Tao Yuanming (365–427), also known as Qian, was a native of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. Tao Yuanming, who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries AD, from the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the beginning of the Southern Dynasty, was one of the great Chinese poets, writers, and thinkers, and the Taohuayuan is his greatest work.
Taohuayuan is a place in the story told by Tao Yuanming in the form of "Peach Blossom Origin" poetry reference, no one can tell why Taohuayuan has such a great charm, attracting people in ancient and modern China and abroad for more than 1,000 years. Obviously, people know that there is no golden treasure in the peach blossom garden, no immortal secret, no perfect beauty, and no element that stimulates worldly desires, but people's yearning for the peach blossom garden has never diminished. Whether it is a prosperous world or a chaotic world, whether it is unity or division, life is proud or frustrated, Taohuayuan has eternal attraction.
With less than 400 words, "The Tale of Peach Blossom Origin" has been translated into many languages and has become a famous piece of world literature. Originally because it was included in the "Afterword of Search for God", people read it as a story of magical chiwei, and then its beautiful words and natural style were appreciated as rare prose. In modern times, starting from Liang Qichao, he regarded it as an indiscriminate work of fiction from the perspective of Western literary theory, and had a profound influence on later Qing Dynasty novels such as "Liaozhai Zhiyi" and "Dream of the Red Chamber". Some people think that it is a pure fictional creation, and some people think that it is documentary literature based on facts. Some people think that Taohuayuan is a fairy tale, an absurd legend, some people think that it is an ideal country "utopia" where Tao Yuanming has ambitions, and some people believe that there must be this place, and say that it is in a certain county and a certain place, some of them say that it is in the south, and some people say that it is in the north... The peach blossom source seems to have no, it is also true and illusory, and the flow of time not only does not damage its charm, but makes it more mysterious, so that more people are haunted by its soul and diligently pursue it.
Let's read this ancient article again.
In the Jin Dynasty, the Wuling people fished for their profession. Edge creek line, forget the distance of the road. Suddenly, the peach blossom forest, hundreds of steps between the shores, no miscellaneous trees, fresh herbs, colorful fall. Fishermen are very different, and they go back and forth, wanting to exhaust the forest.
When the forest is exhausted, there will be a mountain, and the mountain will have a small mouth, as if there is light. Ditch the boat and enter through the mouth. The beginning is very narrow, and it is only through people. Repeat dozens of steps, suddenly enlightened. The land is flat, the houses are like houses, and there are good fields, beautiful ponds, and mulberry bamboo. Strange traffic, chickens and dogs smell each other. Among them, men and women are dressed like outsiders. Yellow hair hanging down and enjoying himself.
When he saw the fisherman, he was horrified and asked where he had come from. Answered. Then they will return home and set up wine to kill chickens for food. The village heard of this person, and Xian came to inquire. Since Yun's ancestors avoided the chaos of Qin, he led his wife Yiren to this desperate situation, did not come back, and was separated from outsiders. Ask what world it is, but I don't know whether there is a Han, no matter Wei Jin. This person sighed one by one for what he had heard. The rest of the people went back to their homes and all drank and ate. Stop for a few days and resign. This middle man said: "Not enough for outsiders to be humane." ”
When he is out, he gets his boat, and he leads to the road, and everywhere he wants to do it. And the county, Ji Taishou, said so. To be too conservative is to send people to follow them, to find what they want, to be lost, and not to find the way back.
Nanyang Liu Ziji, a noble scholar, smelled it and gladly followed it. Unsuccessful, the search for the end of the disease, and then there is no one to ask.
"The Tale of Peach Blossom Origin" is considered to be Tao Yuan's mature work of the next year, and he tells the story of a Wuling fisherman who mistakenly entered Taohuayuan with pure fire and pure brushwork and a consistent natural style. There are no gods and immortals in this story, nor is there a Taoist cave heaven and earth, and the fishermen have not obtained immortal fate, longevity, or treasures because of this adventure. The protagonist does not even have a name, and even his place of origin is a county, a county, a county, a village, and it is not clear. An unremarkable fisherman, do not know how old, what looks, what personality, the only certainty is the professional "fisherman" and the age "Jin Taiyuanzhong". Taiyuan was the second era name of Sima Yao, the Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was used for 21 years from 376 to 396 AD, when Tao Yuanming was in his youth.
