陶淵明之桃花源記（中譯英） 原作：陶淵明（文言文） 譯作：吳祖諺（英文）
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。 During the Taiyuan era of the Jin Dynasty, a man from Wuling, who made his living as a fisherman, was traveling along the edge of a stream, and lost remembrance of the distance of the route; the fisherman suddenly stumbled across a peach blossom forest. Upon making his way along the shore for a few hundred paces, he was in awe of the fact that there were no other trees inside the forest and the stream; the fragrant grasses were fresh and beautiful; and the ground was carpeted in fallen leaves. He continued onwards, hoping to find the end of this forest. 林盡水源，便得一山。山有小口，髣彿若有光，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；黃發、垂髫，並怡然自樂。 At the end of the forest and the stream, a mountain could be seen. There was a small opening in the mountain where it seemed as if there was light. The fisherman then abandoned the boat and went in. At the beginning it was extremely narrow, and could only allow a person to pass. After several dozen more paces, it suddenly became clear. The ground was flat and vast with rows of neatly arranged residences. There was a fertile field crisscrossed with trails, accompanied by beautiful pools, mulberry trees and bamboo; the sound of poultry could be heard. Within were people seeding and planting, men and women were clothed in the same way as those who lived outside. The elderly and children seemed joyful and happy. 見漁人，乃大驚，問所從來；具答之。便要還家，設酒、殺雞、作食。村中聞有此人，鹹 來問訊。自雲：「先世避秦時亂，率妻子邑人來此絕境，不復出焉；遂與外人閒隔。」問 今是何世；乃不知有漢，無論魏、晉。此人一一為具言所聞，皆歎惋。餘人各復延至其家， 皆出酒食。停數日，辭去。此中人語雲：「不足為外人道也。」 They saw the fisherman, and were surprised, asking where he had come from; the fisherman spoke in greater detail to the villagers regarding what he knew. They invited him to their homes, brought out alcohol, butchered chickens and prepared a meal. Once it was heard in the village that this man was there, everyone came to ask him questions. They said: "Former generations fled to abscond the chaos brought in the time of Qin, taking their wives, children and villagers to this impasse; we have never left and, therefore, we have been separated from outsiders ever since then." They asked the fisherman what era it currently was. What happened was they hadn't even heard of the Han, let alone the Wei or the Jin. One by one this man was asked about all he knew, and everyone gasped. The other people all wanted to have him back to their homes, and all brought out alcohol and food. He stayed for a few days, then bade farewell to the villagers and left. "There is no use in telling others," said the villagers.
既出，得其船，便扶向路，處處誌之。及郡下，詣太守，說如此，太守即遣人隨其往，尋 向所此誌，遂迷不復得路。 Thereupon he left, found his boat, and headed back out onto the way, marking it down at every point. Upon reaching the commandery, the fisherman went to see the commandery governor, and explained this experience; the governor then sent people to follow his trail, searching for the signs he had left; they were fascinated but failed attempting to find the way to the forest. 南陽劉子驥，高尚士也，聞之，欣然規往，未果，尋病終。後遂無問津者。 Liu Ziji of Nanyang was a noble scholar who heard of this, and joyously set out for it, but to no avail; he died of illness during his search for the place. After that, there were none who inquired about the way to the blossom forest.