Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries Xu Xiake.
Background
Xiake, was born into a wealthy family in Jiangyin. His ancestors were scholars. His father, Xu Youmian, did not want to become an official in the government or befriend the bureaucrats. He liked to travel and enjoy the scenery. Xu Xiake was greatly influenced by his father.
When Xu Xiake was 19, his father passed away. While he wanted very much to travel, he did not set off immediately as his mother was still around. His mother, a reasonable and studious lady, encouraged him: "As a fine man, you should have lofty aspirations. Don't let me lock you up like a little chick in a basket. Just embark on your travels to pursue your dreams and to increase your knowledge. What can you achieve by staying at home?" Xu Xiake was very motivated by his mother. When he was 22, he put on a travelling hat that his mother had made for him and left home with little baggage.
Education
He studied the ancient classics as a small boy and learned to write the eight-part essay prescribed for the imperial civil service examination, but refused to take part in the imperial examination. Instead, he developed an interest in historical books, especially such books on different places, and devoted himself to traveling all over the country.
Career
Xu Xiake began to travel in AD 1607. He began with the neighbouring provinces, then roamed farther and farther afield, coming home to check on his mother for a short time before the next journey. Xiake's main interest was in natural wonders like big rivers and high mountains, instead of cities and towns. He was accompanied by a family servant.
In more than thirty years, Xiake covered, mostly on foot, nearly all the provinces of Ming China. He was most attracted to remote places difficult of access and rarely visited by his contemporaries. This was often a dangerous undertaking for a private person in pre-modern China. In addition to robbers and gangsters, Xiake had to negotiate deep gorges and steep cliffs with primitive means. He recalled that many times he could easily have lost his life, had he slipped or simply stepped in the wrong direction.
In the wilderness, Xiake often had to walk for days with little food, or go more than a week without a cooked meal. He slept in all possible places, from pigpens to simply under the stars. He became accustomed to being robbed, then turning to his network of friends and Buddhist abbots for rescue. What secured his great achievement for posterity was his steadfast habit of keeping a daily journal. Even in the remotest forest, Xiake would jot down the day's itinerary and observations by a campfire.
After the death of his dear mother in 1625, Xiake significantly expanded the sphere and duration of his explorations. He travelled to Guangdong province, the most southern in China, in 1628, then visited Beijing, in the north, the following year. In 1636, he embarked on his last and longest journey, to ethnically diverse regions in southwest Yunnan province as far as the Burmese border. He planned to visit Tibet and the 'Western Regions' (today s Xinjiang), an ambitious and ter-rifying prospect that finally prompted the betrayal of his long-time servant. Xiake fell sick while in Yunnan and made his way home with the help of friends