Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/140

 128 CHINESE LITERATURE

The sixth was WANG JUNG, who could look at the sun without being dazzled, and lastly there was SHAN T'AO, a follower of Taoist teachings, who was spoken of as "uncut jade" and as "gold ore."

Later on, in the fourth century, comes Fu Mi, of whom nothing is known beyond his verses, of which the following is a specimen :

" Thy chariot and horses

have gone, and I fret And long for the lover

I ne'er can forget.

O wanderer, bound

in far countries to dwell^ Would I were thy shadow !

fd follow thee well;

And though clouds and though darkness my presence should hide.

In the bright light of day

I would stand by thy side / "

We now reach a name which is still familiar to all students of poetry in the Middle Kingdom. TAG CH IEN (A.D. 365-427), or T'ao Yuan-ming as he was called in early life, after a youth of poverty obtained an appoint- ment as magistrate. But he was unfitted by nature for official life ; all he wanted, to quote his own prayer, was "length of years and depth of wine." He only held the post for eighty-three days, objecting to receive a superior officer with the usual ceremonial on the ground that "he could not crook the hinges of his back for five pecks of rice a day," such being the regulation pay of a magis- trate. He then retired into private life and occupied himself with poetry, music, and the culture of flowers, especially chrysanthemums, which are inseparably asso-

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