THE LAND OF PEACH BLOOM 109' 



and futile it is to seek for that which is not, and to aspire to 

 that which is not attainable. 



Those who have taken an interest in the study of com- 

 parative folklore have doubtless found among the ancient 

 traditions of most nations legends and allegories bearing on 

 this same question, told in more or less the same strain, and 

 sounding the same keynote, the keynote in man's yearnings 

 to reach a state of perfect bliss. It is the high unremitting 

 pulse of the soul beating for perfection and immortality. 



The story under review was written by T'ao Ch'ien 

 (a.d. 365-427) known in early life as T'ao Yuan Ming. What 

 is here given is from a popular dramatized version. The 

 title, T'ao Yuan means a source or spring of water in the 

 midst of a grove of Peach trees. The character Yuan for 

 garden is sometimes misused for Yuan, spring. For a fuller 

 account of T'ao see Giles's Biographical Dictionary, p. 717. 



The Story. 



"Hsiin te T'ao Yuan hao pi Ch'in, 

 T'ao hung yu chien i nien ch'un ; 

 Hua fei mo ch'ien sui liu shui, 

 P'a yu yu lang lai wen ching. 1 



(Translation). 



"Having found the home of Peach Blossoms, we are safe from 

 the tyranny of Ch'in. 



When Peach Blossoms appear, they mark the springtime of 

 another year. 



But let not the petals float down on the stream, lest some fisher- 

 man seeing them be guided here." 



Just as the sun was setting one calm spring evening in 

 the T'ai-ho vear 2 of the Ch'in dynasty, a stalwart young 

 fisherman was seen paddling his little skirr up a narrow 

 stream near Wuling, 3 a thriving centre in the Prefecture of 

 Ch'ang-te, in the Province of Hunan. 



It had been a long, sultry day, one of those dazzling 

 harbingers of an early eastern summer; not a ripple stirred 

 the water. A square net, used chiefly to catch small fish in 

 shallow water, hung extended in front of the boat, gently 

 bobbin^ and swaving as the slender bamboos, which held it 

 out byline four corners, bent with each stroke of the paddles. 

 For a hundred times at least, since dawn, the net had been 

 dipped and lifted with small success, and now, the day s toil 

 being ended, it was allowed to hang and dry. 



"i From the ChSen Chia Shih, by Hsieh Fang-te, a poet of the Sung- 

 dynasty, and a native of Kiangsi. He died in Peking m a.d. 1289. 



3Wulin 6 g 6 'is also the ancient name of Hangchow, the famous old 

 capital of the present province of Chekiang. 



