A fisherman is drifting, enjoying the spring mountains,
And the peach-trees on both banks lead him to an ancient source.
Watching the fresh-coloured trees, he never thinks of distance
Till he comes to the end of the blue stream and suddenly- strange men!
It's a cave-with a mouth so narrow that he has to crawl through;
But then it opens wide again on a broad and level path --
And far beyond he faces clouds crowning a reach of trees,
And thousands of houses shadowed round with flowers and bamboos...
Woodsmen tell him their names in the ancient speech of Han;
And clothes of the Qin Dynasty are worn by all these people
Living on the uplands, above the Wuling River,
On farms and in gardens that are like a world apart,
Their dwellings at peace under pines in the clear moon,
Until sunrise fills the low sky with crowing and barking.
...At news of a stranger the people all assemble,
And each of them invites him home and asks him where he was born.
Alleys and paths are cleared for him of petals in the morning,
And fishermen and farmers bring him their loads at dusk....
They had left the world long ago, they had come here seeking refuge;
They have lived like angels ever since, blessedly far away,
No one in the cave knowing anything outside,
Outsiders viewing only empty mountains and thick clouds.
...The fisherman, unaware of his great good fortune,
Begins to think of country, of home, of worldly ties,
Finds his way out of the cave again, past mountains and past rivers,
Intending some time to return, when he has told his kin.
He studies every step he takes, fixes it well in mind,
And forgets that cliffs and peaks may vary their appearance.
...It is certain that to enter through the deepness of the mountain,
A green river leads you, into a misty wood.
But now, with spring-floods everywhere and floating peachpetals --
Which is the way to go, to find that hidden source?
Original Poem:
「桃源行」
王维
渔舟逐水爱山春， 两岸桃花夹古津。
坐看红树不知远， 行尽青溪不见人。
山口潜行始隈隩， 山开旷望旋平陆。
遥看一处攒云树， 近入千家散花竹。
樵客初传汉姓名， 居人未改秦衣服。
居人共住武陵源， 还从物外起田园。
月明松下房栊静， 日出云中鸡犬喧。
惊闻俗客争来集， 竞引还家问都邑。
平明闾巷扫花开， 薄暮渔樵乘水入。
初因避地去人间， 及至成仙遂不还。
峡里谁知有人事， 世中遥望空云山。
不疑灵境难闻见， 尘心未尽思乡县。
出洞无论隔山水， 辞家终拟长游衍。
自谓经过旧不迷， 安知峰壑今来变。
当时只记入山深， 青溪几曲到云林。
春来遍是桃花水， 不辨仙源何处寻。
Interpretation:
This poem was written in 719 AD, when Wang Wei was nineteen years old. While recounting the original story of the Peach Blossom Garden, it shows us a beautiful picture.
A small boat goes upstream, and near the ancient ferry, peach blossoms bloom on both sides of the river. It is because of this beauty of spring that the fisherman loves the mountains by water. This is the beginning of the event: the fisherman enjoys the spring scenery and then discovers where the peach blossoms are.
The fisherman abandons his boat and goes ashore, enters a winding mountain pass, walks farther and farther, then suddenly opens up and discovers the Peach Blossom Garden. From a distance, it seems that there are tall trees gathered in the blue sky and white clouds, but near the thousands of families planted with flowers and bamboo forests. These two lines from far and near, wrote the clouds, trees, flowers, bamboo, reflecting into a beautiful and peaceful scene of the paradise, the scene is extremely vivid. The people encountered in the Peach Garden still use the names of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the clothes they wear are also the same as those of the Qin and Han Dynasties.
The next twelve lines are the main part of the poem, focusing on what the fisherman saw and heard in the Peach Blossom Garden. The contrast between daytime and nighttime, between quietness and clamor in the Peach Blossom Garden highlights the uncontested yet vibrant scene in the Peach Blossom Garden. A series of verbs is used to emphasize the sensation caused by the arrival of the fisherman as a visitor from the outside world in the Peach Garden. The phrases “sweeping the flowers into bloom” and “riding the water into” here well characterize the geography of the Peach Blossom Garden, and can fully stimulate the reader’s imagination. The phrase “who knows that there are people in the gorges, and who looks at the empty cloudy mountains in the world” is a supplementary explanation of the origins of the people in the Peach Blossom Garden. In the narrative, the poet intermixes the lyrical tone.
The last ten lines is the last part of the poem, the poet to this narrative rhythm accelerated, fastened to the fisherman’s psychological activities to write the fisherman because of homesickness to leave the Peach Orchard, and then miss the Peach Orchard, looking for the Peach Orchard but not the disappointment and bewilderment of the situation in this completely integrated, especially the last six lines, the fisherman to the Peach Orchard of the thoughts and the chagrin of the mood of searching for the image to show out. The last line adds a lyrical component, the beautiful scenery is still the same day, but the peach is no longer, unlimited feelings are outside the text.
Wang Wei’s poems are famous for writing about mountains and landscapes, and this poem is especially good. This poem is especially good. Wang’s poems have always been evaluated as having the saying that “there is a picture in the poem, and there is a poem in the picture”. The content of this poem is similar to that of Tao Qian’s prose, but the picture is more vivid and beautiful than that of Tao Wen, which is very colorful and vivid.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wang Wei (王维), 701-761 A.D., was a native of Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Wang Wei was a poet of landscape and idylls. His poems of landscape and idylls, with far-reaching images and mysterious meanings, were widely loved by readers in later generations, but Wang Wei never really became a man of landscape and idylls.
