陶淵明《桃花源記》（數種不同版本的英譯文）

桃花源記

晉太元中，武陵人捕魚為業；緣溪行，忘路之遠近。忽逢桃花林。夾岸數百步，中無雜樹，芳草鮮美，落英繽紛，漁人甚異之。復前行，欲窮其林。

林盡水源，便得一山。山有小口，彷彿若有光，便舍船從口入。初極狹，才通人。復行數十步，豁然開朗。土地平曠，屋舍儼然，有良田、美池、桑竹之屬，阡陌交通，雞犬相聞。其中往來種作，男女衣著，悉如外人；黃髮垂髫，並怡然自樂。

見漁人，乃大驚，問所從來，具答之。便要還家，設酒殺雞作食。村中聞有其人，咸來問訊。自雲先世避秦時亂，率妻、子、邑人來此絕境，不復出焉，遂與外人間隔。問今是何世，乃不知有漢，無論魏晉。此人一一為具言所聞，皆嘆惋。餘人各復延至其家，皆出酒食。停數日，辭去。此中人語云：「不足為外人道也。」

既出，得其船，便扶向路，處處志之。及郡下，詣太守說如此。太守即遣人隨其往，尋向所志，遂迷不復得路。

南陽劉子驥，高尚士也。聞之，欣然規往，未果，尋病終。后遂無問津者。

A Tale of the Fountain of the Peach Blossom Spring

In the year of Taiyuan[1] of the Jin Dynasty, there lived a man in Wuling[2] jun who earned his living by fishing. One day, he rowed his boat along a stream, unaware of how far he had gone when all of a sudden, he found himself in the midst of a wood full of peach blossoms. The wood extended several hundred footsteps along both banks of the stream. There were no trees of other kinds. The lush grass was fresh and beautiful and peach petals fell in riotous profusion. The fisherman was so curious that he rowed on, in hopes of discovering where the trees ended.

At the end of the wood was the fountainhead of the stream. The fisherman beheld a hill, with a small opening from which issued a glimmer of light. He stepped ashore to explore the crevice. His first steps took him into a passage that accommodated only the width of one person. After he progressed about scores of paces, it suddenly widened into an open field. The land was flat and spacious. There were houses arranged in good order with fertile fields, beautiful ponds, bamboo groves, mulberry trees and paths crisscrossing the fields in all directions. The crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs were within everyone's earshot. In the fields the villagers were busy with farm work. Men and women were dressed like people outside. They all, old and young, appeared happy.

They were surprised at seeing the fisherman, who, being asked where he came from, answered their every question. Then they invited him to visit their homes, killed chickens, and served wine to entertain him. As the words of his arrival spread, the entire village turned out to greet him. They told him that their ancestors had come to this isolated haven, bringing their families and the village people, to escape from the turmoil during the Qin Dynasty and that from then onwards, they had been cut off from the outside world. They were curious to know what dynasty it was now. They did not know the Han Dynasty, not to mention the Wei and the Jin dynasties. The fisherman told them all the things they wanted to know. They sighed. The villagers offered him one feast after another. They entertained him with wine and delicious food. After several days, the fisherman took his leave. The village people entreated him not to let others know of their existence.

Once out, the fisherman found his boat and rowed homeward, leaving marks all the way. When he came back to the jun, he reported his adventure to the prefect, who immediately sent people to look for the place, with the fisherman as a guide. However, the marks he had left could no longer be found. They got lost and could not find the way.

Liu Ziji of Nanyang[3] jun, a learned scholar of high repute, was excited when he heard the fisherman's story. He devised a plan to find the village, but it was not carried out. Liu died soon afterwards, and after his death, no one else made any attempt to find it.

Notes:
1. Taiyuan was the title of the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (376－396).
2. Wuling is today's Changde City, Hunan Province.
3. Nanyang is today's Nanyang City, Henan Province.



About the author:

Tao Yuanming (365－427) was a great poet during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was born in Jiujiang County, Jiangxi Province. Dissatisfied with the politics of his time, he resigned from his post as magistrate of Pengze County. He retired to his home village and lived there for the next twenty-three years till his death. This piece of writing is regarded as one of the earliest pieces about Utopianism in Chinese literature.


關於譯者：

羅經國，1930年生，上海人。先後肄業於聖約翰大學、清華大學，1955年北京大學英語系畢業，1961年北京大學研究生畢業，1978至1980年在美國任訪問學者。自1961年起長期在北京大學英語系任教，講授過「歐洲文學」、「英國文學選讀」、「19世紀英國文學」、「20世紀英國文學」 等課程。曾先後任楊周翰等主編的兩卷集《歐洲文學史》（1964，1971）的主要編者和李賦寧任總主編的四卷集《歐洲文學史》（1999）的第一卷主編。著作有《新編英國文學選讀》、《狄更斯的創作》等，譯作有四卷集的《世界文明史》、《人造人的故事》等。現為北京大學退休教授。


1. 又譯《《德臣西報》或《中國郵報》。

2.《京報》是晚清政府出版的中文期刊，以登載政府公告為主，常被近代中國外文報刊翻譯轉載。

Peach-Blossom Source
(translated by A. R. Davis)

During the Taiyuan period (376--396) of Jin a man of Wuling, who made his living as a fisherman, ascended a stream, forgetful of the distance he traveled. Suddenly he came upon a grove of peach trees in blossom. They lined the banks for several hundred paces: among them were no other kinds of tree. The fragrant herbage was fresh and beautiful; fallen blossom lay in profusion. The fisherman, in extreme wonder, again went forward, wishing to go to the end of the grove,. The grove ended at the stream\'s source, and there he found a hill. In the hill was a small opening from which a light seemed to come. So he left his boat and went in through the opening. At first it was very narrow, barely allowing a man to pass, but as he went on for some tens of paces, it came out into the open air, upon lands level and wide with houses of a stately appearance. There fine fields and beautiful pools, clumps of mulberries and bamboos. The field dykes intersected; cocks crowed and dogs barked to each other. The clothes of the men and women who came and went, planted and worked among them were entirely like those of people outside. The white-haired and the children with their hair in tufts happily enjoyed themselves.

When they saw the fisherman, they were greatly surprised and asked from what place he came. When he had answered all their questions, they invited him to come back to their home, where they set out wine, killed a chicken and made a meal. When the villagers heard of this man, they all came to pay their respects. They told him that their ancestors, fleeing from the troubles during the Qin period (221BC--208BC), had brought their wives and children and neighbours to this inaccessible spot and had not gone out again. Thus they became cut off from people outside. They asked what dynasty it was now: they did not know that there had been Han (206 BC--220AD, nor of courts Wei (220--265AD) or Jin. The fisherman told them all he knew, item by item, and at everything they sighed with grief. The others in turn also invited him to their homes, and all set out wine and food. He stayed for several days and then took leave of them. The people of this place said to him: "You should not speak of this to those outside."

When he had gone out, he found his boat and folllowed the route by which he had come: everywhere he noted the way. When he reached the commandery, he called on the prefect and told him this story. The prefect immediately sent a man to go with him and seek out the places he had previously noted, but they went astray and could not find the way again.

Liu Ziji of Nanyang, who was a scholar of lofty ideals, heard of it and joyfully planned to go. Soon after, before he had carried out his plan, he fell ill and died. Afterwards there was no one who "sought the ford".

The Peach Colony
(translated by Lin Yutang 林語堂)


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梳成髮髻的 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.