Tao Yuanming, the renowned pastoral poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, created nature poems brimming with genuine emotion, simple elegance, and profound imagery, establishing a unique style in literary history.
Born into a declining bureaucratic family, Tao Yuanming's household fortunes had already waned by his generation, yet from childhood he was an avid reader with extraordinary talent. As an adult, though ambitious, he found no outlet for his abilities until age twenty-nine, when through recommendations he intermittently held minor posts as an assistant to senior officials—roles that inevitably subjected him to others' arrogance. With his forthright nature, Tao Yuanming could not stomach the corruption of officialdom, nor would he stoop to flattery, leading to repeated dismissals from office.
After losing his official post, life at home became so unbearably difficult that at age 41, through his uncle's recommendation, he took up the position of magistrate of Pengze County.
After serving as a county magistrate for just eighty days, Tao Yuanming found himself unable to tolerate the humiliation when an imperial inspector arrived to audit his work. He promptly resigned, sealing his official seal and leaving. Returning home, he wrote "Returning to My Rural Home." In the preface, he reflected on his past and his voluntary departure, lamenting, "I have indeed lost my way, but fortunately not too far; I now realize that today's choice is right, while yesterday's was wrong."
Later, the idiom "Today Right, Yesterday Wrong" came to describe realizing one's past mistakes, carrying a sense of regret.
Source: *Tao Yuanming*, "Returning Home"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "今是昨非" came to describe realizing one's past mistakes, carrying a sense of regret.