After the simple and vague background introduction, the fisherman whose name is all blank, set off on his boat without any special day, "Edge creek, forget the distance of the road", this sentence is very clever. This is the beginning of the story, and before this sentence it was normal fisherman's life, but from this sentence the fisherman deviated from his daily life, but it was very clever, because at first glance it seemed to be part of normal life. Taking a boat along the creek is the life of a fisherman, and on this day I don't know if I am watching fish or in a daze, and I found a strange place. Why is it a strange place, because the fisherman does not know whether it is far from home or close, but if the word "strange" appears, it will make people wake up and be alert, the fisherman will be nervous, the reader will also be nervous, the human instinct has a kind of vigilance against the strange, but Tao Yuanming said lightly that "forgetting the distance and proximity of the road", as if this place has come, but rarely comes, the scenery and the familiar place are not much different, come when it comes, there is nothing to be fussed about.
The most important thing is this experience and feeling of "forgetting the distance and proximity", which almost everyone has ever had. Or walking alone, or chatting with friends, whether it is in a familiar place or in a place that is not familiar, the brain is focusing on something, the feet are not stopping, and when you look back, you find that you have arrived at a place that is not in your imagination, and then look around and look around, go back, it is not surprising. And the fisherman turned back because of the "sudden peach blossom forest", which is strange. Tao Yuanming was quietly laid in front of the padding, but here used a "sudden" word, the scene where the fisherman returned to god came to life, and also grabbed the reader's attention, just like taking a picture of the shocked wood, telling everyone that this place is very important, and then he wants to depict this scene in a strong and colorful way.
"Suddenly in the peach blossom forest, hundreds of steps between the shores, there are no miscellaneous trees in the middle, the herbs are delicious, and the fall is colorful." This passage is fresh, clearly layered, colorful, and full of spring exuberance and splendor. In this short and concise article, in addition to the life of Peach Blossom Garden, the most described is this peach blossom forest. This peach blossom forest is planted on the bank, there are no other miscellaneous trees on both sides of the clear stream, only the peach blossoms are purely open, the flowers are burning, the herbs under the trees are delicious, the blue water and flowers are shadowy, and the breeze blows through the flowers and falls like rain, it can be said that this peach blossom forest is beautiful to a thrilling degree. Fishermen are very different, not only fishermen are surprised, but also readers are surprised. Look at Tao Yuanming's description of the area of this peach blossom forest, "hundreds of steps", which is written from the fisherman's point of view, this is not a measurement of the distance with the eyes, but a moving lens, the fisherman can't help but move forward in amazement, so the reader also follows the fisherman to know the dynamic beauty of the peach blossom forest.
Why Peach Blossom? Tao Yuanming has always loved the fragrant plants of Chunlan Qiuju, why is his ideal country named after peach blossoms, with peach blossoms as symbols and precursors? In the "Book of Poetry" of the pre-Qin era, the peach blossom is a beautiful symbol of marriage and reproduction in human society, "the peach dies and burns its glory." The peach blossom symbolizes the health and beauty of the bride, the size of the peach symbolizes the growth of the child, the exuberance of the peach leaf symbolizes the prosperity of the family, and the peach blossom connotation is more closely integrated with human social activities. In Tao Yuan's beloved reading of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the peach blossom is related to the image of Father Kua, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Overseas North Classic says: "Father Kua and the Sun are driven away and enter the Sun." Thirsty, thirsty to drink, drinking in the river, wei; The river and Wei are insufficient, and the north drinks Daze. Before he arrived, he died of thirst. Abandon his staff and become Dunlin. The Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Zhongshan Classic also says: "Ninety miles to the west, the mountain of the Father of The Quaker, and to the north there is a forest, known as the Peach Forest." This story Tao Yuanming of course knows, he sang in "Reading the < Shan Hai Jing> Qijiu" to praise the deeds of his father day by day: "Father Kua's birthday is a race to walk with the sun." It seems that there is no victory or defeat under the Yu Yuan. Divine power is extraordinary, and the river is enough! The rest of the traces were sent to Deng Lin, and the merit was behind him. Historians say that the ancient sound "Deng" and "peach" are homophonous, and Deng Lin is Tao Lin. Tao Lin is the cane of Father Kwa, Tao Yuanming believes that he has pinned his great ambition on Father Kwa, and "the merit is behind him", Father Kwa won the final victory with the existence of Tao Lin, and his fearless spirit of daring to walk with Ri Made Tao Yuanming praise. Was this peach forest in "Peach Blossom Origin" born from the spirit of The Father of The Boast?
