Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
To Zhang Qian, his aim was to carry out a political mission; whereas to Fa-Xien or
Shuen-Zhaung, it was religious fervour that motivated them to take the travels and
stand all the trials of hardship.
Now, the traveller Hsü Xia-Ke of late sixteenth century (1587-1641) is also well
known for his daring journeys. Nevertheless, his travels were completely different
from that of the people we mentioned above. More than half of his lifetime was
spent in travelling. He travelled with neither political assignment nor any religious
motives. He travelled because he wanted to seek knowledge and to explore the
secrets of Mother Nature. Hsü Xia-Ke was a native of Jiang-Yin Xien in Jiang-Su
Province on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. It was at the age of 22, that is,
1607 A.D., that he left his home at the Yangtze Delta and started his planned trips.
His aim was to visit the most famous mountains in China. Usually, he completed
one trip within a year. The mountains he travelled to visit in the North included the
Tai-Shan in the Province of Shantung, and the Pan-Shan which is near the northeast
of Peking. He also journeyed to the northern part of the Province of Shansi where he
visited the Wu-Tai Mountain. Then he went to the Northwest where he explored the
magnifi cent sceneries of Hua-Shan of Shensi Province and the Wu-Dong Shan of
Hupei Province. In Central China, he visited the famous mountains of Huang-Shan
in the Province of Anhui and the Lu-Shan of the Province of Kiangsi. Then he made
a trip down South to the Lo-Fu Shan of Kuangtung Province, and also to the
Southeastern coastline where he explored the Yen-Dang Shan of Chekiang Province.
In early 1636, he made a long-distance travel to the provinces of Southwestern
China, reaching the western border of Yunnan Province. It took him nearly 4 years
to complete the trip back and forth. It was the longest journey he had ever made,
a distance of about 7,000 km. In all his travels, he made very detailed records
and descriptions of his observation, especially that of the provinces of Kuangsi,
Kweichow and Yunnan. He wrote down all the geographical phenomena of these
places in a detailed way. I would like to point out that if we fi nd in his earlier travels
he only enjoyed the beautiful and magnifi cent sceneries of Nature, then in his latter
journeys we fi nd his interest was that of all the natural phenomena. He persisted to
walk in all his tours and very seldom he rode or took a boat. Thus, he was able to
walk to the farthest corners of the countryside and wilderness and climb to the
deepest canyons and the loftiest mountains. He nurtured the habit of writing down
immediately everything he had a chance to explore and observe. He made detailed
records in the form of a diary of all his trips and activities, with also his own personal
opinions and deductions from what he had seen, especially his opinions on natural
and geographical phenomena. He had very keen observation power and he was not
afraid of the dangers in his journey. Very often, he climbed a high cliff or a deep
canyon alone or crept into a deep cave without the company of anybody to explore
and investigate. Some writers after him described his activities saying “he climbed
high like a monkey and explored caves like a snake”. In addition to these, he wrote
in an excellent prose style, interesting and attractive, with vivid descriptions of
natural sceneries. The way he recorded geographical phenomena was accurate and
concise in effect. It was actually because of these special accurate records of his
observation and fi eldwork that he was much respected and esteemed by the scholars
