世外桃源 shì wài táo yuán 成语
世外桃源 shì wài táo yuán
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was an old fisherman in Wuling. One day, he took his boat out to go fishing. As the boat floated downstream, the fisherman lost his way. Suddenly, a beautiful forest of peach trees with flowers in full bloom caught his eyes. He carried on sailing to the end of the forest where he found a mountain with a small cave at its foot. After the fisherman walked through the cave, a new world opened up before him. The people seemed happy and gentle, and lived peaceful lives with no arguments or disputes. The old rested quietly while the young played happily. Unlike the world outside the cave, there was no conflict or turbulence. When they saw the fisherman, the people asked him not to tell others what he had seen there.
But when he got home the fisherman told the other villagers about his experiences. They did not really believe him but followed him back to the cave out of curiosity. But he never found the place again.
The idiom is used to describe a haven of peace, or utopia.
东晋年间，武陵有一个老渔夫。一天，他驾着渔船出去打鱼。船沿着溪水行驶，老渔夫不知怎么迷了路。忽然，一片美丽的桃花林出现在他眼前。渔夫觉得很奇怪， 继续往前寻找桃花林的尽头。树林的尽头是一座山，山脚下有个小洞。渔夫穿过了山洞，竟然看到了另外一个世界。那里的人们过着幸福安宁的生活，大家和睦相 处，没有纷争，老人们安静地休息，儿童愉快地玩耍，没有外界那样动荡不安。大家看见了老渔夫，嘱咐他不要把在那儿看到的一切告诉别人。
渔夫回到了家，把整件事告诉了村庄里的人。大家都不相信，于是跟着他去看看到底有没有这个地方。可是，这次去他们再也找不到桃花林尽头的这个世界了。
这个成语用来形容一个与世隔绝、生活安乐的理想国家。
Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Idioms
Marjorie Lin (Author)
Four-character idioms (know as "chengyu") are key ingredients of the Chinese language. The authors have selected 1,000 of the most frequently used idioms, listing them in alphabetical order with Pinyin transcription, while providing the equivalent English translation and the original Chinese characters. This is an essential book for any serious student of the Chinese language, as well as for Chinese speakers studying English as a second language.
ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs
John S. Rohsenow (Author)
Rohsenow has collected and codified hundreds of proverbs from the Chinese peasant oral tradition in this volume. These proverbs are not Chengyu from the great literary works and are seldom seen in written form. The introduction includes an extremely insightful take on the subtle differences between proverbs, idioms and other devices in Chinese language and how they reflect on the culture as a whole.
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