Social Ideas Of Tao Yuanming

Tao Yuanming is an important writer and thinker in ancient China. Over a long period, people have attached great importance to the study of Tao Yuanming's social ideal or ideal community,but majority explain it from the perspective of literature angle. This paper will explain Tao Yuanming's social thought from the following three parts:In the first part, living during the age between Jin dynasty and Song dynasty, which was experiencing the flux of both politics and society, Tao Yuanming's understanding on the monarch did not stay on the critical level only, what's more, he reach a new understanding on monarch and construct an ideological system, that is "No-monarch" Thought.This part is demonstrated through such aspects as call of era for non monarch, understanding on Tao Yuanming's "no-monarch" thought, and influence on Tao Yuanming by historical "no-monarch" thought in ancient time or modern time. This paper mainly analyzed that the key content of "No-monarch" Thought is not absence of monarch but wise monarch era like Yao, Shun, Yu, and the essence of "no-monarch" thought is to make new prescription of intension and extension of monarch. The "no-monarch" thought diversifies the content of Chinese ancient intellectual history and adds a special part to feudal monarch concept system where the monarch concept of Confucianism have occupied dominate position for a long time.In the second part, Tao Yuanming demonstrate his life attitude through such aspects as opinions on wars, scholar-officials, nature, poverty and death, positioning on own life style and the active summary on life.Tao Yuanming's life attitude is demonstrated through such aspects as background of Tao Yuanming's life attitude, formation of life attitude (opinions on wars, scholar-officials, nature, poverty and death, location of own life style, and the active summary on life). Among this, Tao Yuanming showed an excellent picture full of solid social life contents by simple method, finally built its solid core position concerning social value, enlarge concern to natural persons to the ideal pursuit of social people, put the ultimate meaning of individual life into the practice of reforming society so as to understand the human nature and practice life. It is this artistic conception manifested by Tao Yuanming that went on long and influenced life choice generation by generation.The third part, Tao Yuanming gradually formed his own social thought on the basis of understanding on monarch and life attitude. This part shall analyze this through such aspects as ideal social model, the component and formation of such social model and the analysis and evaluation of ideal society.This part investigate the causes of Tao Yuanming's social thought from such aspects as era, family status and ideal character and further explore the characteristics of Tao Yuanming's social thought. In his ideal society, there is no oppression or exploitation, all the people coexist equally and lve a happy life, forming a Land of Peach Blossoms.Tao Yuanming's social ideal has impracticability to some degree; in fact, the blueprint designed by Tao Yuanming had active and fierce influence on later ages. People also advocate Tao Yuanming's social ideal and the Land of Peach Blossoms, hoping to realize a dream there. Thus utopia thought of Tao Yuanming did not end in feudal China.The author tries to make some innovation through the investigation on Tao Yuanming's social ideal, thinking on monarch, pursuit on life attitude, and extend the investigation of intension and extension so as to reach the unification between academic function and research value.