Nature has always been an integral aspect of traditional Chinese poetry and poet-
ics, beginning with the Shijing (The Book of Poetry). Yet natural imagery in early
poetry is limited, often consisting of a few lines that indicate the setting or repre-
sent an analogy to the human situation in the poem. It was during the late fourth
and early fifth centuries that distinct genres of nature poetry formed indepen-
dently in the hands of two poets. The intellectual milieu of the early part of the
Six Dynasties (222–589), which was dominated by xuanxue (abstruse learning),
a philosophy and system of scholarship rooted in Daoist metaphysics, fostered
this development. In this new learning, nature became both an important site
and a source for conversations among the literati. In the context of this prevalent
interest in neo-Daoist thought, the passive virtues of withdrawal and serenity were
championed and subsequently bolstered the rise of nature poetry. Moreover, the
massive southern migration after the fall of the Western Jin court to non-Chinese
tribes during the early fourth century brought about a change of scene that was
likely conducive to the development of nature poetry: once the émigrés had settled
into their new environment, the magnificent and lush landscapes of the south
offered stimulating sites for pleasure tours and material for poetry. Tao Qian
(Tao Yuanming, 365?–427) developed what would later be known as tianyuan shi
(farmstead poetry [ literally, poetry of fields and gardens]) through the depiction of
familiar and intimate rustic scenes, while Xie Lingyun (385–433) fashioned what
would later be called shanshui shi (landscape poetry [ literally, poetry of mountains
and waters]) in his accounts of adventurous treks through beautiful and untamed
mountainous regions. Differences in poetic material and style notwithstanding,
both poets found nature—be it grand or domestic—a rich source for meditations
on the cosmos as well as a way of life. In this chapter, I outline the early develop-
ment and main features of farmstead and landscape poetry through an examina-
tion of their founding masters and their art.
t h e F a r m s t e aD P o e t r y oF ta o Q i a nTao Qian’s simple, direct, yet elegant farmstead poetry has led over time to his
being considered one of the greatest Chinese poets. Tao came from a minor elite
family, which had lost most of its prestige and wealth by the time he was born. He
took his first office relatively late in life (in his late twenties) and retired perma-
nently about thirteen years later, most likely disillusioned by the political unrest
of his era and wearied by the constraints of official life. This was no facile deci-
❀ 6 ❀
Pentasyllabic Shi Poetry
Landscape and Farmstead Poems