The peach blossom is the creation of spring, bright colors, strong spirit, full of vigorous vitality, and has a close connection with the fireworks and ethnic reproduction in the world, and has a close connection with the sun, growth, and hope, when Tao Yuan Mingxin wrote by hand, he placed this uncomplaimed peach forest somewhere in the human world, he implanted the fearless spirit from the father of the exaggeration and the best blessings on the world.
The fisherman did not understand the meaning of peach blossoms, but he was amazed by this beautiful scenery and wanted to go to the end of the peach forest to see. I think he must have maintained some kind of expectation, a certain curiosity, where did this beautiful scenery come from, was it planted or the geography and climate were specific, and would there be any other strange phenomenon besides peach forest? Man is curious, provided that he is in a natural state. Wuling fisherman was attracted by the beauty of nature in the "hundreds of steps between the shores", step by step away from the social identity forced by livelihood, away from the utilitarian psychology of fishing and fishing, so that he could enter Tao Yuanming's peach blossom source.
"When the forest is exhausted, it will have a mountain, and the mountain will have a small mouth, as if there is light." At the critical juncture of the advancement of the storyline, Tao Yuanming's tone is always particularly concise, there are no extra branches, and it is particularly natural to read and logical. The following of "Forest Exhausting Water Source" is of concern to fishermen and readers, "there will be a mountain", "A big mountain plugs all eyes and curiosity, "the mountain has a small mouth", but it has a different path, opens an opening, the "mountain" of the previous sentence is connected with the "mountain" of the next sentence, forming a chain structure connecting the head and tail, the connection is tight and natural, and it reads smooth as silk. "As if there is light" is a real extraterrestrial pen, imagine if this mysterious cave is dark and unpredictable, revealing a bit of terror, will the fisherman dare to enter it? Will he suddenly shiver, calm down from the beauty of the peach blossom forest, and turn around? However, Tao Yuanming was very careful to see the "light" that implied hope and light, and conveyed warmth and safety from the hole, and the fisherman's heart was moved. He "give up the boat, from the mouth", this sentence is not trivial, can not be ignored, the boat is a fisherman's means of livelihood, is a symbol of the fisherman's social identity, in a strange place, the fisherman gave up his boat, implying that he was detached from his social attributes, which was a necessary condition for him to enter the peach blossom garden. This corresponds to his "getting his boat, then helping him to the road, and everywhere he wants to do it" after he came out of the peach blossom garden, he can see that the fisherman got the boat, and he returned to his social attributes, and he began to realize the realistic value of the peach blossom garden, all the way to make a mark, to report to the officials, breaking the promise he made to the people in the peach blossom garden.
The fisherman abandoned his boat and entered the narrow cave entrance, how deep is the hole, Tao Yuanming is still measured by the fisherman's footsteps, dozens of steps, this number is very inaccurate, because the fisherman's steps are large and small slow and urgent is affected by the mood at that time, which is both a kind of fiction and a kind of real writing, because the fisherman in this case, on the one hand, will pay attention to the distance of the road, on the one hand, can not take into account the concentration of their own steps, this inaccurate number is very vivid expression of the fisherman's psychological state. Similarly, in the very critical cave march, Tao Yuanming took over the past in one sentence in an extremely concise way. The next sentence has already entered the peach blossom garden, followed by the most detailed and beautiful paragraph in this article.
