T ao ch ien biography for kids

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T ao ch ien biography for kids: Tao Chien is chiefly remembered

About this article Tao Chien All Sources. Updated Aug 08 About encyclopedia. I made my home amidst this human bustle, Yet I hear no clamour from the carts and horses. My friend, you ask me how this can be so? Slowly autumn comes to an end. Painfully cold a dawn wind thicks the dew. Grass round here will not be green again, Destiny and life both have an ending; From of old it has been so.

In this world there was a stately pine, And where is it now?

T ao ch ien biography for kids: Tao Yuanming (–), also known as

How fair, the lingering clouds! How misty, the seasonal rain! Darkness fills the universe, Blurring the level pathway. You called me from lakes and hills, but something made me waver Born in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi, he was one of the most influential pre-Tang Dynasty Chinese poets. He came from a notable family which had descended into poverty; when young, he was torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude.

His great-grandfather was the famous Eastern Jin general and governor, Tao Kan. He lived in retirement for his last 22 years. According to the story, a fisher gets lost and discovers a place out of time, but cannot find it again after he leaves and tells of its existence. It is a very influential story. Tao Yuanming's literary legacy also includes his influence on later poets and authors.

One example is Song dynasty poet Xin Qiji. Another example is Su Shi 's composition "Matching Tao's Poems", in which the Song dynasty poet wrote a new poem in response to Tao's poems, but used the same rhymes for his lines. Zhong Rong — described Yuanming's literary style as "spare and limpid, with scarcely a surplus word. When one reads his works, the fine character of the poet himself comes to mind.

Ordinary men admire his unadorned directness. But such lines of his as "With happy face I pour the spring-brewed wine," and "The sun sets, no clouds are in the sky," are pure and refined in the beauty of their air. These are far from being merely the words of a farmer. He is the father of recluse poetry past and present. Su Shi —one of the major poets of the Song era, said that the only poet he was particularly fond of was Yuanming, who "deeply impressed [him] by what he was as a man.

But reading them after long experience in the world, it seems the decisions of your life were all made in ignorance. Lin Yutang — considered Yuanming the perfect example of "the true lover of life". He praised the harmony and simplicity in Yuanming's life as well as in his style, and claimed that he "represents the most perfectly harmonious and well-rounded character in the entire Chinese literary tradition.

In Great lives from historyFrank Northen Magill highlights the "candid beauty" of Yuanming's poetry, stating that the "freshness of his images, his homespun but Heaven-aspiring morality, and his steadfast love of rural life shine through the deceptively humble words in which they are expressed, and as a consequence he has long been regarded one of China's most accomplished and accessible poets.

It is this fundamental love of simplicity that distinguishes T'ao Ch'ien's verses from the works of court poets of his time, who utilized obscure allusions and complicated stylistic devices to fashion verses that appealed only to the highly educated. T'ao Ch'ien, by way of contrast, seldom made any literary allusions whatsoever, and he wrote for the widest possible audience.

As a consequence, he was slighted by his era's critics and only fully appreciated by later generations of readers. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Chinese poet — This article is about the Eastern Jin poet.

In this Chinese namethe family name is Tao. Portrait of Tao Yuanming by Chen Hongshou. Names [ edit ]. Life [ edit ]. Ancestry [ edit ]. Personal background [ edit ]. Birth [ edit ]. Year of birth controversy [ edit ]. Place of birth [ edit ]. Younger years [ edit ]. Incident at Tiger Creek Bridge [ edit ]. Government service [ edit ].

Political background [ edit ]. Five stints as a government official [ edit ]. Return to the fields [ edit ]. Children and family [ edit ]. Religious and philosophical influences [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Sources [ edit ]. Works and legacy [ edit ]. Poetry [ edit ]. Poems [ edit ]. Peach Blossom Spring [ edit ].

T ao ch ien biography for kids: Tao Qian was one of China's

Main article: Peach Blossom Spring. Legacy [ edit ]. Critical appraisal [ edit ]. Gallery [ edit ].

T ao ch ien biography for kids: T'ao Ch'ien was one of China's

Master Jingjiehanging scroll, ink on paper, Located at the Palace Museum, Beijing. Jing Jie is the posthumous name for Tao Qian, the poet from the Jin dynasty. Portrait of Tao Qian by Chen Hongshou A Song dynasty painting on silk portraying Tao's return to seclusion in the mountains, early 12th century. His prose description of the Peach Fount Colony living in happy oblivion of the outside world has been celebrated since his time as the Taoist vision of a simple, good life unrealizable on earth.

The Pastoral Life Many of T'ao Ch'ien's earlier poems show an appreciation of the freedom and vulnerability of rural existence—from the delights of work and familial contentment to material privation and plaintive reflection. They feature not rustic or aesthetic shepherds but real farmers worried about their crops. Tao's farmstead poetry is marked by plain, lucid language and a simple, direct voice.

These poems have as their objects hills, birds, fish, pines, and chrysanthemums. The simplicity and seemingly effortless ease of T'ao's poetry are artistic attributes reflective of his own nature and determined by his ideals. Poetry, for T'ao, became witness and companion to his life, the sustaining mainstay of his idealism, and the fortifying inspiration that enabled him at times to attain a spiritual transcendence.

Though T'ao Ch'ien was certainly cerebral, he also celebrated pastoral, humble ideas. He was impressed by the fields and blossoms and by farmers and their flocks. Here are some other works that consider the value of the simple, natural life:. Idylls third century bcea poetry collection by Theocritus. Probably the first collection of pastoral poetry, this book centers around the mythical Greek gods who are, in this instance at least, very down to earth.

Set in the forest of Arden, this comedic play involves love, disguises, and intrigue.