Idylls have always been part of the essence of traditional Chinese culture. Tao Yuanming is a famous representative of pastoral poetry and is known as the "Sect of Ancient and Modern Reclusive Poets".
Tao Yuanming was born into a declining family of landlords, and his life experienced various ups and downs. When he was two years old, his father died of illness; when he was 12, his mother died; when he was 20, the family was destitute. It was precisely this kind of suffering and poverty that became the most fundamental reason for his entry into the WTO.
Tao Yuanming began his career as a eunuch at the age of 20, and in the next 20 years, he served as an official five times and resigned five times. So repeated, until he was in his forties, seeing through and tired of the officialdom, he decided not to be out of the army from now on, and resolutely chose to resign from the government and return to the pastoral life.
In his lifetime, he left countless poetry works to posterity, and his pastoral spirit has influenced countless future generations.
First, the emergence of Tao Yuanming's hermit thought
1. Family environment edification
When Tao Yuanming was born, the family conditions were not good, but before his father, his ancestors were mixed well, and Tao Yuanming's great-grandfather Tao Kan was a well-known big man in Jiangdong at that time. Although Tao Kan is rich and powerful, he does not act recklessly, and his life is pragmatic and hardworking, with lofty ideals and ambitions. Tao Kan once said: "The people's livelihood is diligent... When the yin is divided, how can it be wandering? And Tao Yuanming's idea of not admiring the powerful and pursuing nature stems from the influence of his ancestors.
2. The social environment of the times
Tao Yuanming was born in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and he lived in an era in which wars were frequent, social contradictions were sharp, the regime was divided, and eunuchs were in charge. In such an environmental context, talented people from cold doors have almost no day to emerge. The dark corruption of the officialdom made Tao Yuanming feel disappointed, unwilling to join the world, and finally chose to resign and go into hiding.
Second, Tao Yuanming's secluded mentality
1. Return to the joy of retreating to the mountains and returning to nature
Tao Yuanming wrote in "Returning to the Garden and Tianju" (part 1): "There is little vulgar rhyme, and sex loves Qiushan... Long in the cage, back to nature. This poem was composed by the poet after resigning from office and returning to hiding. Tracing the history to the first year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty Emperor Yixi, the poet went to Jiangxi as a county commander, and before he took office for three months, the poet resigned from his official position on the grounds of "not bending his waist for five buckets of rice", and has since died with the countryside.
"Sex loves Qiushan" This is Tao Yuanming's life feelings, tired of the official arena for fame and profit, and He is deceitful, Tao Yuanming, like many literati and scholars, has chosen to return to nature. Returning to the countryside with helplessness and emotion for reality, Tao Yuanming's heart has more joy, yearning and freedom.
In the poem, the poet uses short figurative words to depict and construct a beautiful pastoral landscape for us. The simple, natural, peaceful countryside, beautiful and harmonious natural scenes, let people can't help but sigh, regret and rejoice. After so many years of mistakenly entering the "dust net", now it is finally "back to nature", not to mention how happy it is. Eight or nine grass huts, more than ten acres of land, this is the proud capital of farmers. Carrying a hoe to cultivate the land, planting fruit trees in front of the house and behind the house, watching the smoke of the human cooking in the village, hearing the barking of dogs and chickens from the alleys of the village, there is no longer a tedious trouble in life. In such a quiet place, guarding a pure land, freedom, happiness also!
2. The joy and satisfaction of hard work
In ancient times, the status of peasants was not high, especially since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a saying of "shame involving agricultural merchants". Tao Yuanming was a poet who was not ashamed of farming, on the contrary, he often stepped into the fields and actively participated in various labor activities, and he believed that labor was a happy thing. It can be said that his thinking far exceeds the ideology of ordinary scholars.
In the poem "The Ancient Farmhouse of the Beginning of the Year of Decay", the author expresses the freshness and joy of his first time working in the field. Of course, field labor is not only fun, but also tiring, but in general, the poet believes that labor is beautiful.
In "Peach Blossom Origin Poems and Records", Tao Yuanming very vividly expresses the sense of joy brought by labor, and the people in Peach Blossom Garden do not take labor as suffering, because people have become accustomed to such a life, and they are good at finding happiness in labor, that is, a "pleasant and self-happy" mentality. The poet's ink on describing the ease and self-sufficiency of the working people is actually expressing his love of labor.
3. Life's embarrassment, loneliness and anxiety go hand in hand
Speaking of Tao Yuanming, people define him more as "natural, light and tranquil". A large part of Tao Yuanming's poetry works describes pastoral scenery and nature, however, if you carefully read these poems, you will find that the poet is not only expressing his appreciation and love for nature and beauty, but also expressing his anxiety about life and life.
In the poet's eyes, the countryside is beautiful, and the pastoral life is also beautiful, so he can always entertain himself, so that he can get a sense of inner peace. However, when life is in distress, various problems will ensue, at which time the joy of returning to the pastoral life in the poet's heart gradually disappears, and the heart begins to become anxious and uneasy.
Tao Yuanming wrote in "Returning to the Garden and The Tianju" (Part IV): "The fire is repeatedly burned, and the borer tramples on Nakata... Summer is long with hunger, cold nights without sleep. The poet uses words such as "fire" and "borer" to show us the desolate, depressed and dilapidated scenes caused by the scourge of war in the countryside. What a miserable situation it is to have no food to eat during the day and no quilt cover in the cold night? In such a harsh environment, who can still maintain that plain, quiet heart as always?
Therefore, for Tao Yuanming, returning to the countryside is not only a pursuit of a better life, but also a difficult experience. If you want to ask about the sourness and sweetness of it, I am afraid that only the poet himself knows best.
Tao Yuanming's idyllic poems show us a kind of natural beauty of the world, a real sense of the relationship between man and nature.
Experiencing life in nature and feeling life, Tao Yuanming's idyllic poem is essentially a monologue and cry that resonates with nature and life. Through his poems, we see the image of a poet who does not seek glory and wealth, does not covet money and power, and he lives a different life with an open-minded and detached state of mind.