Tao Yuanming
Poets Gu Kaizhi and Tao Yuanming both mentioned Rong Qiqi in their poetry. Tao spoke of Rong with some skepticism, wondering if such emphasis on nature and abandonment of the worldly is actually worth it. In fact, in the second of his "Drinking Wine" series of poems, Tao Yuanming questions what is the worth of living a virtuous life, if this means having to choose poverty, in order to do so? Tao uses the examples of Boyi and Shuqi (who starved to death for their ideals) and of Rong Qiqi; mentioning in this poem, that in his ninetieth decade of life, Rong was using a mere rope for a belt. Tao answers his own question: