Tao Yuanming’s Life:
Assembling a chronology of Tao Yuanming’s life events and the appearance of his poetry is problematic at best. Most of the information about his life comes from his poetry and historical guesswork. Many of the dates are estimations. Some of what we know comes from oral history, especially from a friend and neighbor named Yanzi. He remembered Tao during his later years, and wrote some information about Tao in his memoirs.
Tao Yuanming was born in 365 AD in Chaisang village of Jiangzhou, now known as Jinjiang in the province of Jiangxi. His great grandfather was a high level government minister in the Changsha government during the Western Jin Dynasty. At the age of seven Tao’s father died. He was then raised by his mother and maternal grandfather. His maternal grandfather was also rich, famous, and well educated. He often took the young Tao into the mountains on walks with Tao carrying the wine for his grandfather. For a woman of this time and place, Tao’s mother was also educated and rich. Tao read, and was influenced by, writings left behind by his father.
In 384 AD at the age of nineteen, the Tao’s family fortunes began to decline. The Eastern Jin dynasty was also united. Tao was young, optimistic, wrote a lot of poetry and was ready to go to work for the emperor.
In early childhood Tao Yuanming grew up with Buddhism in his environment. But later on he rejected many of its doctrines. Buddhism had come to a point of near domination and influence during Tao’s lifetime. It was popular among the educated elites. He watched the rise of Buddhism during the decline of the Jin Dynasty. Tao listened to and studied its writings, but did not adopt its philosophy wholesale like many of his contemporaries. He was especially against the ascetic side of Buddhism, thinking it dirty to not wash and bathe regularly. The rituals of chanting, reciting scriptures, begging for food, and burning incense to him was a distraction from the focus of purifying one’s heart.
Confucian family values permeated the whole Tao family. Tao’s mostly unsuccessful jobs in the civil service bureaucracy were attempts to fulfill his family obligations and duties. Although his filial piety and devotion to his family never changed, the chaos and violence of his times eventually forced him away from any loyalty to the emperor and his country. Later in life, Tao reevaluated and came to reject some of the Confucian rites and practices. He believed that we should focus our energies on the living, and not spend the sums of money on burial clothes, coffins and other practices. At this time, many of the members of his class would spend up to one third of the family’s wealth on burials. He was disgusted at the emperor Qin Shihuang’s expenditures for his terracotta soldiers and other burial monuments. Tao’s burial instructions left out any elaborate or expensive preparations. He was to buried in old clothes, with no jade objects, and placed into a simple pine box. There were to be no markers, no shade trees, or pleasant scenery and views for the mourners. No burial parties and no lamentations. His survivors could even use his body for compost if they wished.
In the year 390, a local mayor, Fanyi, encouraged the study of Confucian classics and in following all of the rites. Soon the whole area around his hometown is obeying this directive. Tao began to dislike some of the aspects of Confucianism.
During the next year, 391, another local mayor, Yishi, wanted to encourage the spread of Buddhism in the region. The mayor asked Tao to translate some of the Buddhist sutras into Chinese. He refused.
At the age of 29 Tao Yuanming began his career working for the government. First he was an event organizer in Jiangzhou. He shortly left the position as the salary was very low. He was quoted as saying, “Cannot make five measures of rice pour back and forth.” For a while he lived in Xunyang and did some farming. Tao then accepted an appointment in Jiangzhou as a government secretary.
His wife died in 394. She was survived by Tao and five sons.
In the year 399, Tao went to Jingkou where he served as a militia communications officer. After serving a short time as mayor of an occupied city, in 401, Tao was appointed to a position in Jiangling, in the headquarters of army General Huanxuan. In July he got a leave of absence to go to Xunyang to observe the three year period of mourning for his wife and mother.
At the age of 41, in the year 404, Tao became an attache to General Liuyu. Liuyu killed the emperor, and gave the throne to An Di. Liuyu then became Commanding General of the Army.
In the year 405, Tao’s sister died. Tao went to work for the mayor of Jiangzhou. By November he quit government service to return home. For the rest of his life Tao never accepted another government position. Tao quit this last job when his co-workers advised him to dress up for a visiting superior. He refused to do so and then walked out of government service for good. Tao Yuanming was the only famous Chinese poet to truly work the land himself as an occupation.
In the year 408, his grandfather’s house, where Tao was living, burned to the ground. He lost almost everything. From then on, Tao lived in chronic poverty.
Beginning when Tao was in his fifties, he suffered through many series of illnesses and disease. In 415 he was battling malaria. The climate turned more volatile with recurring droughts and floods. He was asked several times to return to government service. He refused every time. He is quoted as saying, “All I need is some land to stand on, one cup of wine, and one bowl of rice.” In 418 Liuyu killed the emperor and took the throne for himself.
Later in life Tao Yuanming met and became friends with Hui-yuan, a Chan (Zen) Buddhist of the Southern School, and founder of the White Lotus Sect. Today his is known as the first patriarch of the Pure Land School of Buddhism. For some thirty years Hui-yuan lived in the Lu mountains. With Tao living nearby, he asked, and tried to persuade Tao to join his followers. At this point membership was exclusive. Tao told him that it probably would not work out, as he loved to drink his wine, and was reluctant to part from his family members. Hui-yuan replied that he could still drink his wine and be a member. Tao Yuanming eventually refused to join, citing his reluctance to oppose the emperor. Joining would also violate Tao’s temperament and his inclination to avoid being a camp follower. Like Groucho Marx, Tao was not into joining any organization who would have him as one of its members. His personality was quiet, and he did not like to argue or debate with others. He was very happy with just a few friends, writing his poetry, drinking wine and growing his own food.
Tao Yuanming’s later years were spent in serious poverty. He often only ate one meal a day. At the age of 61 Tao looked back on his life and wished that he had resisted more forcefully the corruption and violence of his time.
Tao died in November of 427, at the age of 63.