and moving, after all, the class will be born. " When Ren Jianwei joined the army, he wrote the poem "When I was three years old, I went to Qianxi to join the army for Jianwei" and said: "The dream of gardening and gardening has been separated for a long time?" It can be seen that he is already in his official career and his heart is in the garden. From Peng Zeling's farewell speech when he was dismissed, he even described being an official as "deeply ashamed of his lifelong ambition." Therefore, his seclusion was actually the result that his ideal could not be reconciled with the reality at that time. Tao Yuanming's literary creation has made great achievements in poetry, prose and ci-fu, but poetry has the greatest influence on future generations; Among Tao Yuanming's poems, pastoral poetry is the most representative. The artistic charm of this kind of pastoral poetry lies not so much in its true portrayal of rural life as in its sustenance of Tao Yuanming's ideal of life. The pastoral was highly purified and beautified by Tao Yuanming's poetic structure, and became a spiritual refuge in the painful world.

Tao Yuanming's thought is a special "natural" philosophy, which is based on the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi and reconciles Confucianism and Taoism. His ideal society is a "natural" society. He often combines the pure and indisputable ancient world invented by Confucianism with the social model of small countries and few people advocated by Taoism as an ideal world to praise. For example, the poem "Persuade Agriculture" says: "You were born in ancient times, and you were proud and self-sufficient, and you were simple and true." The poem "Fortune" says: "Huang Tang can't catch it, but he is alone." The poem "Drinking" said: "Xi Nong has been away from me for a long time, and there is little truth in the world!" The same idea, with the help of fiction, is vividly expressed in Peach Blossom Spring. In this "natural" society, everyone cultivates their own food and lives in good faith, and there is no competition, no fraud, or even no monarch or minister. In Tao Yuanming's view, history is a process of degeneration. Due to people's excessive material desires, endless competition has been caused, and all kinds of hypocritical, pretentious and cruel behaviors have been produced, which has plunged society into darkness. However, in ancient times, leisure was hard to find, and paradise was nowhere to be found. Tao Yuanming can only regard simple rural life as a realistic but very limited sustenance of his social ideal. A large number of his pastoral poems not only reflect his life in his hometown, but also reflect the fact that a considerable part of his content is not entirely realistic, but the result of processing realistic materials according to a certain concept. The first poem of "Returning to the Garden" enjoys a long-standing reputation, and it also has similar characteristics: it is not suitable for vulgar rhyme, and it loves Qiushan in nature. I slipped into the official career net, and has been away from the field for more than ten years. The cage bird is often attached to the past forest, the fish in the pool yearning for the past abyss. I would like to open up wasteland at the Minamino, keep my humble nature to the field. Around the house is about ten acres of land, and the thatched cottage of the thatched cottage. The willow trees cover the eaves of the house, the peach and the Li Lieman before the pre-hospital. The nearby village of the nearby village faintly visible, the village drift Ni smoke. A few dogs barked in the lane, and the mulberry tree was called with a cock. There is no dust clutter in the courtyard, some in the quiet room is comfortable and leisurely. Long trapped in a cage without freedom, I finally return to the forest today. This poem was written about the year after Peng Zeling was dismissed from his post and returned to the field, expressing the pleasure of returning to rural life. In the middle section of the scenery, the following four sentences of "Fang Zhai" outline the simplicity and beauty of their residence with simple pen and ink; "It's warm in the distant village, and smoke in the yiyi market", and the line of sight turns to the distance, which makes the whole picture show a leisurely, empty, quiet and peaceful charm. The author takes this as the opposite of the dirty and noisy officialdom-the so-called "cage"-to express his social ideal and life concept. The "nature" that ends with "returning to nature" refers to both the natural environment and the natural life. As a part of natural life, Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems also wrote about agricultural labor; During his retirement, he also took part in farming. What is