Tao Yuanqing was a pivotal practitioner during the initial phase of revolutionary transformations in China’ s modern bookbinding paradigm. This article systematically examines and analyzes over 40 book covers designed by him, exploring his distinctive achievements across five dimensions: eastern versus western visual schemes, abstract versus concrete symbols, cover illustrations versus painted covers, pattern language versus pictorial language, and natural painters versus written artists. It is emphasized that Tao Yuanqing’ s five-dimensional explorations and innovations in China’ s modern book cover design serve as a microcosm of the evolution from traditional to contemporary book cover design in China, making unique contributions to the field.