Tao Yuanming (365–427CE) was a poet of the Eastern Jin dynasty. Also known as Tao Qian, with the courtesy name Yuanliang, he was given the posthumous private honorific title “Jingjie.” He was from Chaisang, Xunyang (in present-day southwestern Jiujiang, Jiangxi). He held several official posts, including Chief Sacrificial Wine Officer of Jiangzhou, Military Advisor to General Zhenjun, and Magistrate of Pengze County. However, he eventually resigned from office and withdrew into reclusion, renouncing any further pursuit of an official career.
Today, 125 of his poems survive, mostly depicting rural life. His language is simple yet refined, and his poetic style is serene, unadorned, and natural. He is hailed as the “Father of Pastoral Poetry” and the “Foremost Recluse Poet of All Time.” His prose and rhapsodies (fu) also include celebrated works such as Biography of Master Five Willows, The Peach Blossom Spring, and Ode on Returning Home (Gui Qu Lai Xi Ci).
According to the Book of Song, while serving as Magistrate of Pengze, a supervisory official (douyou) from the commandery arrived for an inspection. A county clerk advised Tao Yuanming to dress formally to greet the visitor. Tao sighed and said, “I cannot bow my waist for five pecks of rice to petty local officials!” That very day, he removed his official seal and resigned – having served only eighty days in office.
Moreover, Tao Yuanming was fond of wine. On one occasion, while brewing wine at home, a commandery general came to visit. As the wine had just matured, Tao casually took off the hempen headscarf he was wearing, used it to filter the wine dregs, and then put it back on his head afterward. This anecdote became the famous story of “Filtering Wine with a Hempen Scarf” (Gejin Lu Jiu).
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