Tao Yuanming's Temperament

As one of outstanding representatives, Tao Yuanming is related with Chinese traditional culture closely and dialectically. The core of one culture lies in its philosophical thought. The Confucianism and Taoism, as two main stems of Chinese traditional culture, had influenced Tao Yuanming profoundly and thoroughly; Tao Yuanming has far-reaching impact on later society and readers. Humanity and emotion are the important categories which reflect the tendency, objective and spirit of the Confucianism and Taoism. Therefore, they are an important way to understand the characteristic of Chinese traditional culture and a magnificent angle to research Tao Yuanming.Tao Yuanming lived in the Wei-Jin dynasty that was turbulent in politics but active in academy. The relation between "doctrine" and "nature" or between Confucianism and Taoism became the core theoretical problem in that era. The main trait in that era is the integration of Confucianism and Taoism. Thus, in this theoretical environment, humanity and emotion reflected in Tao's poems has the character of integration of these two thoughts clearly.Analyzing the significance of Tao's humanity and emotion extensively is the key to understanding the relation between his thought and theoretical tide in Wei-Jin and even Chinese traditional culture, and it is also the main part in this essay that analyses some core categories to manifest its meaning. For example , "benevolence" "love" "goodness" are used to demonstrate the humanity on Confucianism, "naturalness" "gradation" "freedom" are used to demonstrate the humanity on Taoism. It explains the "emotion" into two kinds; one is transcendent, and the other is factual. The integration is embodied in his quest for the union of truth and goodness and the lifestyle of farming.In modern society there is a dilemma that the society doesn't emphasize the value of emotion but the individual needs and pursues it. On one hand, theory on Tao' humanity and emotion has its own merits in both improving individual living state and maintaining the peace of society. On the other hand, it has some demerits. How to cater for the modern society and benefit people is one subject for further research.