桃花源记英文版

桃花源记英文版

　　晋太元中，武陵人捕鱼为业，缘溪行，忘路之远近。

　　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.

　　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。

　　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.

　　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。

　　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.

　　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。

　　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.

　　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。

　　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.

　　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。

　　The host told the stranger that his forefather evading the Qin-Dynasty’s social disorder with the turmoil of war, brought his wife, children 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 and still the less he knew about the Wei Dynasty or the Jin Dynasty.

　　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。」

　　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 houses 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.”

　　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。

　　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.

　　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。

　　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.