"Suddenly enlightened" is aimed at narrow caves, and the strong contrast not only makes the fisherman and the reader have a bright mood, but also makes the scene in front of them more impactful. "The land is flat, the houses are like houses, and there are good fields, beautiful ponds, and mulberry bamboo. Strange traffic, chickens and dogs smell each other. "This is the paradise in Tao Yuanming's mind, quiet and peaceful, nature and human beings live in harmony, flat land, scattered houses, fertile fields, clear ponds, flourishing mulberry trees, elegant bamboo forests, crisscrossing field paths, chickens and dogs are safe. This beautiful scenery and Tao Yuanming's idyllic poems are mutually corroborated, and this kind of scenery is described in his "Return to the Garden and Rural Residence", "More than ten acres of square houses, eight or nine grass houses." The eaves of the elm willow shade, in front of the tao li luo hall. Ambiguous distant village, clinging to the smoke in the ruins. Dogs bark in the deep alley, chickens sing mulberry trees upside down", the realm is so similar. But unlike real life, the people in Taohuayuan are "yellow-haired and happy", and their happiness is a dream that people have been pursuing for more than a thousand years. Tao Yuanming did not explicitly say in the "Peach Blossom Origin", and in the main poem he said more bluntly: "Spring silkworms harvest filaments, autumn ripens the king's tax", "Although there is no chronicle, the four hours of self-growth" "Yiran has yu happiness, Yu HeLao wisdom", this is a worldly place with no class and no exploitation, only "the ancient law of the beans, no new system of clothes", there is morality and morality without strict laws, there is friendship and no rules of etiquette. This is the "utopia" in Tao Yuanming's mind, a place where everyone is equal, there is no royal tax, no oppression, no suffering, no emperor and monarch, no aggression and harassment, deceit, and even no martial law prevention, let alone mutual coercion and discrimination. In 1964, Chairman Mao explained to the English translator of Chairman Mao's Poems: "Tao Yuanming envisioned an ideal world called 'Taohuayuan', with no taxes and no oppression. This advanced concept of the ideal country is the core of the charm of the story of "Peach Blossom Origin", and later there are countless legendary novels imitating "Peach Blossom Origin", and Tao Yuanming's contemporaries "Search for God" and "Youminglu" have "encounter immortal" stories, but "Peach Blossom Origin" and these "mistaken into the fairyland, to meet the fairy edge, and then to return" stories seem to be different from God. The scenery in Taohuayuan is not surprising, even similar to the actual idyllic scenery, and the fishermen who enter Taohuayuan have not received immortal medicines, treasures or sexual encounters, but have been warmly welcomed by "killing chicken with wine". A more special scene occurs when the fisherman says goodbye, and we first look at how Tao Yuanming writes about the reaction of the people in the peach blossom garden to the fisherman's intrusion.
At this point, the fisherman's detailed description of Taohuayuan implies from the side that the fisherman's observation time is not short, and since he has seen that "men and women dressed like outsiders", the people of Taohuayuan naturally also discovered the existence of fishermen. Here Tao Yuanming uses the pen without any chaos, and undertakes it very naturally and tightly.
"Seeing the fisherman, it is a big surprise", of course, surprised, 500 years have not been in contact with the outside world, even the clothing is different from the fisherman," so he went forward to interrogate, and the fisherman's attitude at this time was at least sincere: "one by one for the sake of words", which is very important, the fisherman left his boat and entered the peach blossom garden alone, his state at this time is authentic, this authenticity has both the authenticity of the peach blossom source, and the authenticity of human nature when it is not tempted and distorted. Taohuayuan is a closed small society, their ancestors came to this desperate situation in order to avoid qin shi chaos, never to be in contact with the outside world, this process should be full of turbulence and suffering, they should have been like the trapped beasts after the fight, full of vigilance and prevention, and even resentment. However, 500 years of simple life have washed away their dark and vicious sides, and the peaceful happiness has made them tolerant, generous, open, warm, and they are full of kindness to the fishermen who intruded into The Peach Blossom Garden. This is different from the fisherman's life, which may be the reason why the fisherman stays here for several days.
