— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty)
White hair drapes across both my temples,
My skin and flesh are firm no more.
Though I have five sons,
Not one takes pleasure in paper and brush.
A-Shu has reached twice eight,
Yet in laziness he has no equal.
A-Xuan approaches the age of aspiring to learn,
But has no love for letters and arts.
Yong and Duan are both thirteen,
Yet cannot tell six from seven.
Little Tong is nearing nine,
Always hunting for pears and chestnuts.
If Heaven’s decree is truly so,
Then let me just pour another cup.
Note
Historical Background: A Father’s Humorous Complaint
This poem was likely composed around 408 CE, when Tao Yuanming was approximately forty-four years old and had been living as a farmer in the countryside for some time. Despite his reputation as one of China’s greatest poets – a man who loved books and learning deeply – his five sons showed little interest in scholarship. The poem is his witty, half-serious complaint about them. Far from being a stern lecture, it is a warm, self-deprecating family portrait that reveals the tender heart of an aging father.
The Five Sons and Their Nicknames
Tao’s five sons had formal names – Yan (俨), Si (俟), Fen (份), Yi (佚), and Tong (佟) – but in this poem he uses their affectionate childhood nicknames: A-Shu (阿舒), A-Xuan (阿宣), Yong (雍), Duan (端), and Tong (通). The use of nicknames immediately signals the poem’s intimate, domestic tone. He is not delivering a formal reprimand; he is a father chatting about his children at home.
“Twice Eight” and the Age of Aspiring to Learn
The poem is rich with culturally specific references to age. “Twice eight” (二八) means sixteen years old. More subtly, when Tao says A-Xuan “approaches the age of aspiring to learn” (行志学), he is alluding to a famous passage from the Analects of Confucius, in which Confucius said: “At fifteen, I set my heart on learning” (吾十有五而志于学). In Chinese tradition, fifteen thus became known as the “year of aspiring to learn”. By invoking this phrase, Tao creates a gentle irony: his son has reached the age when he should be devoted to study, yet he couldn’t care less about books.
“Cannot Tell Six from Seven” – A Clever Numerical Pun
This line is one of the poem’s most delightful jokes. Yong and Duan are both thirteen years old, yet Tao says they “cannot tell six from seven(不识六与七).” On the surface, this is an exaggerated complaint about their ignorance. But there is a hidden mathematical pun: six plus seven equals thirteen – the very age of the two boys. Tao is playfully embedding their age into the complaint itself, a rhetorical device known as “numerical separation and combination”. It is a father’s wit disguised as a father’s frustration.
The Allusion to Kong Rong Giving Up Pears
When Tao writes that little Tong, nearly nine years old, “only hunts for pears and chestnuts,” he is invoking a well-known Chinese cultural story. Kong Rong, a famous scholar of the late Han Dynasty, was celebrated for giving up the larger pears to his elder brothers when he was just four years old – an act that became a symbol of filial piety and selflessness. As a talented literary figure, he dared to speak out bluntly in court. He held independent political views and repeatedly offended Cao Cao. Eventually, Cao Cao executed him for his outspoken criticism. His life reflects the tragic fate of intellectuals amid turbulent wartime politics.
By contrast, Tao’s youngest son, at nine, is still selfishly searching for snacks. The allusion is humorous: the great Kong Rong showed virtue at four, while Tao’s boy at nine is still just a hungry child.
“The Thing in the Cup” – Wine as Self-Consolation
“The thing in the cup” is Tao’s characteristic euphemism for wine. Throughout his poetry, wine serves as both a comfort and a philosophical tool – a way to dissolve worldly anxieties and accept fate with equanimity. The poem’s closing line, “If Heaven’s decree is truly so, then let me just pour another cup,” is not genuine despair. It is a wry, philosophical shrug: if this is how fate has arranged things, there is no point in agonizing over it. This attitude reflects the Daoist-inspired acceptance that runs through all of Tao’s work.
Two Great Poets, Two Readings: Du Fu vs. Huang Tingjian
Later Chinese literary critics debated the true spirit of this poem. The Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu read it literally, believing that Tao was genuinely anguished about his sons’ lack of progress – that even in retirement, he could not escape the worry every parent feels. The Song Dynasty poet Huang Tingjian, however, saw it differently: he believed the poem reveals Tao’s “kindly, playful, and serene” nature, and that the complaints are entirely tongue-in-cheek. Modern readers generally agree that Huang’s reading captures the poem’s spirit more accurately. The exaggerations are cartoonish, the tone is warm, and the ending is a chuckle, not a sigh.
责子
陶渊明 〔魏晋〕
白发被两鬓，肌肤不复实。
虽有五男儿，总不好纸笔。
阿舒已二八，懒惰故无匹。
阿宣行志学，而不爱文术。
雍端年十三，不识六与七。
通子垂九龄，但觅梨与栗。
天运苟如此，且进杯中物。
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