In spite of describing the enjoyment of country life, he put the dislike of city life into his poem as well. This makes up the true meaning and motivation of composing the poem. Why would Tao Yuan Ming live in the countryside? By the time he wrote the poem, he was disappointed in his official career. Tao Yuan Ming had been longing for benefiting the society. In his early age, he was willing to become an official to benefit the people. However, after being an official for a few years, he became disgusted by the cunning and falsehood in the officialdom. What was more, the period in which Tao Yuan Ming was living, the late East Jin Dynasty, was dark and unstable. The conflicts among imperial clans, the wild ambition of the warlords toward power, and the bloody conspiracies eventually destroyed his ambition as a politician and he chose to resign his position and seclude from the world. During this time, he composed most of the works that are later known by us. That is to say, the worship of country life and the rejection against city life in his poem actually reflected his own experience, values and belief. Tao Yuan Ming believed what he did and what he valued were right. In his poem, we can see an image that Tao Yuan Ming drinking wine in the countryside, enjoying the beautiful landscape, and gradually thinking of the joy of country life comparing to the noisy and troublesome city life.
Actually, wine is not the thing used only by Tao Yuan Ming. In fact in a huge part of ancient Chinese literature, wine is an indispensable object. In the ancient articles and poems, we can see countless connections with wine. People drink wine when they are frustrated, nostalgic, delighted, sad and cold. People drink wine when they are thinking about their lives and their country; when they are disappointed in their career; when they are in the war; when they are missing their families; when they are enjoying the beautiful scenery; when they are reuniting with their friends; when they are seeing friends off; when it is the holiday... The list could go on and we can see lots of poems of all these genres containing wine. Almost all poets have composed works that are related or about wine. Name a list of poets and writers on the tip of people’s tongues, Wang Xi Zhi, Ji Kang, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Su Shi, Li Qing Zhao...
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