After enjoying the warm reception in Peach Blossom Garden, the fisherman bid farewell and went back. In later novels, no outsider who breaks into the fairyland can return to reality without paying any price, or like the protagonists of "Youminglu Liu Ruan Yuxian" and "ShuYi Ji Guan Qi rotten Ke", after returning from xianxiang, they find that the time that belongs to them has passed, their relatives and houses are no longer there, and they can only return to the fairyland. Or to make all kinds of poisonous oaths, the violators will not have a good end. The fisherman was only advised to be "not humane enough", and he must have nodded his head frequently, or swore that he would not say it. The wonderful thing is that Tao Yuanming did not write about the situation of the fisherman at that time, leaving room for imagination.
When the fisherman "is out, get his boat", there is no longer any scene description, the peach blossoms in the peach blossom forest are still blooming, or thank you, the fisherman does not care at all, because he took his fishing boat, looking for a way back to the real world, here are 3 short sentences, from 2 words to 3 words to 4 words, and then to "everywhere Zhizhi", the fisherman completed the transformation of his social identity and the change of psychological state, the one who was amazed by the natural beauty of the peach blossoms, and was infected by the quiet and peaceful nature of the peach blossom source and sincerely responded, Gradually give way to worldly desires and wits. He was so urgent, he didn't have the heart to appreciate the beautiful scenery along the road, he only wanted to leave a mark, after going out, he didn't go home, he went directly to see Taishou, that kind of eagerness for profit, Tao Yuanming didn't seem to have Zang No, but his words had already embodied the ugliness of the fishermen, and he didn't tell us whether we would be punished when the fishermen led the official palace to find nothing, but The peach blossom garden was always closed to the fishermen, and it was also closed to the world.
What kind of person is The Fisherman of Wuling, as the protagonist of the article "Peach Blossom Origin", is good or evil, is it evil, Tao Yuanming did not give any depiction, in many later stories of encountering immortals, the protagonist has a tone, as a condition for meeting immortals. For example, Dong Yong sold his body to bury his father known for pure filial piety, Liu Ruan encountered the test of climbing peach picking and looking for food against the current before encountering xian, and the protagonist of Guanqi Rotten Ke is that his mother has an adventure and then his mother asks him to find immortals, and they all show readers some excellent qualities before they have an adventure, as a condition for adventure. However, the Wuling fisherman is an exception, he has no name and no name, no origin, and no cause and effect, just like a silhouette, it is black or white, which is imagined and smeared by people, which has attracted a lot of discussion from later generations, in the pen of the Song Dynasty poet Xie Fangde, the Wuling fisherman is an insatiable image: "Flowers fly with the flowing water, afraid that there are fishermen to ask for help (Xie Fangde "Qingquan An Peach Blossom")."
At the end, in stark contrast to the nameless fisherman, Tao Yuanming arranges for a real character to appear, the Eastern Jin hermit Liu Ziji. "Nanyang Liu Xiaozhi, zi ji, good to swim in the landscape." Taste the medicine to Hengshan Mountain, and go deep into the forgetting. See there is a stream of water, and there are two stones in the south of the water, one closed and one open. The depth of the water cannot be crossed, and it is necessary to return the road. When you encounter a salary earner, ask for a way, you have to return home. Or that all of them are immortal formulas, elixirs, and miscellaneous things. The desire of the donkey is more searchable, and it is no longer known. (Afterword of Searching God) "Liu Ziji's deeds are recorded in the "New Language of the World", "Book of Jin" and "Afterword of Searching God", of which "Afterword of Searching God" was written by Tao Yuanming, and the story about Liu Ziji entering Hengshan to collect medicine is in the next article of "Peach Blossom Origin".
