Appendix 2 Commemorative Tomb Biography of Xu Xiake
by Chen Hanhui (1590–1646)
Chen Hanhui, from Linhai County in Zhejiang, was a long-standing friend of Xu Xiake. He became a jinshi in 1632 and acted as magistrate for Jingjiang, a county close to Jiangyin. Some of the content of Chen’s commemorative tomb biography, particularly about Xu Xiake’s travels in western China, is based on conjecture. Certain passages are very similar to the text of Qian Qianyi’s biography of Xu Xiake, for which see appendix 3 below.
Commemorative tomb biographies, inscribed on a flat, upright stone displayed in front of the tomb chamber, combined the record zhi, which recounted the main biographical events of the deceased’s life, with the inscription ming, which added grief-stricken praise written in a highly ornate and hyperbolic literary style, sometimes blending poetry and prose.
A tomb biography is a biography of the events in the life of the person in the tomb. The venerable Xiake was a close friend and a great traveler. He wandered on land and water during his life, clambered up starry mountain peaks, and treaded across distant wildlands. Now, he travels among the emperors in the mountains of the Daoist transcendents, gracefully riding the mists beyond the eight extremities like a phoenix hovering seven thousand feet up. Will we once more speak of him perching among mortals?
Now, the composition of tomb biographies is an ancient custom. In the past, when Xiake undertook his boundless journeys, his friends feared he was just like Kuafu, pursuing the sun in his chariot, and that he would never return to see the walls of his hometown.1 Now, his body has been presented for burial, and his form is entrusted to the ancestral burial ground. The venerable gentleman’s immortal bones and immense talents will instruct posterity with their rectitude, for, throughout his life, he displayed filial piety, chivalrous uprightness, and the virtues of the ancients. His literary works, regarded as remarkable among outstanding men, should be spread worldwide along with tales of his travels and cannot but provide obvious and clear instruction for all posterity.
His closest friends, like Chen Jiru, Chen Renxi, and Miao Changqi (1562–1626),2 have already passed away while Master Huang Daozhou is in prison. Xiake’s cousin Zhongzhao, out of a desire to find someone to record and inscribe the tomb inscription biography, has thus instructed me to grasp the brush and compose the words. While I am a mere turtledove with little knowledge of the world, we have been close friends for a long time, so I would not presume to decline my moral duty simply because I am not quick-witted enough.
I present this document respectfully according to form. The gentleman’s given name was Hongzu, his courtesy name was Zhenzhi, and Xiake was his nickname. Master Huang Daozhou gave him an additional nickname, Xiayi, but the name Xiake, chosen by Chen Jiru, is known throughout the world. His ancestors were eminent scholars of the southern regions. In the Song dynasty, Xu Gu was the municipal governor of Kaifeng before following the imperial retinue in the Southern Crossing (Nandu).3 His ancestors were scattered across Bramble Stream, Yunjian, and Qinchuan. Only when One Thousand and Eleven assumed the office of gentleman for managing affairs (chengshi lang) did the family settle in Wucheng Village [Wucheng Li] at Jiangyin for the first time.4 One Thousand and Eleven’s descendants vowed never to serve the Yuan court.5
When we come to the present dynasty, Xu Qi (1362–1445) was chosen for his ability and was sent to Sichuan to take up an official post, while Xu Min (1393–1476), his oldest son, produced grain to relieve famine at the frontier.6 Both men took the glory of fulfilling their national duty and rode in the emperor’s chariot. Xu Min had a son, Xu Yi (1422–83), the Honorable Yi (Yigong), who was appointed palace penman (zhonghan) because of his skill in the Six Styles of Calligraphy (Liushu), while his brother, Xu Tai (1429–79) earned highest honors in the civil service examinations and later served as prefect of Jingzhou Prefecture. They all added luster to the annals of officialdom through their talent and fame. Xu Yi had a son, Xu Yuanxian (1454–81), the Honorable Ziting (Ziting Gong). He had a son, Xu Jing (1473–1507), the Honorable Xiwu (Xiwu Gong), whose name topped the civil service examination noticeboards in the south. Xu Jing’s son Xu Qia (1497–1564), the Honorable Qia (Qiagong), served as a registrar (bu) for the Court of State Ceremonials (Honglu Si). Xu Qia’s son Xu Yanfang, the Honorable Chaishi (Chaishi Gong), was bestowed with the title of aide in the Court of Imperial Entertainments (guanglu cheng). These appointments are all recorded for posterity in the family annals. Yanfang’s son, Xu Youmian (1545–1604), the Honorable Yu’an (Yu’an Gong), was Xiake’s respected father.
Xu Youmian married Wang Ruren. When Xiake was one month old, she had a strange dream about his birth. He was born with a large frame, gracious eyebrows, a prominent forehead, and eyes that shone bright green day and night. For twelve hours after he was born, Xiake never slept. Those who saw him took him to be one who supped on sunset clouds.7 From a young age, he attended school. As soon as he could talk, he could recite texts; as soon as he could wield a pen, he could compose an essay.
Xu was especially fond of extraordinary books and spent excessive amounts of time reading extensively through historical and geographical accounts, illustrated works about the mountains and seas, and the entire corpus of accounts of transcendent beings and eminent recluses. Whenever he read these works, he would need to cover them with Confucian texts, under which he would then enjoy reading these extraordinary books. They made his spirit cheery and content. However, he feared going against his parents’ wishes, so he applied himself to studying pedantic, dry texts even though this was decidedly not what he desired.
