世外桃源
- Literal
- the peach-tree spring, beyond the world
- Figurative
- A peaceful, secluded place untouched by the noise and troubles of the world, and the idealized life imagined there.
Where does 世外桃源 come from?
It comes from "Record of the Peach Blossom Spring," written by the poet Tao Yuanming in the fifth century. A fisherman from Wuling follows a stream upriver and comes upon a grove of peach trees in bloom; at the far end of the grove is a cleft in the hillside barely wide enough for a man. On the other side lie fields, houses and a whole village: people who fled the wars of the Qin dynasty and have lived cut off for centuries, never having heard of the dynasties that followed. They host him for a few days and see him off. He marks the way home, but when he tries to return with others, no one can find the place again.
Source (出处): 陶渊明《桃花源记》
How is 世外桃源 used? Two examples
- 这个山村安静得像世外桃源，连车声都听不到。
This mountain village is so quiet it feels like a world apart — you can't even hear a car.
- 别把乡下想成世外桃源，那里的生活也不容易。
Don't picture the countryside as some untouched paradise — life isn't easy there either.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
