linguistic:translation
Religious and philosophical influences

Tao Yuanming's works show a certain spiritual side to them. The three main sources of religious/philosophical influence on Tao Yuanming were Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist.

In his youth, Tao says, "I enjoyed studying the Six Classics." He mentions this in Title 16 of his Drinking Poems series. The Six Classics refers to the Six Confucian Classics (now the Five Classics, due to the loss of the Book of Music), fundamental Confucian texts. Tao shows his Taoist influence in various works, for example, through such lines as "I long to return to Nature" from his poem "Returning to Country and Farming", or his sentiments in his essay "Return". In these texts, Tao deprecates artificial limits or restrictions in interpersonal relationships, instead expressing the desire for a simple life, with nature taking its course. Also in "Returning to Country and Farming", Tao Yuanming shows a Buddhist side (although he never formally became a Buddhist): "Life is like an illusion; everything returns to emptiness," he says, echoing the Buddhist sutras. His ability to absorb and creatively employ the three diverse religions/philosophies leads Florence Chia-ying Yeh to say: "Among the Chinese poets, Tao Yuanming had the greatest perseverance and integrity. His power to persevere was based upon his acceptance and absorption of the essentials of various philosophies, such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. He mastered not only the external words, doctrines, and rituals, but also had a thorough internal understanding and acceptance of the best and most valuable parts of those schools of thought."