Tao Yuanming, courtesy name Yuanliang, also known as Qian, was posthumously given the private title Jingjie. He was known as Master Jingjie, and also as Master Five Willows. A native of Chaisang, Xunyang (present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province), he was a great poet and writer of rhapsodies who lived from the end of the Eastern Jin dynasty into the early Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties. He once served as a Libationer of Jiangzhou, a Staff Officer in the Army of Jianwei, a Staff Officer in the Army of Zhenjun, and Magistrate of Pengze County, among other posts. His final appointment was as Magistrate of Pengze County, but he left after just over eighty days and thereafter retired to the countryside. He was China's first pastoral poet and was hailed as “the foremost among reclusive poets, past and present.” His representative work is The Peach Blossom Spring.
[The author's work is entirely fictional and is not an accurate account of Tao Yuanming's life. If you don't like it, please don't complain.]
Author: Master Five Willows, may I ask if you were called “Master Five Willows” because you planted five willow trees in front of your home?
Tao Yuanming: Hahaha, that's right. Old folks like planting flowers and plants.
Dazai: Ah, what lovely trees! Perfect for hanging yourself!
Tao Yuanming: (smiling) Wait here. I'll be right back.
Author: Uh... okay.
“Master Five Willows” is online beating up a brat.
Author: Then why did you leave your post as Magistrate of Pengze County after eighty days? Was it because, as history says, you “would not bend for five bushels of rice”?
Tao Yuanming: Ah, that? (smiling)
Author: Uh, is there a problem? (cold sweat)
Tao Yuanming: Hahaha, it's nothing major. The guy who brought me rice was just a bit ugly. Even though I'm an old man, I still like good-looking people. If you're that ugly, don't come out and scare people.
Theme: A crossover spin-off
