Hometown of Tao Yuanming

Hometown of Tao Yuanming

The hometown of Tao Yuanming is a cultural tourism attraction.

The poet’s hometown is located on the southern foothills of Mount Lu, a summer resort in Xingzi, Jiujiang, Jiangxi. It is a small village with just over ten households. All the residents here bear the surname Tao and are descendants of the poet. Historical records indicate that the poet’s original residence was at the foot of Yujing Mountain. In the third year, the house he described in his poetry as having “a plot of over ten acres with eight or nine thatched cottages” was destroyed in a great fire. Later, the poet moved to Lili Village. This village is Lili, which may also be the “southern village” mentioned in his poem “Moving House.”

Surrounded by mountains and water, the scenery that captivated the poet more than 1,500 years ago remains much the same. In front of the village flows a clear spring, gently passing beneath a small stone bridge. This small stone bridge is said to be the “Qingfeng Bridge,” also called “Chaisang Bridge,” which the poet walked across “carrying his hoe under the moonlight” on his way home. Beside the bridge, leaning against a large tree, is a slanted bluestone slab inscribed with the three characters “Chaisang Bridge.” Following the clear stream southward along the mountain’s contour leads to a pool. On a large rock in the pool are carved the words “Drunken Immortal Washing His Cap Pool,” commonly referred to as “Washing Cap Pool.” Legend has it that the poet often washed his hoe and cap here after working in the fields. Not far from the pool lies a massive boulder lying conspicuously in the stream by the mountainside. This is said to be the spot where the poet once lay drunk, known as the “Drunken Stone.”

Climbing onto this boulder, about three meters high, you’ll find its smooth, slightly tilted surface resembling a platform that can accommodate around ten people. It is inscribed with the four large characters “Guiqu Lai Guan” (Returning Home Pavilion). According to the History of the Southern Dynasties: “After abandoning his official post, the master often returned to Mount Lu, and when drunk, would lie on this stone, which still bears the imprints of his ears and wine stains to this day.” This is almost folk legend. Upon close inspection, aside from weathered marks due to years of wind and rain, there is no sign of any “ear imprints” or “wine stains.” However, one can clearly make out a poem inscribed on the stone by a Ming Dynasty poet titled “Inscription on the Drunken Stone”: Yuanming got drunk on this stone, The stone too was drunk on Yuanming. For a thousand years none have understood, High stand the mountains, pure blow the wind and moon. The stone’s drunken marks remain, High stand the mountains, pure blow the wind and moon. The springs and stones date back to the Jin era, Flowing on, knowing well my heart.

Tao Yuanming loved wine, and drinking was a recurring theme in his poetry. He wrote Twenty Poems on Drinking, the fifth of which is the most widely celebrated: I built my hut in a zone of human habitation, Yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach. Would you know how that is possible? A heart that is distant creates a countryside of its own. Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge, I gaze aimlessly at the southern hills. The mountain air is fine day and night, And the birds fly back with one accord. There is a true meaning in all this, But when I try to express it, I forget the words. This poem vividly depicts the tranquility of the rural environment, the leisurely life, and the open-minded state of mind. The last two lines express a joyous, self-forgetting state of inebriation and unity with nature, where the feeling is so profound that one forgets how to put it into words. Due to the limitations of his time, the poet’s resistance to the ruling powers was mostly expressed through poetry, reclusion, farming, and self-intoxication with wine.

When leaving Tao Village, drive westward along the mountain-looping highway for about twenty minutes to reach Yangshan Mountain to pay respects at Tao Yuanming’s tomb. It took some effort to locate the poet’s grave amidst the trees on the hillside, but eventually, with the help of a forest ranger, we found the resting place of the poet. The tomb sits atop a sunny ridge, with an ancient pine tree planted at each of its four corners, their branches lush and green. The tombstone is inscribed with “Tomb of Master Jingjie Tao Yuanming, a Recluse of the Jin Dynasty,” and above the tablet are the four characters “Qingfeng Gaojie” (Pure Wind, Lofty Integrity). To the left of the tablet is the epitaph and an inscription of The Biography of Five Willows, while to the right is an inscription of Returning Home. Both are famous works by the poet. The tablet was erected in the third year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1738 AD). We stood before the tomb for a long time, and I couldn’t help but silently recite the poet’s Elegy, written in the year of his death (427 AD). It contains three poems, the third of which reads: How lush the weeds, how rustling the white poplars, In the ninth month’s bitter frost, they send me forth to the far suburbs.

No dwellings in the four directions, the tall grave stands stark. The horse neighs to the sky, the wind moans desolate. Once the dark tomb is sealed, for a thousand years no dawn shall break; Those who came to mourn each go back to their homes; Relatives may retain some grief, but others have already sung their songs. What is there to say of death? The body mingles with the mountain. Here, backed by the towering Mount Hanyang and facing the vast Poyang Lake, far from the clamor of the city, in a quiet forest and secluded valley, it is indeed a perfect resting place for the poet.

“Returning to Live in the Country”: In youth I had no knack for worldly ways, My nature has always loved hills and fields. By mistake I fell into the dusty net, And was gone for thirteen years.

The caged bird longs for its old grove, The pond-raised fish its native pool. I sow my fields in the southern wilds, Keeping to simplicity, I return to garden and field. A plot of over ten acres, with eight or nine thatched huts, Elms and willows shade the back eaves, Peach and plum trees line the front courtyard. Beyond the hamlet, dimly seen, Village smoke clings to the hedgerows. Dogs bark in deep lanes, Cocks crow atop mulberry trees. No dust in my courtyard, My empty rooms hold leisure. Long caged, I’ve come back to nature.

Tao Yuanming lived in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, a time of frequent warfare. From the age of twenty-nine, he spent thirteen years away from home, holding minor official posts such as Sacrificial Wine Pourer, Military Advisor, and County Magistrate.

At the age of forty-one, while serving as Magistrate of Pengze, he ultimately resigned from office, unwilling to “bow for a mere five pecks of rice,” and returned home to farm until his death. Tao Yuanming has long been hailed by literary historians as the “foremost recluse poet of all ages” and the “outstanding pastoral poet.” “Returning to Live in the Country” is a representative work he wrote in the second year of his reclusion. It consists of five poems, the above being the first.

The verses are filled with the poet’s joyful and contented mood upon abandoning the corrupt official life and immersing himself in the embrace of nature in his hometown.

Tao Yuanming (352 or 365–427), also known as Tao Yuanliang or Tao Qian, was a great poet and fu writer of the late Eastern Jin Dynasty and early Southern Song Dynasty. His favorite flower was the chrysanthemum. He is the founder of the pastoral poetry school, having written the largest number of such poems with the highest achievements, and was the first literary figure to write a significant number of drinking poems. Tao Yuanming retreated to the countryside, indulged in landscapes, and is called the “foremost recluse poet of all ages.” His representative works include Returning to Live in the Country, The Peach Blossom Spring, and The Biography of Five Willows. In 427, Yuanming passed away in Xunyang, and his friends posthumously honored him with the title “Jingjie,” hence he is later referred to as “Tao Jingjie.” … More details on Tao Yuanming ++