桃花源记 【晋•陶渊明】

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，男女衣着，悉如外人；黄发垂髫，并佁然自乐。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。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。余人各复延至其家，皆出酒食，停数日，辞去。此中人语云：“不足为外人道。”

既出，得其船，便扶向路，处处志之。及郡下，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。后遂无问津者。

The Peach Colony (translated by Lin Yutang 林语堂)

During the reign of Taiyuan of Chin, there was a fisherman of Wuling. One day he was walking along a bank. After having gone a certain distance, he suddenly came upon a peach grove which extended along the bank for about a hundred yards. He noticed with surprise that the grove had a magic effect, so singularly free from the usual mingling of brushwood, while the beautifully grassy ground was covered with its rose petals. He went further to explore, and when he came to the end of the grove, he saw a spring which came from a cave in the hill, Having noticed that there seemed to be a weak light in the cave, he tied up his boat and decided to go in and explore. At first the opening was very narrow, barely wide enough for one person to go in. After a dozen steps, it opened into a flood of light. He saw before his eyes a wide, level valley, with houses and fields and farms. There were bamboos and mulberries; farmers were working and dogs and chickens were running about. The dresses of the men and women were like those of the outside world, and the old men and children appeared very happy and contented. They were greatly astonished to see the fisherman and asked him where he had come from. The fisherman told them and was invited to their homes, where wine was served and chicken was killed for dinner to entertain him. The villagers hearing of his coming all came to see him and to talk. They said that their ancestors had come here as refugees to escape from the tyranny of Tsin Shih-huang (builder of Great Wall) some six hundred years ago, and they had never left it. They were thus completely cut off from the world, and asked what was the ruling dynasty now. They had not even heard of the Han Dynasty (two centuries before to two centuries after Christ), not to speak of the Wei (third century A.D.) and the Chin (third and fourth centuries). The fisherman told them, which they heard with great amazement. Many of the other villagers then began to invite him to their homes by turn and feed him dinner and wine. After a few days, he took leave of them and left. The villagers begged him not to tell the people outside about their colony. The man found his boat and came back, marking with signs the route he had followed. He went to the magistrate's office and told the magistrate about it. The latter sent someone to go with him and find the place. They looked for the signs but got lost and could never find it again. Liu Tsechi of Nanyang was a great idealist. He heard of this story, and planned to go and find it, but was taken ill and died before he could fulfill his wish. Since then, no one has gone in search of this place.

Peach-Blossom Springs (trasnlated by Roland C. Fang 方重) (A Prose Narrative)

During the reign of Emperor Shao-Wu of Eastern Tsin there was once a native of Wuling, who lived on fishing. One day he rowed up a stream, and soon forgot how far he had gone. All of a sudden he came upon a peach grove. For hundreds of paces along both banks of the stream, the peach-trees were in full bloom. No other trees were to be seen in the whole grove. The soft grass looked fresh and beautiful. Here and there falling blossoms were dancing gracefully in a thousand hues. The fisherman was beside himself with amazement. He went on further in order to reach the uppermost limits of the grove. As the peaches came to an end, the headsprings of the stream was found to issue from the side of a mountain. A narrow cave-like opening showed him some light that seemed to emerge from within. Leaving his boat he ventured in. At first it was just wide enough to admit one person. But after a few dozen paces an extensive view suddenly appeared before him. He saw the level plain stretch out far and wide, and the houses and homesteads all neatly arranged. Rich rice-fields, picturesque ponds, and mulberry and bamboo groves were everywhere. The foot-paths crossed and re-crossed one another. As the cocks crowed, the dogs barked in return. All the inhabitants busied themselves with farm work in the same manner as the people outside, so did their men and women attire themselves. The yellow-tressed梳成发髻的 old folk and the youngsters with flowing hair were all living in self-contentment. Seeing the fisherman they were so eager to find out from whence he came. He made his answers accordingly and was invited to their homes to be entertained with chicken and wine. Others in the village, on hearing of the arrival of a stranger, also flocked round to make inquiries. Of their own accord they told him of the forefathers who had, during the troublous times of the Chins, sought refuge in this place of absolute seclusion together with their families and neighbours. After having settled down here they never thought of going out again. They had been so cut off from the rest of the world that a knowledge of the times would be a revelation to them. They had not heard of the Han Dynasty, not to say the Wei and the Tsin. The fisherman informed them all about these changes, and they could not help being deeply affected. Then more of them asked him to dine by turns. It was not until several days later that he begged to take leave. He was bidden, however, to keep to himself all the things talked about among them, for, they said, such matters would not be worth imparting to the outside world. Our fisherman came out, found his boat again, and took care to leave marks all along his way home. As soon as he was back to the city he told his adventure to the magistrate, who sent men to go with him. They tried to trace the marks he had left, but failed, and lost their way thither. A good scholar of Nanyang, on learning of it, was anxious to re-discover the place. Nor did he succeed, and died soon of illness. Ever since then, few have attempted the passage again