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The story of Wang Dayuan

Wang Dayuan, courtesy name Huanzhang, was born in Nanchang. A folk navigator and tourist in the Yuan Dynasty.

Wang Dayuan was born in the fourth year of Emperor Wuzong's reign in the Yuan Dynasty (1311). He had great ambitions since he was a child. He wanted to follow Sima Qian's example of "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles". He traveled to the famous mountains and rivers of his motherland, inspected customs, and recorded property.

In the first year of Zhishun (1330), Wang Dayuan, who was only twenty years old, came to Quanzhou, Fujian, the largest commercial port in the south. This was the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. He took a merchant ship for the first time and went on a long voyage. It took ten countries five years to cross the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. In the third year of Zhiyuan (1337), Wang Dayuan made his second voyage and returned to Quanzhou after two years.

Wang Dayuan was well-informed and kept detailed records along the way. He also wrote a hundred rhymes in ancient style poems. In the ninth year of Zhengzheng year (1349), he compiled it into "Dao Yi Zhi", which was personally recorded by ancient Chinese navigators. beginning. After Wang Dayuan returned to Nanchang, he changed it to "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" and published it.

"Dao Yi Zhi Lue" is divided into one hundred articles, covering more than 220 places in the country and region. The authenticity and breadth of the historical materials exceed those of official and private works of all dynasties, and are of great significance to the study of Yuan Dynasty. It is of great value to the history and geography of China and Western countries in transportation and sea lanes. Many Western scholars have studied this book and translated it into many languages. Nearly two hundred years after Wang Dayuan arrived in Australia, Europeans did not know about this continent.