The Young Age

The great ancestor of Tao Yuanming may be Tao Kan (although there is still controversy, their kinship is certain). My maternal grandfather Meng Jia, a famous scholar of the Jin Dynasty, married Tao Kan's tenth daughter. My grandfather once served as a prefect (his name has two meanings, either Dai or Mao), while my father was a person who lived in a prosperous and prosperous life. His specific achievements are unknown. There was a commoner sister, Xiao Yuanming, who was three years old and later married a family surnamed Cheng. Therefore, when Tao Shiwen mentioned her, she was referred to as the Cheng sister. From the perspective of his father's concubine, Tao Yuanming's initial family background was not too bad. At the age of eight, Tao Yuanming's father passed away and his family gradually declined. At the age of twelve, his illegitimate mother passed away. Later, when Tao Yuanming recalled this passage in his essay, he wrote: "I was a compassionate mother from an early age, fashionable and young. I was only nine years old at the age of twenty-six.". At the age of twenty, one's family was particularly poor, as evidenced by a poem: "In a weak year, one's family is lacking.".

Tao Yuanming has been studying Confucian classics since childhood, loving tranquility, doing good deeds, embracing loneliness, loving hills and mountains, having strong aspirations, and being unconventional. The preface to "Rongmu" states: "The general corner hears the Tao." In "Drinking Wine," the sixteenth part states: "A young man is rare in life, and his travels are good in the Six Classics." In his early years, he received Confucian education and had the ambition of "flying across the sea with strong aspirations, and thinking far and wide of the Qianhe River" ("Miscellaneous Poems"); In the era when Laozhuang was prevalent, he was also influenced by Taoist thought and had a fondness for nature from a very early age: "When young and inexperienced, he loved the hills and mountains." (Part One of "Returning to the Garden and Living in the Fields"), I also love the qin book: "Learn less about qin books, and occasionally enjoy leisure and tranquility. When I open a book and have something to eat, I happily forget to eat. When I see trees shaded and birds changing their voices, I also feel happy again. As the saying goes, in the middle of May and June, I lie down at the north window and encounter a cool breeze for a while. I call myself Emperor Xihuang Shangren. I have a shallow understanding of it, and it is said that my words can be protected.". He possesses both Taoist and Confucian cultivation.