— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty)
I build my hut among the haunts of men,
Yet hear no noise of carts and horses there.
You ask me how this can be so?
When the heart is distant, the place itself grows remote.
I pluck chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge,
And idly gaze at the southern hills.
The mountain air is lovely in the evening light,
And flying birds return home in flocks.
In all this there is a true meaning –
I try to tell it, but have forgotten the words.
Note
Tao Yuanming (c. 365–427)
As introduced earlier, he was China’s most famous recluse poet. After serving as a minor official for about 13 years, he resigned at age 41 and spent the rest of his life as a farmer–writer. This poem was written around 417 CE, twelve years after his retirement, on the eve of the Eastern Jin dynasty’s fall (it collapsed in 420). The political chaos deepened his disillusionment, but also enriched his philosophical reflections on nature and inner freedom.
Year 417 CE
The Eastern Jin dynasty was crumbling under military revolts and external threats. Tao’s retreat was not just personal but also a quiet protest against the moral decay of the ruling class. By choosing farming and poetry, he asserted that individual integrity matters more than political success.
“Drinking Wine” as a poetic genre
In classical China, wine was not mere indulgence; it was a vehicle for releasing inhibitions, expressing hidden feelings, and attaining spiritual insight. Tao wrote a group of twenty poems under this title, using wine as a mask to voice his critique of the world and his celebration of retreat.
“The heart distant makes the place remote”
This is the core of the poem. It does not mean physical escape, but mental detachment. A sage can remain in the mundane world yet be untouched by its noise and temptations – purely by inner cultivation. This echoes Daoist and Buddhist ideas of non-attachment.
Plucking chrysanthemums
The chrysanthemum became a symbol of moral purity and resilience because it blooms in autumn frost. For Tao, it represents his own integrity in a corrupt age.
Forgetting the words
This phrase originates from the Zhuangzi (a foundational Daoist text). It means that once you grasp the profound truth or meaning, you no longer need the words that conveyed it. Language is a mere tool; ultimate understanding is wordless and intuitive.
True meaning
This refers to the Daoist–Confucian ideal of living in harmony with the natural Way. It cannot be logically explained; it must be experienced directly through quiet observation (like watching birds return at dusk).
Critical Concept – “Selfless Realm”
The early 20th-century scholar Wang Guowei (王国维, 1877–1927) in his famous work Remarks on Poetry in the Human World (《人间词话》) praised this poem as a prime example of the “selfless realm.”
In this state, the poet does not impose his emotions on objects; instead, he observes things as they are, so that the boundary between self and nature dissolves. You cannot tell whether the hills, birds, and chrysanthemums are “him” or “them” – they simply exist together in serene unity. This is the highest level of poetic achievement in Wang’s aesthetics.
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