P e n ta s y l l a biC Sh i P oe t ry : l anD s C a P e anD Fa rm s t e aD P oe m s 127Natural phenomena and the poet’s activities are harmoniously integrated into
an idyllic rustic scene. The correspondences between nature and the poet’s world
can be described as follows: On a basic level, the poet takes in nature by ingest-
ing chrysanthemum petals (infused in wine, or the “Care Forgetting Thing”). Na-
ture provides him with what he needs. On a more meaningful level, the poet is in
tune with nature. He whistles at home, while the birds sing as they return to their
roosts. While chrysanthemums and homing birds are clearly part of the perceived
scene, they also belong to a symbolic code in Tao’s writings. As the definitive flower
of autumn, the chrysanthemum represents the year’s end and activities associated
with it: most relevant here, meditation on one’s life and mortality. Also, homing
birds are never just literally homing birds in Tao’s poetry; they are also a metaphor
for the poet’s own returning.
The picture the poem draws may be idyllic (a recluse-poet enjoying the leisure
of drinking and appreciating the autumn scene from his veranda), but the hint of
disquiet in the second couplet threatens to disrupt the overall tranquil mood of the
scene. The poet seems to admit to certain troublesome sentiments about leaving
officialdom: the “lingering thoughts of the world” suggest a certain uneasiness or
doubt. But this potential conflict is quickly resolved in the next two couplets: the
poet is able to dispel his cares by enjoying wine in solitude and nature’s activities
at dusk. This transformation paves the way for the remarkable sense of satisfaction
in the last couplet. This contentment seems to be the result of having taken stock
of all the wonderful aspects of rustic living: enjoying the beauty of natural phe-
nomena, drinking wine to one’s content, living in idleness, and being in tune with
nature’s activities. This gesture of reaffirming the choice of reclusion is no doubt
familiar by now.
Wine drinking, a standard act in Tao’s poetic portrayals of farmstead life, war-
rants some explanation. Readers have long noted the copious references to drink-
ing in Tao’s poems: The first known editor of Tao’s works, Xiao Tong (501–531),
wrote that “there are those who have doubts about Tao Yuanming’s poetry, since
wine is present in each poem.” Xiao then opined that “I, however, think that his
true intentions do not lie in wine; rather, he made his mark through wine.”9 The
notion of ji (trace) refers, in the Chinese cultural lexicon, to an outer manifesta-
tion of an inner sentiment that cannot be explicitly or directly expressed. Although
regular wine drinking was rarely viewed pejoratively as a form of alcoholism by
Chinese literati and had become a defining part of the elite culture of the Wei
(220–265) and Jin (265–420) dynasties, Xiao Tong’s defense elevates Tao’s drink-
ing to the level of an outlet for suppressed emotions, much like the use of wine
associated with Ruan Ji (210–263), the silenced poet who made extensive use of
allegory in his self-expressions.10 Wine bibbing in the preceding poem does not
merely denote relaxed pleasure but also implies a reflection on failed personal
ambition and/or the political state of affairs.
Farmstead poems arose from social interaction as well as from solitary reflec-
tion. A number of Tao’s farmstead poems refer to the company of family, friends,