Wong Tai Sin Sign 38陶淵明辭官歸隱Tao Yuanming Resigns from Office to Live in Seclusion
The figure behind this stick is Tao Yuanming setting down the official seal and sailing home to a small cottage, a south window, and a stroll through the hills.
Quitting his busy office, leisurely sailed the poet home, Through not spacious, his little cottage pleased him well.
Often he relished poetry and wine by the south window; For the beauty of the mountains he'd go for a lazy stroll.
Tao Yuanming Resigns from Office to Live in Seclusion
Tao Yuanming was a 4th-century Chinese poet who walked away from a promising government career to live as a simple farmer. Picture this: a man in his thirties, frustrated with the corruption and politics of court life, literally throws down his official seal and goes home to plant beans. He became dirt poor but wrote some of China's most beloved poetry about finding joy in simple things — drinking wine, watching clouds, talking to his chickens. His essay "Going Home" is still taught in schools today. For centuries, Chinese people have seen him as the ultimate example of choosing authenticity over status. When you're burned out from chasing success, Tao Yuanming reminds you there's another way to live.
Seven Short Readings
- CareerTao Yuanming walked away from his magistrate's seal after eighty days because the cost of staying had become clearer than the cost of leaving.READ
- WealthIncome grows steadily through real work, but quiet lifestyle leaks drain it.READ
- LoveTao Yuanming walked away from office not because he failed there, but because the version of himself required to succeed had become unbearable to wear.READ
- HealthYour health journey mirrors Tao Yuanming's wisdom about finding peace through stepping back from life's pressures.READ
- StudyYour educational journey is calling for a major reset.READ
- FamilyTao Yuanming's image sits behind this stick like a quiet rebuke to ambition: a man who folded up his official robes, sailed home, and found that a small cottage with a south-facing window held more of his life than the c...READ
- The whole situationThe figure behind this stick is Tao Yuanming setting down the official seal and sailing home to a small cottage, a south window, and a stroll through the hills.READ
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