Tao Yuanming

Tao Yuanming

Tao Yuanming (c. 365-427) was a renowned poet of the Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties (317-589). Despite being born into a family of officials, he devoted himself to farming and seclusion and became a leading figure among reclusive poets.

Tao adhered to Confucian ethics in his thoughts, but also had a fondness for the freedom of Taoism. He was the founder of Chinese pastoral poetry, and his works often focus on the themes of seclusion and the brevity of life, depicting pastoral scenery as tranquil, pure, and detached from worldly affairs, with almost every one of his works mentioning wine. Most of his poetry is in the form of five-character verses, characterized by a gentle and distant style. His representative works include Returning to the Fields and Gardens and Drinking Wine. His best-known prose work is the Peach Blossom Spring, which describes the peaceful and prosperous life of men and women, old and young, in a quiet pastoral area. They are kind and friendly to each other, and having been isolated from the outside world for a long time, they live in a state of freedom and ease. Later, the Peach Blossom Spring became a symbol of Chinese utopia.

陶渊明

陶渊明（约365—427），东晋南北朝时期著名诗人。陶渊明出身仕宦之家，却一心务农隐居，是隐逸诗人的代表。

陶渊明在思想上坚守儒家伦理，又爱好道家自由。他是中国田园诗的开创者，作品往往以隐逸生活和人生苦短为主题，所写田园风景闲静和穆、超尘脱俗，几乎“篇篇有酒”。他的诗歌绝大部分是五言诗，风格平和淡远，代表作 有《归园田居》《饮酒》等。他的散文代表作是《桃花源记》， 描写了在恬静的田园中，男女老幼生活安宁富足，他们亲切善良，长期与外界隔绝，对世事变迁一无所知，生活在自由自在的状态中。后来，桃花源成为中国式乌托邦的象征。