Information and family background of Xu Xiake, a celebrity in the late Ming Dynasty

Xu Xiake (January 5, 1587-March 8, 1641) was born in Jiangyin, South Zhili (now Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province). Geographers, travelers and writers in the Ming Dynasty wrote more than 2.6 million words after 4 years' investigation (more than 2 million words were lost, and only 6, words were left), which was called "the wonder of the ages".

Xu Xiake has devoted his life to all directions, and has traveled all over 21 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. "What a man has not reached is what he has not known." Wherever he went, he explored the secluded and sought secrets, and recorded his travels, recording various phenomena, humanities, geography, animals and plants, etc.

in the 14th year of Ming Shenzong Wanli (1586), Xu Xiake was born in Jiangyin, South Zhili (now Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province), a famous rich family, and his ancestors were all scholars. His father, Xu Youmian, is unwilling to be an official or associate with power all his life, and likes to visit and enjoy the landscape everywhere.

Influenced by the culture of the farming and reading family, Xu Xiake was eager to learn and read widely when he was a child, especially fond of local classics and maps. As a teenager, he set up a travel ambition of "A gentleman is facing the blue sea and twilight".

In the 29th year of Wanli (161), when Xu Xiake was fifteen years old, he should have passed the boy test once, but he failed. Seeing that his son had no intention of fame and was no longer reluctant, the father encouraged him to read widely and become a learned man.

Xu Xiake studies very hard, and anyone who asks can remember what he has read. However, the library at home can't meet his needs gradually. He collects books he hasn't seen everywhere. As long as he sees good books, even if he doesn't have money, he has to take off his clothes to change them.

In the thirty-third year of Wanli (165), Xu Xiake was nineteen years old and his father died. Xu Xiake was born with a quirk, and wanted to go out and explore the mysteries of famous mountains and rivers, and wanted to paint the world famous mountains and rivers as a general record, but because of his elderly mother, he couldn't bear to go.

Xu's mother is open-minded and reasonable. Compared with her father's "pure ambition", her mother's "diligent and open-minded" has a more direct influence on Xu Xiake, who is encouraged to travel with confidence.

In the thirty-sixth year of Wanli (168), 22-year-old Xu Xiake finally went on a formal trip. Before he left, he wore a traveling crown made for him by his mother and left his hometown with simple luggage on his shoulders. From then on, until his death at the age of 54, he spent most of his time on a trip.

Extended information:

Xu Xiake explored the waterway sources of many rivers, such as Zuoyou River in Guangxi, Xiao and Bin River, tributaries of Xiangjiang River, Erpanjiang River in North and South Yunnan, and Yangtze River, among which the Yangtze River is the deepest. Where the Yangtze River originated has been a mystery for a long time. Yu Gong, a geography book in the Warring States period, contains the saying that "the Minjiang River guides the river", which has been used in later books.

Xu Xiake has doubts about this. He took this question "Sanqin in the north, Wuling in the south, and Shimen Jinsha in the west" and found out that Jinsha River originated in the southern foothills of Kunlun Mountain, more than 1, miles longer than Minjiang River, so he concluded that Jinsha River was the source of the Yangtze River.

No one found it for a long time after him. It was not until 1978 that the country sent an investigation team to confirm that the true source of the Yangtze River was the Tuotuo River in Gladden, the main peak of Tanggula Mountain.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Xu Xiake (introduction to historical figures)