Translation: (People here) asked what dynasty it is now, and they didn’t even know that there was the Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin dynasties.
From: Tao Yuanming's "Peach Blossom Spring" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Excerpt from the original text:
I heard about this person in the village and came to inquire. Ziyun's ancestors fled the chaos of the Qin Dynasty and led his wife's people to this desperate situation. He never came back and was separated from outsiders. When I ask what era this is, I don’t know whether there was the Han Dynasty or the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Interpretation:
(The fisherman) answered everything he knew in detail. The villagers invited the fisherman to their homes, served wine, killed chickens and cooked meals to entertain him. When people in the village heard that such a person had arrived, they all came to inquire about the news.
They themselves said that in order to escape the wars of the Qin Dynasty, their ancestors led their wives, children and neighbors to this place isolated from the world. They no longer went out from here, so they were cut off from people outside the Peach Blossom Spring. Come and go. (People here) asked what dynasty they are in now, and they didn't even know that there was a Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin dynasties.
Xian: adverb, all, all. Inquiry: Ask for news. Yun: Say. Ancestor: Ancestor. Rate: lead. Wife: (different meanings in ancient and modern times) Ancient meaning: refers to wife and children. No matter: don’t say it, (more) don’t say it. Extended information
Theme:
This article uses the clue of the Wuling fisherman’s whereabouts to connect the reality and the ideal state, and through the exploration of the peace, happiness, freedom and equality of the Peach Blossom Land The description shows the author's ideal of pursuing a better life and his dissatisfaction with the real life at that time.
The author’s ideological achievements:
Tao Yuanming admired the natural aesthetics of Lao and Zhuang, and at the same time lived and worked in the countryside. Naturally, pastoral life became his aesthetic object. culture, and thus achieved the glory of Chinese pastoral poetry.
Tao Yuanming's poetic thought of taking nature as beauty and truth as beauty shines in the poetry, illuminating the character's personality and making readers strongly feel the poet's arrogant and unyielding personality charm in pursuit of freedom.
Tao Yuanming is good at using line drawing and freehand techniques to outline scenery and color the environment. His artistic conception is lofty and rich in rationality. The language is exquisite and authentic, simple and sincere, the writing style is sparse and light, and the charm is profound.
But Tao's poems are not only elegant and leisurely, naturally diluted style, but also have the generous and bold style of King Kong's angry eyes, such as "Yong Jing Ke" and "The Jingwei Holding the Wei Wood" in "Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas", etc.