Tao Yuanming

Tao Yuanming
Portrait of Tao Yuanming by Chen Hongshou
Born	c. 365 Chaisang (modern-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), Eastern Jin dynasty
Died	427 Liu Song dynasty
Occupation	Poet, politician
Notable works	Account of the Peach Blossom Spring

Tao Yuanming
"Tao Yuanming" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	陶淵明
Simplified Chinese	陶渊明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táo Yuānmíng Gwoyeu Romatzyh Taur Iuanming Wade–Giles T'ao2 Yüan1-ming2 IPA [tʰǎʊ ɥɛ́n.mǐŋ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tòuh Yūn-mìhng Jyutping Tou4 Jyun1-ming4 IPA [tʰɔw˩ jyn˥.mɪŋ˩] Southern Min Tâi-lô Tô Ian-bîng
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	陶潛
Literal meaning	(original name)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táo Qián Gwoyeu Romatzyh Taur Chyan Wade–Giles T'ao2 Ch'ien2 IPA [tʰǎʊ tɕʰjɛ̌n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tòuh Chìhm Jyutping Tou4 Cim4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tô Tsiâm

Tao Yuanming (365–427), also known as Tao Qian, courtesy name Yuanliang (元亮), was a Chinese poet and politician. He was one of the best-known poets who lived during the Six Dynasties period. Tao Yuanming spent much of his life in reclusion, living in the countryside, farming, reading, drinking wine, receiving the occasional guest, and writing poems in which he often reflected on the pleasures and difficulties of life, as well as his decision to withdraw from civil service. Tao's simple and direct style was somewhat at odds with the norms for literary writing in his time.^[1] In the Tang dynasty, he was well known as a recluse. During the Northern Song dynasty, influential literati figures such as Su Shi declared him a paragon of authenticity and spontaneity in poetry, predicting that Tao Yuanming would achieve lasting literary fame.^[2] However, Tao Yuanming's inclusion in the 6th century literary anthology Wen Xuan argues for at least a beginning of fame in his own era, at least in his own birth area. Tao Yuanming would later be regarded as the foremost representative of Fields and Gardens poetry. Tao Yuanming found inspiration in the beauty and serenity of the natural world close at hand. Tao Yuanming is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.