— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) I plant beans beneath the southern hill,But weeds grow thick and bean sprouts are sparse.I rise at dawn to clear the tangled waste,And carry my hoe home under the moon.The path is narrow, grasses and trees overgrow;The evening dew wets my clothes.I do not mind the wetting of…
— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) Preface: My family was poor, and farming could not support us. The children were many, and the jars had no grain. I knew no way to secure a livelihood. Relatives and friends advised me to take a minor official post. I was tempted, but had no means to…
— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) From youth I had no taste for worldly ways,My nature loved the hills and mountains.By mistake I fell into the dusty net,And for thirty years I strayed.A caged bird longs for its former woods,A pond fish yearns for its native deeps.So now I clear wild land along the…
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…