| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| T’ao Yüan-ming |
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| or T’ao Ch’ien, 365–427, Chinese poet. After several bitter experiences in government employment, he became a gentleman farmer. His poems, composed in simple diction at a time when ornateness was the fashion, present a mocking self-portrait of an inept and destitute scholar struggling to lead the bucolic life of a peasant; they praise Confucian ideals, explore Taoist and Buddhist concepts, and express contentment in reading, music, and wine. | 1 | | See studies by J. R. Hightower (1970) and A. R. Davis (2 vol., 1984). | 2 |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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