the significance of his manual labor in his economic life? About is very limited, even, perhaps is dispensable. The practical significance of this kind of agricultural work lies in that it embodies a belief of Tao Yuanming. The beginning of "Early Rice Harvest in Xitian in September of Geng Xu's Year" is: "Life belongs to the Tao, and food and clothing are solid. I don't want to camp, but I want to be safe! " Self-cultivation and self-feeding are ideal social and personal lifestyles. Although the poet couldn't actually do this, he tried, which is remarkable. At the same time, he said, "Isn't Tian Jia suffering? It's hard to resign. Four-body honesty is fatigue, and ordinary people are no different from dry. Wash under the eaves, and fight for wine. " Here, I wrote about the hardship of physical labor and the psychological peace and happiness it brought. Among the poems of the same kind, the most beautiful artistic conception is "Returning to the Garden" (3): Planting beans at the foot of the south mountain, the grass is full of beans and seedlings are sparse. Early in the morning get up early to eradicate the weeds, the night falls on the moonlight carry hoe to return. The narrow path covered with vegetation, and the night dew moistened my clothes. It is not a pity to wet my clothes, but I hope not to go against my will. The last two sentences once again show that Tao Yuanming's writing about rural life and physical labor is actually singing his own ideals, showing the joy of realizing them.

The above mainly analyzes the social ideal reflected in Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems, as well as his thoughts on personal life style in society. In addition, Tao Yuanming's pastoral poems also involve the question that literature has focused on since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty: What is the meaning and value of life? How can life be freed? In this regard, we first see that Tao Yuanming is more anxious about the fact that life is short than anyone in his contemporaries. There are only over a hundred of his poems, but there are dozens of references to "old" and "death". But in philosophy, he has an open-minded explanation, which is most clearly expressed in the group poem "Form, Shadow and Spirit". Poets borrow the dialogue style of Ci and Fu, which makes Xing put forward the ecological degree of people who enjoy drinking and forget everything (this is close to Nineteen Ancient Poems), and makes Ying emphasize that they should pursue achievements and establish a name behind them (this is close to Jian 'an literature). In fact, both of them are hard for Tao Yuanming to give up, but as the final philosophical conclusion, he denied both of them in the third book "Interpretation of God", thinking that daily drunkenness hurts life, and it is only an external pursuit and meaningless. It should be: "I don't like it or fear it when the waves are getting bigger." You should do everything you can, and there is no need to worry about it. " That is, naturalized in nature, there is no need to consciously pursue things other than life, which is liberation without seeking liberation. This connotation of the philosophy of "nature" is expressed in pastoral poems with beautiful images. For example, the most famous poem "Drinking" in Tao's poems is the fifth one: build house is in a human environment, but there are no chariots and horses. Ask you what you can do? The heart is far from self-centered. Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, you can see Nanshan leisurely. The mountains are getting better and better, and the birds are returning. There is truth in this, and I have forgotten to say it if I want to argue. The first four sentences say that as long as you are far-sighted, you will not be disturbed by the secular. Let's talk about picking chrysanthemums in the east hedge, inadvertently meeting Nanshan (that is, Lushan Mountain), feeling the mystery of creation and understanding the true meaning of life in the twilight and purple haze. Although it is clearly stated in the poem that "I want to argue but I have forgotten what I said", the truth of life implied by a series of images in this poem can still be explored if we examine it in connection with Tao Yuanming's other works. Don't the eternity of Nanshan, the beauty of mountain atmosphere and the freedom of birds reflect the greatness, perfection and enrichment of nature, especially the essence of self-sufficiency and nothing else? Then, in the short life of human beings, what else can we pursue except to return to nature, conform to nature, and feel the meaning of our life in the eternity, beauty and freedom of nature? Therefore, this poem is still the sustenance of Tao Yuanming's life ideal, but it is different.

