Tao Qian (Tao Yuanming, 365 – 427) once served as a minor official for many years, before retiring as a humble hermit poet and country gentleman. Deviated from the then literature mainstream, his works were not fully appreciated by his contemporaries of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 – 420). Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) saw the raise of his post-mortem fame. Tao was first described as the first great hermit poet, then acclaimed to be the loyal retainer of Eastern Jin and a role model of traditional political ideology. 

Combining analysis of Tao Yuanming's poems and historical records, the two-volume book traces Tao's pendulum between official life and farmer's life, seeking to reveal the complexity of his ideology and his philosophical outlook on going with the flow. Readers will get to know a real Tao Yuanming, one that differs from the god-like person in popular stories, one that talks to our heart with his passion about life and dares to face the reality of death.