Tao Yuanming

“ I am wrinkled and seared beyond repair.
And though I have got five sons,
They all hate paper and brush.
A-shu is eighteen:
For laziness there is none like him.
A-hsüan does his best,
But really loathes the Fine Arts. ”

“ I do not mind if my cottage is rather small
So long as there's room enough for bed and mat.
Often and often the neighbours come to see me
And with brave words discuss the things of old.
Rare writings we read together and praise:
Doubtful meanings we examine together and settle. ”

“ A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it.
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze long at the distant summer hills.
The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day:
The flying birds two by two return. ”

“ High and low, wise and simple, all busily hoard up the moments of life. How greatly they err!
Therefore I have to the uttermost exposed the bitterness both of Substance and Shadow, and have made Spirit show how, by following Nature, we may dissolve this bitterness. ”

“ I am free from ties and can live a life of retirement.
When I rise from sleep, I play with books and harp. ”

“ You had better go where Fate leads—
Drift on the Stream of Infinite Flux,
Without joy, without fear:
When you must go—then go,
And make as little fuss as you can. ”

“ As the fisherman told them in great detail the news from the outside world, they all sighed with regret. More people invited him to their homes to drink and eat. He stayed on for a few more days before taking his leave. As he was departing, some of them said to him, "No need to tell outsiders about us."
He then left and found his boat, retracing his path and putting up markers as he went. When he arrived at the Commandery headquarters, he paid a formal visit to the Commandery governor and told him what had happened. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1966, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 56 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”

“ I would gladly wander in Paradise,
But it is far away and there is no road. ”

“ Longingly—I think of my friends.
But neither boat nor carriage comes. ”

“ This work is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license, which allows free use, distribution, and creation of derivatives, so long as the license is unchanged and clearly noted, and the original author is attributed—and if you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same license as this one. ”