The great traveler Xu Xiake

When the Ming Dynasty was filled with smoke, many young people were dissatisfied with the corruption of the government and were unwilling to participate in the imperial examinations and seek to become officials. They have transferred their passion and pursuit of life to other careers, and many of them have achieved brilliant achievements. And he is the best among them. Throughout his life, he measured life with his feet and wrote an eternal legend. Xu Xiake's real name is Xu Hongzu, and Xiake is his nickname. He has loved history and geography books since he was a child. When he was a child, he studied in a private school and was not interested in the classics that the teacher urged him to learn. He often came back with the teacher on his back and put the geography book under the classics to peek at. He was so fascinated that he couldn't help but be very happy. When he was a teenager, he made up his mind to visit famous mountains and rivers himself. It's just that my father passed away very early, and I didn't dare to mention it because my mother was old and there was no one to take care of her at home. Knowing something about his mother encouraged him to go out. A traveling crown was sewn for him. With his mother's enthusiastic support, Xu Xiake made up his mind. In the early spring of the 1930s, 22-year-old Xu Xiake, well dressed, packed his bags and embarked on a traveling trip. With a bag on his back and an umbrella in hand, Taihu Lake, known as the Pearl of the Yangtze River, became the first stop on his long journey. The endless scenery of lakes and mountains is a feast for the eyes for Xu Xiake, who is just starting out. He visited the Xishan Mountain and Dongshan Mountain, which are inserted diagonally into Taihu Lake, and was filled with joy when he returned to his hometown. Dongting Mountain, Tiantai Mountain, Yandang Mountain, Taishan, Wuyi Mountain and Wutai Mountain and Hengshan Mountain in the north. Every time he returned home from a trip, he would chat with his relatives and friends about the strange customs and thrilling scenes in various places. Others were too scared to speak, but his mother listened with interest. Xu Xiake has been traveling almost every year for more than 30 years. It reaches Yanji in the north, Fujian and Guangdong in the south, reaches the top of Taihua in the northwest, and reaches the border of Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest. He traveled to 17 provinces in China. Now in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, as well as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The reason why Xu Xiake has been able to travel for many years is inseparable from his mother's strong support. His mother encouraged him many times. You can do anything for a man if you aim for everything. Even when she was 70 years old, she proudly accompanied Xu Xiake on a tour of Jingxi and Gouqu. His ambitions were high and his family helped him. Despite all the hardships, Xu Xiake finally got the famous panoramic view of mountains and rivers in China. He truly appreciated the beauty of rivers and mountains and took in all the wonders of the world. Xu Xiake was the first person in ancient times who did not follow the secular world and took the investigation of nature as his own duty. In 1636, Xu Xiake's mother passed away at the age of 51. Before that, although he had gone out many times, the time he came back was mostly short because he had always been very attached to his mother. Xu Xiake now devotes all his energy to tourism inspections. So he began the last and longest trip in his life. So he set out from his hometown and passed through Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, and arrived at Tengchong, Yunnan, on the border of China and China. This was the farthest place during this tour. It lasted for five spring and autumn years. He traveled over mountains and ridges regardless of the severe cold and scorching heat, and wandered among the wild mountains and forests for a long time. Once, when he was climbing over a towering mountain, he found a cave on the cliff with no way to go. Risking his life, he climbed up the cliff like an ape and finally reached the cave. While accepting the severe test of nature, there are often challenges from various human factors. When Xu Xiake roamed the southwest, in addition to his accompanying servants, there was also a monk named Wen Jing accompanying him. Once, they encountered robbers on a boat in the Xiangjiang River. Their luggage and belongings were robbed. The monk died of his injuries on the way. Finally, even his servants left him and fled. The book records that Xu Xiake was robbed three times and deprived of food four times, leaving him naked and hungry. But these setbacks did not shake his determination

Under extremely difficult and difficult circumstances, many well-meaning people kindly advised him not to take any more risks. If he returns to his hometown, they can help him pay for his trip home. For the cause he loves, Xu Xiake said firmly: If I end the investigation and return to my hometown when I encounter difficulties, I will never have another chance in the future, and my wife and children will definitely not agree to go out to investigate again. My willingness to continue investigating cannot be changed. In order to show his determination, he boldly said that I have already carried the digging tools on my back. Where can I not bury my bones? In order to overcome material difficulties, he was not ashamed to ask fellow villagers to borrow money. He also used gifts given to him by others in exchange for barrels of grain for women in the village, or sold his own clothes to fund his further investigation. In order to explore the true mysteries of nature, Xu Xiake followed the strange and took risks. Climbing a mountain leads to the highest peak, and descending a cave leads to the deepest point. He doesn't believe in evil, ghosts, and the magic of nature, and he's determined to find out. Once when he was in Chaling, Hunan, he heard that there was a Maye Cave there. There is a dragon playing tricks in the cave. People who don't know magic won't survive if they go in. Xu Xiake doesn’t believe in elves without me. He paid a high price to hire a local as a guide to visit the cave. Just when I was about to enter the cave, the guide learned that Xu Xiake was an ordinary scholar, so he turned around and ran away. He also said, I thought you were a capable lawyer, so I dared to follow you into the cave. You're a scholar, so I win and don't get eaten by monsters after I'm gone. Xu Xiake left me alone and entered the cave with the flashlight left by the guide. When people in the village heard that someone had entered the cave, they all rushed to the cave to watch the fun.

Xu Xiake inspected the cave for a long time and did not come out until the torch was almost burned out. People around the cave were surprised to see that he was able to get out of the cave safely. They said, we and I have been waiting for a long time, and we thought you must have been eaten by goblins. In fact, Xu Xiake is in the cave. Not only did he not encounter various mythical dragons and monsters, but he personally felt the magic of stones in another world, changing skin and mind. People in the Ming Dynasty mistakenly saw stalactites with strange shapes and mistook them for dragons. Xu Xiake made their doubts and worries disappear. They all admired Xu Xiake's amazing actions. Writer Wang Anshi once lamented: The otherworldly world view of strange people and strange things often lies in dangers in the distance, but there are very few people, so those who are unwilling can not go there. Xu Xiake, on the other hand, had a fearless spirit of moving forward without fear of hardships, making mistakes without regrets, sleeping between trees and rocks when hungry, not taking shelter from wind and rain, and not being afraid of tigers and wolves. Therefore, he can observe strange landscapes that are inaccessible to ordinary people and the most valuable qualities necessary for scientific achievements. In order to spread his knowledge to future generations, Xu Xiake recorded in detail what he saw and heard that day during his journey. Even if he sleeps in a barren mountain, he persists in the wilderness. After his field investigation, he corrected many erroneous records in geography books and discovered geographical phenomena that had not been recorded by the ancients. Ancient books say that the Minjiang River is the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. After inspection, Xu Xiake determined that the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was the Jinsha River and not the Minjiang River. After his death, his good friend Ji compiled his diary into a book Xu Xiake's Travels. As Xu Xiake's main achievement, this book records in detail what Xu Xiake saw and heard throughout his life, including mountains and rivers, climate and vegetation, customs, etc. It is not only beautifully written, but also has high scientific value. This book describes the karst landforms in China's limestone areas for the first time. Don I don't believe I really like your detailed system. This is the world's earliest monograph on karst landforms.