歷來，陶淵明的〈桃花源記〉被人們當做是一則探訪洞窟（洞天）的傳說。桃花源是洞窟中的異界，〈桃花源記〉也的確能與描寫樂園的譜系聯繫起來。但是，陶淵明創作〈桃花源記〉時，即晉宋相交之際，文人的空間認識發生了巨大的變動。各地編纂地志，記錄與當地山川土地相關聯的故事。其中應當注意的是，通過山川之美與野人目睹的怪異來表現的「神境」。因此，本文將〈桃花源記〉置於地志中的神境之譜系加以解讀。文中提及的主要地志有：羅含《湘中記》、王歆之《神境記》、袁山松《宜都記》等。與這些地志比較，可以得知，〈桃花源記〉與地志的敘述方法多有共通之處。與此同時，〈桃花源記〉被描寫為封閉的「神界」，這一特異性顯得很是突出。為什麼陶淵明把桃花源設定為不能往來的場所呢？因為他理想中的太古的純樸田園是不存在於現實的。與閱讀《山海經》暢遊神話世界的性質相同，對於陶淵明來說，「桃花源」是空想中的遊樂地。把這個理想場所用自己的文字加以表現，成果就是〈桃花源記〉。可以說，陶淵明模仿地志中的「神境」創作出了理想的「人境」

Tao Yuanming's 陶淵明 ＂Taohua yuanji＂ 桃花源記 (Record of Peach Blossom Spring) relates the story of a utopia discovered by a fisherman entering a cave. The Taohua yuan denotes the spirit world discovered in the cave, and as such the ＂Taohua yuanji＂ has been considered as part of a line of paradise narratives. However, in this article, we attempt to analyze the ＂Taohua yuanji＂ from a different angle. At the time when Tao Yuanming wrote the ＂Taohua yuanji,＂ between the Eastern Jin and the Liu-Song, the spatial awareness of literati had undergone a significant change, which can be seen in their compilation of a large number of local chorographies that recorded stories about mountains, rivers, and the lands in which they were found. It is worth noting that descriptions of ＂spiritual realms＂ were present in local chorography. These spiritual realms contained beautiful landscapes, and men of the wilds were said to have often witnessed their unique features. In this article, we locate the ＂Taohua yuanji＂ within the context of the spiritual realms depicted in local chorography. The main texts dealt with here are Luo Han's 羅含 Xiangzhong ji 湘中記, Wang Xinzhi's 王歆之 Shenjing ji 神境記, and Yuan Shansong's 袁山松 Yidu ji 宜都記. When compared against the narrative content of these works, many points of commonality with the ＂Taohua yuanji＂ emerge. However, there is one significant difference. While the ＂spiritual realm＂ in local chorography is depicted as a place to which one can freely come and go, the Taohua yuan is closed and cannot be visited more than once. Did Tao Yuanming intentionally make the Taohua yuan a place to which one could not come and go? We know that Tao Yuanming read the Shanhai jing and enjoyed the ancient mythical world described therein. And, it is also evident that the simple ancient countryside he idealized did not exist in reality. For Tao, the ＂Taohua yuan＂ may have been modeled on the Shanhai jing: it was a fantasy playground world. That is, the ＂Taohua yuanji＂ is a story in which Tao Yuanming expressed his own ideals, and it may be said that he created an idealized ＂human realm＂ by imitating the ＂spiritual realm＂ found in local chorography