陶淵明不為五鬥米折腰，辭官隱居田園種地為生。
《用英語講中國故事大課堂》中斯明誠老師的精彩誦讀演繹，我們一起來學習一下：
【朗誦者】斯明誠（David Symington）
Tao Yuanming was the sort of person who had no affinity for authority and power; after personally observing the dark side of officialdom, he abruptly resigned his official post, with the fierce words 「I will not grovel for a mere five piculs of rice.」 Five piculs of rice was an official’s monthly salary in those days.
陶淵明其人不親權貴，目睹官場的黑暗後，甩袖撂下一句硬話：「我不為五鬥米折腰」。這「五鬥米」說的就是古代官員的俸祿。
Tao Yuanming preferred to abandon high office and a fat salary, and moreover was determined not to be tainted by members of officialdom. Abandoning his post, Tao Yuanming returned to his home, and dedicated himself to farming. He relinquished the writing brush for the iron hoe, and exchanged his official’s robe for the farmer’s straw hat.
陶淵明寧可放棄高位厚祿，也不願與官場的人同流合汙。不做官，就回家種田。陶淵明放下筆墨紙硯，拾起鐵鍬鋤頭；脫下官袍，戴上了農民的鬥笠。
△陶淵明與菊
圖片來源：《用英語講中國故事》基礎級插圖
He planted a row of chrysanthemums on the eastern side of the fence before his door.When he finished his daily work in the field, Tao Yuanming would pick blossoms from the chrysanthemum patch. Sometimes he would pick them in the early morning, when the dew was fresh upon them. He picked them partly to use as decorations and partly to use in making chrysanthemum wine. Tao Yuanming was not lonely in his retirement; he had his chrysanthemums to keep him company.
陶家門前的東籬下，正好栽種著一片菊花叢。陶淵明每次在田裡耕作完，都會到東籬邊上的菊花圃裡採花。若是清晨採花，花上還沾著墜露。採下的菊花一是為了擺設，二是為了釀菊花酒。陶淵明歸隱的日子並不孤獨，有菊花相伴。
There were people who did not understand his way of life, and they asked him: "Mister Tao, why do you like chrysanthemums so much?"
有人不太理解他的行為，問陶淵明：「陶公，你為什麼這麼喜歡菊花？」
Tao replied with a smile: "If you knew my life experience you would know why I love these chrysanthemums. The reason I returned to till my field in retirement was disappointment with the situation in officialdom. Do you know how much courage and resolve it took for me to quit my official post and take up the unaccustomed work of the hoe? Those chrysanthemums growing so brightly in the wild gave me so much encouragement!"
陶淵明笑著回答：「如果你了解我的經歷，也就會明白我為什麼愛這菊花了。我之所以歸隱田園，是因為當今的政壇氛圍令我失望。放棄曾經的位子，拿起並不熟悉的鋤頭，這需要怎樣一番勇氣與決心呢？那田野間星星點點的菊花卻給了我莫大的鼓勵。」