The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake: Volume 2 of 3 Kindle Edition

The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake is a collection of prose travelogues written by Xu Xiake, a geographer of the Ming Dynasty. After 34 years of travel, Xu Hongzu (Xu Xiake) left behind more than 600,000 words of travel notes, excluding the scattered ones. After his death, others compiled them into The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake. The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake mainly records the author's observations during his travels from 1613 to 1639. It contains detailed accounts of geographical, hydrological, geological, and botanical phenomena. The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake is the pioneering work for the systematic investigation of China's landforms and geology. It also depicts the scenic resources of China's magnificent landscapes. Moreover, its beautiful writing style makes it a literary masterpiece, holding significant value in both geography and literature.The fresh and elegant writing style used to describe things in The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake makes readers reluctant to put it down. For 135 years before 1776 (the 41st year of Emperor Qianlong's reign), it was circulated entirely through hand - copying by readers. After 1776, printed editions began to circulate. Many famous scholars have given fair comments on the literary value of The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake. The historical data value of The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake covers a wide range. Apart from observing mountain shapes and landforms, Xu Xiake also made detailed records of his contributions to landscape geography, including the distribution of hydrology, the exploration of river sources, and the experience of the relationship between landscapes and climate. Xu Xiake also had in - depth observations of the political situation at that time. During his travels in various places, he witnessed the corruption of the overall political atmosphere, the extortion by feudal lords, the chaos of the native chieftain system, the hardship of the people's lives, and the lax military defense at the borders, all of which showed the corruption of the late Ming Dynasty politics. His travel diaries recorded many academies, historical relics, steles, plaques, and the special cultures of ethnic minorities, which played a significant role in recording and preserving cultural relics. In addition, Xu Xiake also recorded a lot about religious beliefs, Taoist temples, and Buddhist monasteries in different places, leaving historical traces of the spread of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in various regions. Judging from these rich contents, it is indeed reasonable that this travelogue has left a name in history and is regarded as a work that spans literature and science in the late Ming Dynasty. Read more