Liu Ziji and Tao Yuanming were contemporaries, and legend has it that in his later years he also lived in seclusion at the foot of Lushan Mountain, and Tao Yuanming was a good friend, and he himself was not only a famous scholar of high moral character, the Book of Jin records that "when I went to the house of Qi, there was a lonely grandmother, who was sick and dying, and sighed and said: 'Whoever buries me, only Liu Changshi'er!' Why do you know? 'The first to hear of his troubles, so he waited for him, and at the end of his life, he was sent to him in a camp coffin.' His benevolence is as compassionate as this. "Liu Ziji is buried for the lonely old man in the distance, known for his benevolence and keeping promises, loves the landscape, does not enter the shi, and has the experience of entering the mountains to collect medicine, such a character to find the peach blossom source, logically established, and from the side to suggest the authenticity and credibility of the incident of the Wuling fisherman mistakenly entering the peach blossom source, this kind of writing technique between the virtual reality is very wonderful. The face of the fisherman in Wuling is unknown, whether this story is absurd, but Tao Yuanming used the famous liu Ziji who was well-known at the time to "gladly follow the rules", silently dispelled this doubt, and took this character who was very plump without description as the other side of the fisherman, making the story more complicated and rich. However, when people pinned their hopes on the search for the noble scholar Liu Ziji, Tao Yuanming took another false shot, "unsuccessful, looking for the end of the disease." Liu Ziji in the end whether to go, or went but did not find, here Tao Yuanming did not make a clear explanation, later people are also full of ridicule for Liu Ziji, "Ridiculous Nanyang Liu Ziji, want to find the terroir stagnation in Beijing." (Zheng Qiao?) "Passing the Peach Blossom Cave Tian Family Stay Drink") "Nanyang Liu Ziji, alone asked about the Jin ship. (Xiang Ansei?) "The Second Rhyme Narrates Li Ti's Punishment to Linxian Zhengzhi and Hears the First Orthodox Discussion on Taoyuan Matters").
In the "Book of Jin", Liu Ziji is "the end of life", but Tao Yuanming said that he was "the end of the disease", and this "end of illness" was related to whether the search for the peach blossom source "did not come to fruition", Tao Yuanming did not mention it, and then turned his pen sharply, writing "After that, there is no question". Tao Yuanming used this sentence as the end of the whole story, full of infinite meaning, he hopes that no one will disturb the life in the peach blossom source, which is a kind of protection for the peach blossom source, because whether it is malicious or benign interference, it will end the continuation of the peach blossom source, but he regrets that no one is full of yearning and curiosity about the peach blossom source, since then people have sunk into the present world, there is no ideal and no motivation to break the shackles of life, he is more worried about whether the beauty of the peach blossom source will be lost in the rolling world. Will people know later that there was a place in the world where there was no oppression and no darkness? Just like his ideal, which once existed, but will eventually dissipate, this is a sigh hidden by Tao Yuanming behind "Peach Blossom Origin". Tao Yuanming's ambivalence and sigh make the artistry of "Peach Blossom Origin" transcend all the legends of the same type, touching the struggle and choice of everyone's innermost yearning for ideals and succumbing to reality, this sigh echoes endlessly in the universe for a long time, as long as you have ideals, you will empathize with it.
On the contrary, where is the "no-carer", the fact is that thousands of years of people looking for Taohuayuan are endless, and the story of Taohuayuan does not lose its influence due to the passage of time and the change of dynasties. In China alone, more than 100 places claim to be Taohuayuan and have successfully declared national tourist attractions under this name. Taohuayuan has been frequently quoted in poems throughout the ages, becoming an allusion, a synonym for the supreme ideal, and even "Taoyuan Xing" developed into a poetic style like Lefu poetry and bamboo branch words, not only in China, but also in neighboring Japan and Korea. Spring is full of peach blossom water, and it is not clear where to find the source of immortals. The tang dynasty poet Wang Wei's deep exclamation in the poem "Taoyuan Xing" because of the inability to pursue the peach blossom source is still lingering in modern times.