the Peach Garden
-Tao Yuanming of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Peach Blossom Garden (translated)
In the first year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wu Lingren made a living by fishing. One day, he rowed along the stream and forgot the distance. Suddenly I came across a peach blossom forest, sandwiched by hundreds of steps on both sides of the stream, with no other trees in the middle. The grass is bright and the flowers are falling. The fisherman was very surprised. Go further and want to go to the end of this forest.
(Peach) The forest disappeared where the stream originated. It was a mountain with a small hole, which seemed to have light. He left the boat and got in through the hole. At first, the hole was very narrow and only one person could pass through. After a few dozen steps, it suddenly became open and bright. The land is flat and open, the houses are neat, and there are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees and bamboo. The paths in the field are intertwined, and the chickens and dogs hear each other. People come and go to farm and work, and men and women dress exactly like the world outside the Peach Blossom Garden. The old man and the child are full of joy and appear satisfied.
When (the people inside) saw the fisherman, they were all surprised and asked where (the fisherman) was from, and (the fisherman) gave him a detailed answer. (The man) invited (the fisherman) to his house to prepare wine to kill the chicken and cook (entertain him). When people in the village heard that there was such a person, they all came to inquire about the news. They said that their ancestors took their wives, children and neighbors to this isolated place to avoid the troubles of the Qin Dynasty, and never went out from here again, so they cut off contact with outsiders. When they asked what dynasty it was, they didn't even know it existed in the Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The man recounted (to them) what he had heard. They all sighed and regretted it. The rest of the people invited (the fisherman) to their homes, and all took out wine and rice (to entertain him). After staying here for a few days, the fisherman left. People here told (him): "(The situation here) is not worth telling outside people."
After (the fisherman) came out, he found his boat and marked it everywhere along the old road (back). Back in the county, I visited the satrap and reported the situation. The satrap immediately sent someone to follow him, looking for the mark he made last time, but he got lost and couldn't find his way again.
Nanyang Liu Ziji is a noble celebrity; Hearing this, I happily planned to go, but it didn't come true and I died soon. Since then, no one has asked for directions.