Return to Nature II

Poetry of Tao Yuanming 《归园田居 · 其二》

English Rendering

In countryside few care about the State,

Nor Wheels nor hooves are heard in the deep gloom.

By broad daylight I close my wicket gate;

No worldly dust invades my vacant room.

Sometimes I go along the winding way

And meet with peasants through the bushy field.

Then we have nothing untoward to say

But talk about our corn’s growth and its yield.

Our corn grows day by day under our feet;

My field becomes wider beyond wild grass.

But I fear the onset of frost and sleet

Would do harm to my corn and grain, alas!

Return to Nature II by Tao Yuanming -
"Return to Nature II" by Tao Yuanming

Original Text (中文原文)

野外罕人事,穷巷寡轮鞅。

白日掩荆扉,虚室绝尘想。

时复墟曲中,披草共来往。

相见无杂言,但道桑麻长。

桑麻日已长,我土日已广。

常恐霜霰至,零落同草莽。

Meaning & Analysis

Composed around 405 CE, this poem is the second in Tao Yuanming's five-part "Returning to Dwell in Gardens and Fields" series. While the first poem focuses on the initial liberation of reclusion, this work shifts to depict daily rural life. Through tranquil natural scenes and simple human interactions, the poet expresses joy in pastoral existence while revealing underlying anxiety about crops potentially ruined by natural disasters—capturing a nuanced "joy-tempered-by-concern" mentality.

Related Themes

Reader's Companion

The Essence of the Verse

Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.

Reading Between the Lines

Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.

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