molino de damaniu / (la) cabaña

T'ao Ch'ien 

(365-427)

I made my home amidst this human bustle,

Yet I hear no clamour from the carts and horses.

My friend, you ask me how this can be so?

A distant heart will tend towards like places.

From the eastern hedge, I pluck chrysanthemum flowers,

And idly look towards the southern hills.

The mountain air is beautiful day and night,

The birds fly back to roost with one another.

I know that this must have some deeper meaning,

I try to explain, but cannot find the words.

T'ao Ch'ien, or Tao Qian, also sometimes called T'ao Yuan-ming, was born in the Kiangsi district of China, into a family of modest wealth. But as he was growing up, the family income declined. As a young man, he failed in his attempts to get a decent government position, so T'ao Ch'ien retired to the life of a poor gentleman farmer.

His poetry suggests that, despite his material hardships (in one poem T'ao Ch'ien describes having to beg for food) and political turmoils, he seems to have cultivated a melancholy sort of contentment in his life.

His writing shows a deep communion with nature, helping to open the way for the great Chinese nature poets centuries later during the Tang dynasty. Chrysanthemums often appear in his poems. 

T'ao Ch'ien exhibits a deeply philosophical nature in his poetry. He had Taoist and Buddhist leanings, including among his friends monks of the White Lotus Society, an early society of Ch'an Buddhism. 

In addition to themes of nature, T'ao Chien is also known for his wine poetry.