The poem is the thirteenth of the Nineteen Old Poems, probably from around the second century AD. It goes thus:
I drive my chariot up to the Eastern Gate;
From afar I see the graveyard north of the Wall.
The white aspens how they murmur, murmur;
Pines and cypresses flank the broad paths.
Beneath lie men who died long ago;
Black, black is the long night that holds them.
Deep down beneath the Yellow Springs,
Thousands of years they lie without waking.
In infinite succession light and darkness shift,
And years vanish like the morning dew.
Man's life is like a sojourning,
His longevity lacks the firmness of stone and metal.
For ever it has been that mourners in their turn were mourned,
Saint and Sage -- all alike are trapped.
Seeking by food to obtain immortality
Many have been the dupe of strange drugs.
Better far to drink good wine
And clothe our bodies in robes of satin and silk.
What are the roots of such a nihilistic view towards death? Was this at all typical of Ancient China?
This could also mean the Death of Self, instead of meaning physical death. Considering Many religious works in Eastern Thought, are also considered philosophical works as well. While it applies in the physical sense, it could also apply in non-physical sense. Aka Thoughts, and the nature of thoughts contributing to perceiving the reality around us, and forming a self inward in which to experience reality with, creating perceptions which we hold onto, and perceive as truth. When inside these philosophical works. Truth cannot be spoken, or held onto. The realization of this, is supposed to be a death of sorts. Enlightment, is described at times as Ego Death.
I mainly state this to breach the semantics of this, to help others understand that death can have a wide variety of meanings across different cultures. Not just tied to being meant 'To physically die. '