More Shan Shui

 I've been reading more in David Hinton's book, "Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry of Ancient China."  I'm perusing the introduction a little more thoroughly to see what I've missed.  

Tao Ch'ien's given name was T'ao Yuan-ming.  When he recused himself to the family farm in his ancestral village, near Thatch-Hut (Lu) Mountain, he also took upon himself his nom de plume.  "Ch'ien" meant "concealed," "hidden."  It was meant to signify his turn to the reclusive life, circa 400 CE.

This reclusion to a life of solitude was already an ancient tradition in China.  What made Tao Ch'ien unique was his use of his natural voice and his immediate experience as the medium and subject matter of his poetry.

I've gathered over the years that those who retired from the Confucian ideal of serving the nation differed rather dramatically in the life they adopted from those recluses who were spiritually seeking in solitude, be that seeking for Taoist immortality or Chan emptiness.  For one thing, those who retired from government service often -- but not always -- had a remote family property to which they returned.  Sometimes, one was simply banished to the provinces and made the best of the situation by making it a spiritual and artistic retreat.  

According to Hinton, the reclusive life of such retirees often included the following:

    mountains, rivers and wilderness

    a comfortable house

    a substantial library

    a working farm

    art, wine, family and friends

Who wouldn't want to live such a life?  Rather than ascetic solitude, like the hermits sought, this was "the good life" with all the trimmings.

I also liked this text from the Confucian classic, "The Great Learning:"

    To site understanding is to see deeply into things themselves.

    Once things themselves are seen deeply, understanding is sited.

    Once understanding is sited, thought is trued-up.

    Once thought is trued-up, mind is rectified.

    Once mind is rectified, self is cultivated.

    Once self is cultivated, family is in order.

    Once family is in order, the nation is composed.

    Once the nation is composed, all beneath heaven is tranquil.

If only it were that simple.  But perhaps it doesn't hurt to try.  And the first note struck is to try to see deeply into things themselves.  Let's start there and see where that takes us, shall we?