Tao Qian
| Names | |
|---|---|
| Xìng 姓: | Táo 陶 |
| Míng 名: | Qián 潛, or Yuānmíng 淵明 |
| Zì 字: | Yuánliàng 元亮 |
| Hào 號: | Wǔliǔ Xiānsheng 五柳先生 (Five Willows) |
| Shì 謚: | Jìngjié 靖節 |
- For the Han Dynasty's governor, see Tao Qian (Three Kingdoms).
Tao Qian (Chinese: 陶潛; pinyin: Táo Qián; Wade-Giles: T'ao Ch'ien, 365-427), also known as Tao Yuanming (陶淵明), born in Xunyang Chaishang (now Jiujiang in Jiangxi province ). T'ao Yüan-ming , was one of the most influential pre-Tang Dynasty Chinese poets.
He came from a notable family which had descended into poverty; when young, he was torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude. His great-grandfather was the famous Eastern Jin general and governor, Tao Kan. He served in a series of minor posts, but his sister's death, as well as disgust at the corruption and infighting of the Jin Court prompted his resignation, convincing him that life was too short to compromise on his principles; as he put it himself, 'I shall not break my back for five bushels of grain' (The term 'five bushels of grain' is often used to describe officialdom). He lived in retirement for his last 22 years.
Approximately 130 of his works survive. Most of them were poems or essays, which depict an idyllic pastoral life of farming and drinking; because of this he would later be termed the "Poet of the Fields". While his poems were not influential in his time, they would later be a major influence on the poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Editions
- Meng Erdong ed. Tao Yuanming Ji Yi Zhu ISBN 7-80626-064-1.
- Wu Zheshun ed. Tao Yuanming Ji ISBN 7-80520-683-X
- David Hinton (translator). The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien. ISBN 1-55659-056-3.
- Pohl (translator). Der Pfirsichbluetenquell. Bochum University Press 2002.
- Davis, A.R., T'ao Yuan-ming, Hong Kong, 1983. 2 vols.
"Break my back" should better be translated as "Bow to my higher authorities".
Commentary
- Hightower, James R. Poetry of T'ao Ch'ien. ISBN 0-19-815440-2.
External links
- Works by Tao Qian. Project Gutenberg
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