The Chinese Middle Period

1. The Chinese Middle Period Poetry of T’ao Ch’ien

2. Chinese History • 2nd century, the Han Empire crumbled, families and warlords dominated, peasant uprisings occurred, and social order collapsed, all resulting in widespread disenchantment with Confucian values of public service • 3rd century – 3 Kingdoms ruled: West =Shu, South = Wu, the heart was Ts’ao Ts’ao, which fell in AD 220, ending the Han dynasty.

3. Chinese History • After Han, Wei began, but Chin overthrew Wei and reunified China briefly. Chin fell in 316 to northern invaders. • After northern invasion, 2 dynasties, north ruled by non-Chinese, south by a succession of Chinese dynasties • Confucianism ebbed, but Taoist sects focused on medical, alchemical, and magical arts flourished.

4. Chinese History • After northern invasion, great families fled south to prince-led branch of dynasty • Great families were Chinese aristocracy • Buddhism a major force in aristocracy • People admired individualism and eccentricity

5. Chinese History • Northern dynasty supplanted by T’ang Dynasty, age of cultural confidence and expansion • During T’ang Dynasty, poetry central part of society that recorded both individual and historical events. • T’ang fell in 907 • 960 Sung Dynasty began after time of warring, and aristocracy lost power, gov’t opened to new social groups • T’ang and Sung Dynasties make up the Middle Period of China’s history

6. T’ao Ch’ien • 365 – 427 • Individualist • Family was poor, provincial gentry • Proud of his “bumbling naïveté” and simple, rural life & farm labor • Peasant farmer idealized by Chinese tradition, and T’ao Ch’ien chose this life and found contentment

7. T’ao Ch’ien • Served aristocracy in positions of prominence, such as magistrate of P’eng-tse, but he always quit or lost the post after a short time. • After retirement, he wrote The Return, a long poem • Had a fascination with freedom and the natural life • Believed one can only be happy when one’s true nature was not violated.