Tao Yuanming (táo yuān míng 陶渊明), a famous writer of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (dōng jìn 东晋,317-420AD), wrote the well-known essay Peach-Blossom Spring (táo huā yuán jì 桃花源记). In it he tells a story which goes like this: A fisherman happened to come upon a place called Peach-Blossom Spring. Squeezing through a cave, he found a village, the residents of which were descendants of refugees from the Qin Dynasty (qín cháo 秦朝). It was a paradise isolated from the outside world, without exploitation or oppression, and everybody living and working in peace and contentment. The fisherman left the villagers and went home. But he could never find the place again.This idiom is derived from the above story, and is used to mean an isolated, ideal world.

东晋的文学家陶渊明写了一片著名的文章叫《桃花源记》。叙述一个渔人出外捕鱼的时候，偶然来到了桃花源这个地方。从这里通过一个山洞，发现了一个村 子，这里的居民是秦朝时避难人的后代。这是一个与世隔绝、没有剥削和压迫、人人安居乐业的美好社会。渔人告别村民回家以后，再也找不到这个地方了。后来，由这个故事产生了“世外桃源”这个成语，用来比喻与世隔绝的、理想的美好世界。

世外桃源 (shì wài táo yuán)
【翻译】A Haven of Peace and Happiness.
【释义】原指与现实社会隔绝、生活安乐的理想境界。后也指环境幽静生活安逸的地方。借指一种
            空想的脱离现实斗争的美好世界。
【例句】世界上不存在真正的世外桃源，它只是人们对美好生活的一种向往和憧憬。
【近义词】洞天福地
【反义词】人间地狱