Acceptance of Tao Yuanming by Adherents of the Ming Dynasty

During the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, Tao Yuanming was upheld as an adherent of the Jin Dynasty when the Jin Dynasty was replaced by the Song Dynasty of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Tao Yuanming's actions such as refusing to cooperate with the new dynasty were highly praised and followed. The adherents of the Ming Dynasty also followed Tao Yuanming in designating the years by the Ming Dynasty chronology and withdrawing from the Qing court and returning to pastoral life. In literary activities, they imitated Tao in writing poems. At the time Tao Yuanming actually served as a footstone in supporting and sustaining patriotism, political loyalty and morality, and national identity.