When did the word "tour guide" come about?

As the name suggests, a tour guide is to guide travel. The name tour guide evolved from the word "guide". The title "guide" was a specialized term in the military in ancient my country. There is a saying in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu: "Those who do not know the dangers and obstacles of mountains and forests cannot march; those who do not use 'guides' cannot obtain advantageous terrain."

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the great statesman Guan Zhong went on an expedition to Guzhu from Qi Huangong in the north. He returned from spring to winter. Without a guide who was familiar with geography to lead the way, he lost his way on the way home and was at a loss. Later, Guan Zhong came up with a way, saying: "The wisdom of the old horse can be used." He let the old horse go in front of the army, let it go, followed it, and finally returned home. In fact, the old horse acted as a guide. Therefore, an idiom "an old horse knows the way" was left behind, which has been passed down to this day.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang crossed Lu in May and went deep into the barren land. He knew the importance of "guides", so he hired Lu Kai, a native of Yongchang who was familiar with Yunnan's geography, as his marching professor and guide. He marched into Yunnan according to the "Shouman Zhizhang Map" drawn by Lu Kai, thus achieving seven captures and seven verticals. Meng Huo's victory convinced the leaders of the southern ethnic minorities and claimed that "the Prime Minister Tianwei is so powerful that the southerners will no longer rebel." This should be said to be related to the contribution of guide Lu Kai.

In my country's tourism industry, before the 1980s, the title "guide" was still used, and some also called it "travel officer"; there is also an official name called "Leader". Since the reform and opening up, due to the rapid development of tourism, the special title of "tour guide" has just been determined.

Nowadays, tour guide has become a specialized profession. As a tour guide, you must have a tour guide certificate and have rich cultural knowledge such as geography, history and so on. The rapid development of the tourism industry has made tour guides urgently need to improve their own standards in order to gain a foothold in the competition.

Some unqualified tour guides who only know how to persuade tourists to buy things and always want to get kickbacks can only be called "shopping guides."