The meaning of peach blossoms and flowing water is: peach blossoms falling onto the stream.
Original poem:
Ask me why I want to live in the green mountains, I smile without answering and my heart is at ease.
The peach blossoms and flowing water disappear, and there is no other world than this world.
Translation:
Some people asked me in confusion, why do I live in Bishan? I just smiled and didn't answer, but my heart felt relaxed and calm. The peach blossoms fell into the stream and flowed away. There is a world like no other here, it's like a fairyland.
Source: "Questions and Answers in the Mountains" by Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty
Poem Appreciation
The characteristic of this poem is that it states "laughing but not answering", which is actually To answer without answering means not to answer the question, but to answer through specific image description. Like Tao Yuanming's "Drinking" No. 5, Tao Yuanming's "true meaning" is also the "meaning" of "what meaning" here. The "forgetting words" mentioned here is also the "laughing but not answering" here.
Although he "laughed but did not answer", he still answered through images. He watched the peach blossoms flow far away with the flowing water. This was a different world. He liked the secluded life in this special world and did not like the human life of fighting for fame and wealth. This answered people's questions.
This kind of writing that does not answer questions but answers through actions or described images, that is, answering without answering, is poetry. Because poetry, generally speaking, expresses feelings through images. This kind of writing without answering expresses affection through images, so it is poetry.