The Peach Blossom Spring by Tao Yuanming, Book Review Example

Tao Chien’s Tao-hua yuan-chi (The Peach Blossom Spring) is a famous short story written about a fisherman who by chance discovers a place of peace and tranquility. Translations through the centuries provide insight into the author’s cultural and social influences on the theme and tone of the short essay. The setting of the story is during the time period of the Chin dynasty T’ai yuan (376-396). The author demonstrates a connection between society and political issues through imagination and creative writing focusing on a utopian culture completely hidden from the world.

Understanding the poet/author lends insight to his writings. Tao Chien is also known as Tao Yuan-ming, Tao Quin, and Tao Qian (365-427). He is considered a famous poet; writing in a simple and straightforward manner. Chien, well educated in both Confucianism and Taoism, is well known for his reclusion. Chien rejected the teachings of Confucianism, seeing it as too ritualistic. He also could not relate completely to the teaching of Taoism and the concepts of karma and immortality; although his works echo the concepts closer than any other philosophy. He did confer with Buddha relations and the Buddhist influences and can be seen in his works, coupled with Taoist concepts. This influence can be seen in The Peach Blossom Spring in the simplicity of style, beauty in nature and harmony within the society of the utopian community hidden within the beautiful landscape scenery.

Chien’s life reflects the simplicity of his work. His upbringing shows a family that lived poor, although well educated (Hermitary, 2002). He was also a lover of nature and found peace in beautiful scenery. The hardships and poverty he experienced, along with his brief career in the government gives merit to his writing style and subjects. As a poet he projects warmth, humanity and personal vulnerability, unlike his contemporaries and predecessors (Hermitary, 2002). He demonstrated loyalty to family and friends and saw life in realistic terms; understanding the problems and concerns of society and political matters. He chose to forego such matters and lived with his wife and children as a farmer, away from society and historically is known for his reclusive lifestyle.

The Peach Blossom Spring begins with a fisherman traveling along a river and becoming distracted in thought. As he realizes he has traveled an unknown distance he suddenly observes beautiful peach trees blooming, lining the banks of the river. Chien’s adamant distaste for politics may explain the thoughtless travel as a desire to escape the weightiness of dealing with political affairs. His love of a life of solidarity with nature may explain his portrayal of awakening from a stupor and finding peach blossoms for as far can be seen. The use of a fisherman as the central character describes Tao’s identification with a vocation of solitude and hard work.

As Chien continues to describe the fisherman’s journey to see where the peach blossoms end leads him to a spring and a hill. Chien describes a small passage way just large enough for the fisherman to pass through; leading him to daylight. This portion of the story is significant to Tao and the influences of his life. This description of leaving one place and entering another, with minimal difficulty, resembles the choice Tao made during his life of working publically to farming in solitude.

The description of the flowers including the scent, appeal and touch are indicative of Tao Chien’s landscape imagery and love of nature. “His writing, therefore, sound natural and sincere, conceived in tranquility and peace” (Show China, 2006). Chien’s dissatisfaction with society and a government ruled by corruption has a major impact on the works and styles he chooses to use in his poems. He prefers quiet and solitude and association with beauty of nature. He particularly enjoyed flowers and is known for his love of chrysanthemums.

Although Tao Chien tells us that he is fond of nature by inclination, there is a sense that his joy in nature is heightened after his disillusionment with public life during a period when China was occupied by alien tribes in the north and was rift apart by the civil strife and political corruption of the government (Palandri, 1988).

After fire destroys his home and poverty leads him to exhaustion from hard work he grew thin and sickly (Hermitary, 2002).  Finally he accepts a position in a government job for a short period of time. While this affords him a reprieve from poverty, he ultimately chooses a life of reclusion on a farm. As The Peach Blossom Spring begins with mindlessness to entering a hidden community, Chien left mindless work to his own utopia.

The fisherman discovers beautiful land and water with farms and animals intertwined and flowing in harmony. The people are content and happy; all ages alike. His material hardships and discontent with government policies may influence the utopia-like community the fisherman finds. “Both the men and the women dressed in exactly the same manner as people outside: white-haired elders and tufted children alike were cheerful and contented” (Birch, 1965).  The description of the people working together and the synchronization of dress and manner depict Chien’s view of human equality and a shared desire for happiness and a life of rich natural beauty and fulfillment. Equality among the people is also a large factor in his description of the community; a fact he feels is absent in a society and government focused on self-rewards and fraudulent values.

The use of animals in this passage demonstrates the simple agricultural scenery suggesting a farm-life setting. His portrayal of trees and plants criss-crossing each other and the animals being heard from one site to the next suggest Chien’s own personal utopia with society living in harmony with each other in natural surroundings. During Chien’s lifetime Taoism and Confucianism were the main philosophical principles which dominated society. Taoism represented nature, truth and ‘the way.’ Chien’s use of animals, plants and trees in harmony with humans demonstrates a Taoist view point. Taoist believes that a man’s spirit is free and that it must be allowed to grow and expand spontaneously, to live in harmony with nature where all things are equal (Palandri, 1988).

Chien by nature held a fondness to wine and was thought to have problems with alcoholism (Hermitary, 2002). Many works by Chien recognize references to wine and drink. The Peach Blossom Spring is no exception. The townspeople communicate with the fisherman and set out to serve him wine and a feast; wanting to learn of his life and history.  Forefathers had fled the troubles of the world and formed their own utopian world. So far removed they had never known of any life beyond the place the fisherman stumbled upon. This portion of the story resembles the part of Chien’s life and his desire to be outside of society and the influences of others. It also leads one to question his need for recognition as the townspeople view the fisherman as special and someone to reverend. It shows Chien’s awe in a community being able to live away from worldly problems, possessions, materialism and society confinement. A world Chien possibly wants to create by living on his farm in seclusion.

