Appendix 1 Chronology of Xu Xiake

1592

Around this time probably begins schooling at home with a local private tutor.

1604

Xu’s father, Xu Youmian (1545–1604), dies of wounds sustained during a home invasion by robbers sometime during the previous year.

1607

Following the obligatory three-year mourning period for his father, Xu marries his first wife, née Xŭ, the niece of a prominent local family. Visits Grand Lake in Jiangsu.

1609

Sightseeing trips to Qufu, the traditional home of Confucius, and Mount Tai in Shandong; also visits the Ming capital in Beijing.

1613

In early spring, accompanied by a good friend, the Buddhist monk Lotus Boat, journeys to Mount Tiantai and Mount Yandang in Zhejiang. While in Zhejiang, he also surveys the Cao’e River and undertakes additional sightseeing trips to Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Mount Putuo. His earliest surviving diaries chronicle his journeys to Mount Tiantai and Mount Yandang in 1613.

1614

Travels to Nanjing and Yangzhou, probably in winter. Xu takes a concubine, née Jin.

1615

Wife gives birth to Xu Xiake’s first son, Xu Qi (1615–45). Xu’s only daughter, referred to in the family genealogy as Xu the Chaste Widow (Xu Jiefu), was probably born around this time.

1616

With his wife’s younger uncle, Xunyang, Xu travels to Mount Baiyue (also known as Mount Qiyun), Mount Huang in Anhui, and Mount Wuyi in northern Fujian. During the fall, he travels to Hangzhou and visits the Orchid Pavilion and Mount Guiji in Shaoxing.

1617

With his mother, née Wang (1545–1625), he visits Master Zhang’s Cavern and Shanjuan’s Caverns in Yixing. Xu’s wife dies.

1618

Visits Mount Lu in Jiangxi with his cousins Xu Yingzhen (1587–1635) and Xu Baifu; travels to Mount Huang for a second time. During this year, he takes a second wife, née Luo.

1619

At home in Jiangyin. Xu’s second son, Xu Xian (1618–45), is born to his second wife.

1620

With his uncle, Xu Fangruo, in early summer visits Nine Carp Lake in Fujian. While Xu is away from home, his wife learns that a servant in the household, née Zhou, is pregnant and Xu Xiake is the father. The wife expels the servant and her infant son—born sometime in late 1619 or early 1620—from the family and arranges for Ms. Zhou to marry a local man surnamed Li. Moreover, the wife denies the boy permission to use the family name “Xu,” so he becomes known as Li Ji or Li Jieli. After his father’s death, Li Ji was instrumental in editing and helping to preserve The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake. That same year, Xu Xiake’s mother became seriously ill but later recovered. Xu builds the Clear Sky Mountain Hall to celebrate her return to good health.

1621

At home in Jiangyin.

1622

At home.

1623

Sightseeing tours to Mount Song, Mount Hua, and Mount Taihe (also known as Mount Wudang).

1624

At home, where he celebrates his mother’s eightieth birthday. Together, they visit some local scenic sites. Xu meets the famous Ming dynasty cultural icon Chen Jiru (1558–1639), who coins for him the nickname Xiake, or Traveler in the Sunglow Clouds. Another son, Xu Gou (1624–78), is born to concubine Jin.

1625

His mother passes away in late summer.

1626

At home.

1627

At home.

1628

Following the mourning period for his mother, Xu heads to Fujian and travels as far south as Mount Luofu in Guangdong.

1629

Travels to Beijing and Mount Pan (near modern Tianjin Shi).

1630

Visits various scenic sites in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi.

1631

Mostly at home. Visits Songjiang with his cousin Xu Yingzhen.

1632

With his cousin, Xu Zuntang (courtesy name Zhongzhao; 1583–1653), Xu revisits Mount Tiantai and Mount Yandang in Zhejiang. He also goes sightseeing around Lake Tai with his friend Huang Daozhou (1585–1646), a famous calligrapher and high-ranking Ming dynasty government official.

1633

Visits Beijing, then travels to Mount Wutai and Mount Heng in Shanxi.

1634

At home.

1635

At home.

1636

On 17 October, Xu Xiake leaves home with Tranquil Hearing and two servants, Gu Xing and Wang the Second, for an extended sightseeing excursion to southwest China that would take them through Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and eventually to Yunnan. This would be Xu’s most extended and final journey away from home. He first visits various sites in Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

1637

Travels to scenic locations in Hunan, including Mount Heng and Mount Jiuyi. Later passes into Guangxi. On 7 March, Xu, Tranquil Hearing, and Gu Xing almost lose their lives when pirates on the Xiang River hijack their boat. Visits karst caves and other scenic sites in and around Guilin. Tranquil Hearing and Gu Xing both become seriously ill in late July. Xu then attempts to continue his journey to Yunnan, but while traveling, he discovers the road is closed because of threats by Vietnamese bandits along the border. Forced to abandon the direct route to Yunnan, he returns to Nanning. Finds out that Tranquil Hearing had died there earlier, on 10 November. Following the monk’s deathbed wish, Xu collects his remains, which he will later bury on Mount Chicken Foot in Yunnan.

1638

Further sightseeing in Guangxi and Guizhou. Reaches Yunnan from Guizhou on 21 June. Traces the origin of the South Pan River. Visits the provincial capital at Kunming. While in Yunnan meets and becomes friends with the famous painter and poet Tang Dalai (1593–1673), who provides Xu with money to support his travels and letters of introduction.

1639

Sometime in winter, Xu reaches the Great Awakening Monastery on Mount Chicken Foot in Dali, Yunnan. Buries Tranquil Hearing’s remains on the mountain. Visits Lijiang in northwestern Yunnan at the invitation of Mu Zeng (1587–1646), leader of the Nakhi (Chinese: Naxi) people, where he edits some of Mu’s Chinese writings and tutors one of his sons. He also goes sightseeing around Dali, the center of the old Nanzhao dynastic kingdom that flourished during the eighth and ninth centuries. Spends several months traveling to places and scenic sites throughout Yunnan. In the fall, he is back on Mount Chicken Foot, spending about three months compiling the Mount Chicken Foot Gazetteer. After accompanying Xu Xiake for years, Servant Gu Xing runs off, taking his master’s belongings.

1640

Suffering from a severe foot ailment, Xu leaves Yunnan for his home in Jiangsu in late February. He arrives in Jiangyin sometime in the summer, probably in early August. Xu sends his oldest son, Xu Qi, to Beijing to deliver winter clothes to Huang Daozhou, who is now imprisoned. Xu Qi hand-copies his father’s travel diaries into four volumes.

1641

Xu Xiake dies at home on 8 March. He was fifty-four years old.