Tao Yuanming 陶淵明

poet · farmer · Eastern Jin China · 365?–427

A poet who said he could not bow for a salary of five pecks of rice, gave up his post as county magistrate after eighty days, and went home to farm.

Posts

late 4th century · A self-portrait written as if it were someone else's biography

He likes to read, but does not insist on understanding everything. Whenever something strikes home, he is so happy he forgets to eat.

好讀書，不求甚解；每有會意，便欣然忘食。

"Biography of Mr. Five Willows"

405 · On giving up office and going home

I delight in the fond talk of my family, and take pleasure in the zither and my books to drive away care.

悅親戚之情話，樂琴書以消憂。

"The Return" (Guiqulai ci)