Although Chien is considered a self-proclaimed recluse, deep within him a desire for acknowledgment and respect must have been entrenched in his psyche as this passage may represent pure human desire for attention and admiration. Disappointed in his government post and the mandated rules and laws, Chien may have desired societal and political understanding and a uniform band among members of society for the betterment of all humans; not just a select few. Finding a personal view of utopia could have various definitions depending on the individual. The utopia found by the fisherman is one of simplicity, nature and harmony; the idealistic personification of Chien’s known choice of a reclusive lifestyle.

The townspeople’s request of the fisherman to keep their community private and his inability to find the location again demonstrates Chien’s lack of ability to keep his life in seclusion. Leading a reclusive life is near impossible and unrealistic. The near-perfect land and community the fisherman discovers is one that can be found by having an open mind and heart to the possibilities of utopia. This community created by Chien further demonstrates a Taoist point of view. “In the Taoist view, to cultivate goodness in man through academic learning and socially imposed rules and conventions is to restrict him to superficial human values, which are material and temporal, and to strip him of his primordial purity and simplicity” (Palandri, 1988, p. 97).

As the fisherman and magistrate return to the site and attempt to find the hidden city again, they are unable to locate the place. This short story although simple and fairly straightforward leaves many questions. The reason for not being able to find the city again could represent Chien’s fear of losing himself to society and not being able to live as he wishes. The utopian place the fisherman discovers may have been completely in his mind, a daydream or an illusion. Chien may be worried that living a life in seclusion could end at any time; leaving him back in a society he is unhappy with.

Chien has some Confucian influence from very early in his life and the teaching in moral integrity and personal discipline helped form the basis for his dissatisfaction with corruption and his dedication to leading a simple life dedicated by his own attempts at personal discipline. In the story as the characters were making attempts to find the city again, “but grew confused and never found the way again” (Birch, 1965). Chien could be describing his own personal fear of finding utopia and losing it due to mystification. Another view of this passage could represent Chien’s own resolve that reclusion in life leads to utopia whereas taking another along can create confusion and the inability to attain a perfect state of being and way of life.

The ending of Chien’s story tells of a hermit who attempts to find the city. This hermit is learned and virtuous according to the story; descriptive of Confucian theory. This possibly is indicative of Chien’s Taoism view over Confucian philosophy. The fisherman, a simple man of a simple vocation accidentally finds utopia whereas someone learned and wise is not able to locate the city. This could describe Chien’s belief in nature and harmony aside from scholarly and professional ways of living. As the hermit dies trying to find this special place, Chien may be stating that living naturally and not trying to be recognized by society affords one rewards in life and success by virtue, not by works. This philosophy is parallel to some Christian dominations whose belief stems from the concepts of God’s grace being awarded through belief and not through works performed.

The last line of the story speaking of no further attempts at finding the city represent possibly that no one else is really interested in finding a utopia; society being dependent upon stagnant beliefs and conformity. With the social mandates and corruption in government during Chien’s life, he may be despondent in thinking that no one else is interested in enlightenment. The author’s state of mind may be of complete separation from anyone other than his family. Although Chien affirms that farming is not merely a vocation but a safeguard to reclusion, and therefore, constitutes his life and identity (Hermitary, 2002). Chien may be considered a recluse; he apparently did not view himself in this manner. Rather he preferred solitude and the loveliness and harmony of nature; giving up societal imprisonment.

Tao Chien’s works are a mingling of Taoism, Buddhism and a few rare glimpses of Confucian. Taoism lends itself to things of nature and a natural order. Much of Chien’s work demonstrates this basic premise. Having turned from government jobs and status, a form of Confucian lifestyle, he envelops the concepts of Taoism. His Buddha influence is one with peace and tranquility; living a moral and just life. Buddhism parallels Taoism values and philosophies. Tao Chien’s essay The Peach Blossom Spring is a significant story in China. Although one can recognize his Taoism concepts in the story, it is considered a distinctive piece of work in Chinese literature. “It has so stirred the creative imagination that for generations the story has been told and retold by creative men” (Palandri, 1988, p. 117).

The Peach Blossom Spring is a work of various criticism and skepticism; some considering it a fairly tale while others wonder about the political or social protest during the author’s lifetime (Palandri, 1988, p. 117). Examining the little known facts about Tao Chien’s life creates a heritage all its own. China adopted this piece of work as a utopian experience and the title is synonymous with the word utopia. The short essay is responsible for plays, letters and beautiful paintings demonstrating differing views on the meanings and significance of the story. However, the primary premise of a world untouched by society and governmental demands is evident in the various works of literature and art created by Tao Chien’s works.

Works Cited

Birch, Cyril. “From Early Times to the Fourteenth Century.” Anthology of Chinese Literature. Volume I. New York: Grove Press, 1965, p. 167-168. Retrieved January 31, 2010 from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/taoqian_peachblossom.pdf

Hermitary. Tao Chien (Tao Yuan-ming), Poet of Reclusion. Hermitary.com. 2002. Retrieved January 31, 2010 from http://www.hermitary.com/articles/tao_chien.html

Palandri, Angela Jung. “The Taoist Vision: A Study of T’ao Yuan-ming’s Nature Poetry.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy. Dialogue Publishing Company, Honolulu. 1988.  Vol. 15, pp. 97-121. Retrieved January 31. 2010 from http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-JOCP/jc96112.htm

Show China. “Tao Yuan-ming.” China Intercontinental Digital Publisher: Beijing, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2010 from http://www.showchina.org/en/02/03/200906/t338455.htm