Of course, this outlook on life in poetry is only a poetic and philosophical yearning. Because it is impossible for people to get rid of the pursuit of self-realization in a certain object, and it is impossible to get rid of the contradiction between real interests. But as a philosophical reflection on life, it is valuable; As the essence of poetry, it brings unique effects. To sum up, Tao Yuanming's social outlook and outlook on life are centered on "nature". The society he yearns for is a society of peace, self-cultivation, no competition, no hypocrisy, no mutual oppression and harm; The life he pursues is simple and sincere, indifferent and lofty, entrusted with transportation, and has no desire outside; His favorite living environment is also a quiet and natural country. Because of these pursuits, most of his pastoral poems show a diluted and peaceful appearance, which is called "silence" by predecessors But behind this, it is full of hatred and anxiety about the real society and anxiety about the shortness of life. In other words, "silence" is an aesthetic realm constructed under the control of "natural" philosophy, and the internal driving force that arouses this pursuit is precisely a high degree of anxiety. The most concentrated of Tao's poems is to write works about rural life. In addition to the above, his representative works include Moving to a Residence, Master Book of Heguo, Ode to the Poor, Miscellaneous Poems, Complaining Poems and Chu Telling Master Book of Pang Zhi-zhong, etc.

However, Tao Yuanming is not the only one whose main feature is to dilute peace. He has also written some poems that directly relate to real politics or directly express his strong inner feelings. For example, the poem "Narrating Wine" is obscure and difficult to understand, but its content is related to some political events in the Jin and Song Dynasties, so there is no doubt. Another example is "A Long History of Giving Sheep", which is very happy with the battle of Emperor Wu of Song Yu in the 13th year of Yixi's Northern Expedition to break Chang 'an. "Sages, everything in the capital. Don't forget to swim, don't cross the river. The nine realms have just been one, and the death will manage the boat. " It embodies the distinct national feelings. In addition, several articles in "Ode to Jing Ke" and "Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas" express sympathy, admiration and praise for some heroic images in history and myths and legends who have never given up despite failure, and have a generous and tragic style. At the end of Ode to Jing Ke, I said, "I am sorry for my poor swordsmanship, but I can't do my wonderful work." Although he is already dead, he has a thousand years of affection! " It clearly reveals the passionate feelings in the poet's heart. Another example is an article in Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas: Jingwei holds a micro-wood, which will fill the sea. Xingtian dances in solidarity, and his ambition is always there. Similarly, the living beings do not have the residual sorrow, turned into a foreign body and did not repent. Just set in the heart of the past, good morning can wait! Jing Wei is a humble bird, but he has the ambition to fill the sea. Xingtian broke his head and resisted, all of which showed the great spirit of not giving in to fate. The last two sentences are about Jingwei and Xingtian, but also about myself: Although there was thank you sir in the past, there was no time to fulfill my wish! The factual background of these poems can't be proved conclusively, but at least it shows that Tao Yuanming still yearns for a strong and productive life in seclusion. Mr. Lu Xun pointed out that Tao poetry not only has a "quiet" and "carefree" side, but also has a "king kong glare" side, mainly referring to these works. However, it should be noted that the two are not diametrically opposed. From the origin of poetry, Tao Yuanming has a long history of Ruan Ji. This is mainly manifested in his poems expressing deep feelings, expressing his exploration of life, using philosophical observation and using the form of group poems. On the other hand, Tao poetry is obviously greatly influenced by metaphysical poetry. This is not only reflected in the fact that there are many metaphysical words in his poems, but also in his plain language style, and more importantly, in his understanding of the relationship between man and nature. In Ruan Ji's poems, the eternity of nature is contrasted with the brevity of life, and people feel powerful oppression in front of nature; However, in the metaphysical poems of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it turned into people's understanding and pursuit of nature; By Tao Yuanming, he put forward the concept of returning to nature more clearly, and the consciousness of unity and harmony between man and nature became the decisive factor in the unique artistic conception of Tao poetry. Of course, Tao's poems attach importance to expressing philosophy through artistic images rather than abstract language, which is fundamentally different from metaphysical poems.