Heaven on Earth 桃花源

Let us leave the Three Kingdoms to go to a land of eternal happiness – Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源 táo huā yuán. During the reign of Emperor XiaoWu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (376－396), a fisherman following a stream suddenly came across a grove full of blossoming peach trees with lovely petals sweeping down, carpeting the ground. At the stream’s source through an opening in the hill, he came across a fertile plain with mulberry trees, serene ponds and swaying bamboos gracing the land.

There were well kept houses and men and women working in the field. Everyone whether young or old all seemed to be contented and happy. They were amazed to see the fisherman and treated him well. After several days of great hospitality, the fisherman bade them farewell and they told him “it is not worth telling people on the outside about us.” As he retraced his route, he left markers to find his way back. But he and others could never find that place again.

Shangri-la 香格里拉 xiāng gé lǐ lā is the Western equivalent of 桃花源. Both these names have become synonymous with our search for our 人间乐园 rénjiān lèyuán, our paradise on Earth. But where should we begin to start searching…? Or is it like the Tibetan said, “Happiness can be found in a cup of yak butter tea”. In the next post, I will tell you where my search led me…

(Meanwhile, this weekend I’m going to a retreat to do “unconscious dancing” 无意识舞蹈 wúyìshí wǔdǎo, for a few days. Stayed tune if you want to know more about it.)

For Five Bushels of Grain 为五斗米折腰

“For five bushels of grain 为五斗米折腰 wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhéyāo, I bow like a servant.” This was the lament of Tao Qian (365 or 372-427) 陶潜 táo qián also known as Tao Yuanming 陶渊明 táo yuān míng, one of the most influential pre-Tang poets. 五斗米 refers to the miserly salary of a low ranking officer. Today, the proverb is taken to mean "swallowing one's pride in exchange for a meager existence".

Weary of the formal and corrupted life in court, he retired at the young age of 40 and celebrated his freedom with the poem “Returning to My Garden” 归园田居 guī yuán tián jū. The last two lines of that poem was –

久在樊笼里 jiǔ zài fánlóng lǐ
复得返自然 fù de fǎn zìrán
Long have I been in a cage
I return to my natural self.

He lived out the remaining 22 years of his life in peaceful retirement despite many attempts to lure him back. He devoted himself to be a gentleman farmer and a poet of nature. His poetry only came to be appreciated for its simple beauty during the Tang and Song Dynasties. He is a man worthy of respect. Wish I could emulate him.

Even Du Fu 杜甫 dùfǔ had this to say of him:

Only by wine one's heart is lit,
Only a poem calms a soul that's torn.
You'd understand me, Tao Qian.
I wish a little sooner I was born!

He is also the author depicting the mysterious and intriguing world in Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源 táo huā yuán to be found in the next post...