《桃
花 源 诗 并 记》
陶渊明
Cathay's
Utopia--Peach-Blossom-Source
Tr. Manfield Zhu
晋太元中，武陵人捕鱼为业，缘溪行，忘路之远近。忽逢桃花林，夹岸数百步，中无杂树，芳草鲜美，落英缤纷；渔人甚异之。复前行，欲穷其林。林尽水源，便得一山。山有小口，仿佛若有光；便舍船从口入。初极狭，才通人；复行数十步，豁然开朗。土地平旷，屋舍俨然，有良田、美池、桑竹之属；阡陌交通，鸡犬相闻。其中往来种作，男女衣著，悉如外人；黄发垂髫，并怡然自乐。见渔人，乃大惊；问所从来，具答之。便要还家，设酒，杀鸡作食；村中闻有此人，咸来问讯。战乱逃避
天下大乱自云先世避秦时乱，率妻子邑人来此绝境，不复出焉；遂与外人间隔。问今是何世，乃不知有汉，无论魏晋。此人一一为具言所闻，皆叹惋。馀人各复延至其家，皆出酒食、停数日，辞去。此中人语云∶「不足为外人道也。」既出，得其船，便扶向路，处处志之。乃郡下，诣太守说如此。太守即遣人随其往，寻向所志，遂迷不复得路。南阳刘子骥，高尚士也；闻之，欣然规往。未果，寻病终。後遂无问津者。
Once
a time there was a fisherman whose native land was
called Wuling, in the Taiyuan Period of Time of
the Jin Dynasty [265-420], China. He was walking
along a creek-riverside, with no sense of how far
away from his start. All of a sudden, he was surprised
to find a Peach-Blossom-Grove, and on both sides
across the creek with hundreds-of-feet-wide land,
no other trees but peach ones grow with fresh and
sweet grass petals falling in riotous profusion.
Going on forward, he wanted to pass through the
whole grove reaching a fountainhead near a mountain.
There was a small hole seemingly glittering in front
of the mountain. And he left his boat, entering
the hole as an open door being so narrow that only
one man could press himself to penetrate into it.
Continuing for over tens-of-feet distance, he found
the view instantly clearing up. The land being spacious,
houses set out in neat order. On the rich land with
a beautiful pool, growing were bamboo, mulberry
and the like. Everywhere was in good connections
with crisscross footpaths between fields where cocks’
crying and dogs’ barking could be faintly heard,
and all the farmers were plowing, sowing or weeding
back and forth. The clothing of men or women was
similar to the people outside. The people, old and
young, felt happy and pleased with themselves. However,
they were terribly surprised to see the fisherman,
and asked where he came from. The fisherman answered
their questions one by one. And then he was invited
to visit their own houses for dinner with wine and
chicken cooked by themselves. As the news that the
stranger was coming in the village was told, all
the villagers wanted to inquire what had happened.
The host told the stranger that his forefather evading
the Qin-Dynasty’s social disorder with the turmoil
of war, brought his wife and good neighbors to get
to the desperate cave, and had never gone out and
eventually separated from human beings outside.
When he was asked to tell which dynasty it was,
he did know nothing about the Han Dynasty [206BC-AD220]
and still the less he knew about the Wei Dynasty
[386-556] or the Jin Dynasty. However, the fisherman
told him what had taken place outside, and all of
them sighed in astonished manners. Besides the first
household, the rest ones also invited him to visit
their own house respectively, entertaining him with
foods and drinks. He had stayed cordially for several
days and left off. The local people living in the
Utopia-like cave said to him: “Don't tell anything
about us to anyone outside.” On purpose he recorded
everywhere with a sign he had passed by as soon
as he went out, paddling his boat along the waterway.
Arriving at Wuling County, the fisherman called
on the magistrate to report what he had seen there.
At once the prefecture official sent men to detect
the exact cave according to the marks made by the
fisherman. However, the men were too puzzled to
find the exact way. Another respectable scholar
named Liu Ziji from Nanyang Town was told about
the mysterious spot, and he was joyful to have a
try but died while seeking for it in vain. Afterwards,
nobody made inquires about it.
