Super friend Xu Xiake doesn’t work and has been traveling for more than 30 years. Where can he get the money?

Super friend Xu Xiake doesn’t work and has been traveling for more than 30 years. Where can he get the money?

As for the ancestor who traveled around, Xu Xiake in the Ming Dynasty can be said to have created a new chapter in history. He had already started his own journey of tourism when he was only 22 years old. After that, for nearly 30 years, he did not have a job or go to school to get a reputation. He spent the entire time traveling and occasionally returned home. In today's terms, he was always on the road, both physically and mentally. At that time, he traveled all over the 14 provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Such a feat is quite shocking even today. So some people think, if he doesn't make a dime, why is he still traveling? Is it really a poor trip?

Xu Xia's Hakka family is considered to be a scholarly family, and her ancestors have been prosperous. For more than ten generations from him, they are all famous people with high rankings in the world. In Xu Xiake's generation, the family was somewhat in decline, but the emaciated camel was bigger than the horse, and it was still considered a wealthy family. Every time Xu Xiake traveled, he would basically have one or two servants accompanying him, which shows that his family's wealth was evident.

At that time, Tang Yuping of the Chinese Army gave Xu Xiake a horse tile and "received it with a horse tile." What is a horse sign? The horse card is a letter of introduction presented to the inn by military personnel in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty when Xu Xiake lived, the post station was responsible for the food, accommodation and travel of important officials and personnel with military missions. In the early Ming Dynasty, the management of post stations was very strict, and it was a serious crime for non-military personnel to use the inns. By the late Ming Dynasty, various systems had been relaxed, but self-funded tourists like Xu Xiake had no right to use the resources of the post station.

But with the horse card, Xu Xiake transformed into a government civil servant with a mission. After a period of time, Xu Xiake used horse cards to solve the problem of food and accommodation. Stations along the way began to recruit civilian men to carry sedan chairs for him, and people also provided food for him, saving a lot of money.

In the second half of Xu Xiake’s travel life, he no longer had much money, and he often relied on support from friends. In the first half of the journey, Xu Xiake traveled all over the country and made many friends, so he traveled again. When he ran out of money, he looked for friends he had made before.

Making the most of his reputation is also an important means for Xu Xiake to solve the problem of travel expenses. For example, through the introduction of his good friend Chen Meigong, he met Tang Dalai, a famous scholar in Kunming, after he entered Yunnan. Tang Dalai got on well with Xu Xiake. Not only did he fund his travel expenses, but he also wrote him many "letters of introduction" to ensure that he would be received during his subsequent journey. This kind of recommendation from friends, one after another, ensures the sustainability of Xu Xiake’s travel to a considerable extent.