After reading Tao Hongjing’s (456–536) biography, he joked: “This is just like listening to the wind in the pine trees. If we set our sights on gazing at the heavens and climbing up to the bright sun, how can anywhere seem distant?”8 Taking into consideration the words of Yan Guang (ca. 1–75 CE): “If there are nine regions, I will visit eight of them; if there are five sacred mountains, I will climb four of them,” Xiake clapped his hands and declared: “In the morning I should be at the Jade Ocean [Bihai] and in the evening at Mount Cangwu [Cangwu Shan].9 Why should I restrict myself to one corner of the world?”
Some found fault with his fantastic claims, but he was not bothered and went further into the anecdotes of ancient people, along with the treasures of the dwelling places and caves of the transcendents: there were none he did not investigate. He frequently drank and recited verses till dawn with acquaintances, writers, and local associates. He was gentle morning and night and attentive to the most minor things. In his speech, he showed attention to the little details, cherished mulberry (sang) and catalpa (zi) trees, was always respectful to the people of his local village, and was ashamed to follow the habits of wealthy young fellows.10 He was much like the youthful Liang Hong (Han dynasty) in that he did not depend on others.11
No sooner had Xiake left his youth behind him than his father had an encounter with robbers and was confined to his home with injuries. He rushed to help, providing care and medicine for over a year until his father died. When Xiake’s sorrow left him thin and emaciated, the villagers recognized his youthful filial piety. After expending his energies in doing his utmost to provide a funeral, external worries piled up so that he appeared to change from one day to the next, becoming even more disenchanted with the mundane world. He wished to seek out the extraordinary in the mountains, but because his mother was still alive, he was reluctant to leave the simple life and dared not ask her for permission to travel. However, she encouraged him, saying: “It is the ambition of men to travel to the four quarters. The Analects puts forward the following: ‘[A son] away from home must always have a specific direction in mind.’ It only asks that a son closely keep track of his distance and time away from home and should leave and return home at an arranged time. So, how could I force my son to stay cooped up like a pheasant inside an enclosure or a horse hitched to the shafts of a wagon?12 This inspired him to put on his traveling cap and prepare for departure. Hobbling along in his straw sandals like an old donkey, Xiake sought the remarkable and went close to dangerous sights. From then on, he covered the eight circles of the four great regions, trekking non-stop.”
I recall how, in the autumn of 1632, on his third trip to Mount Tiantai and Mount Yandang, he accompanied Zhongzhao to visit me at Lesser Cold Mountain [Xiao Hanshan]. Burning a lamp as we talked into the night, he gave me a rough outline of the travels that had taken up his life:
In 1607, I first crossed Grand Lake by boat. I climbed the two mountains of East and West Dongting [Dongxi Dongting] and visited the historical vestiges of His Honor, Spiritual Majesty (Lingwei Zhangren).13 In 1609, I passed through the states of Qi, Lu, Yan, and Ji, ascended Mount Tai, worshipped at the Forest of Confucius [Kong Lin], went to the Mencius Temple [Mengmiao] and the village where his mother moved home three times, and mourned the withered paulownia tree on Mount Yi [Yishan].14
I also headed south to Mount Potalaka [Luojia Shan].15 On my return, I climbed eighteen thousand rods to the top of Flowery Summit, from where I looked east to Big and Small Dragon Splash Pools, Rock Gate, and Mount Transcendent Capital [Xiandu Shan].16 In 1614 and 1615, I wanted to be at home in Wu, so how could I turn a blind eye to the areas around my hometown? My thoughts turned to Nanjing, a beauty spot since the Six Dynasties when Emperor Gao (Gaodi; r. 479–83) established his capital there.17
I did not wish to miss seeing the bright moon by the twenty-four bridges or the thirty-six bends of the muddy Yellow River. It was not until 1616 that I set off on distant travels again. At the start of spring, I visited Mount Huang and Mount Baiyue; in the summer, I went to the Nine Bends of Mount Wuyi; and in autumn, the Five Waterfalls and Orchid Pavilion and saw Yu’s Mausoleum.18 I tied up at the West Lake [Xizi Hu] for a month. 1617 I stayed home, though I did visit the Shanjuan Caverns and Master Zhang’s Cavern. In 1618, I climbed Mount Nine Blossoms [Jiuhua Shan] and gazed at the Five Elders Peak.19
In 1620, I reached Fish Dragon Cavern [Yulong Dong], examined the Zhe River Tidal Bore (Zhejiang Chaoshui), and reached Mount Jianglang and Nine Carp Lake before returning home. In 1621 and 1622, I visited Mount Song, Mount Hua, and Mount Wudang, peeked at the fairy isle of Yingzhou and the Bohai Sea, and went up the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. I can still faintly picture the nine specks of clouds seen in Qizhou. Thinking back to the remarkable people I have met, I can still see faintly the Zen Master Wisdom Lamp on Mount Lu, the herb gatherer in the Zhongnan Mountains [Zhongnan Shan], and the Daoist on Mount Hua who abstained from eating grain.
Having listened to what Xu Xiake had to say, I felt the extent of his travels was as boundless as the Milky Way, so I asked him:
“Are you weary from your travels?”
He replied:
Not yet. There are still vast horizons I have yet to explore within the emperor’s realm. Moreover, there are still places in Western Yue [Guangxi] and Southern Yunnan that I have yet to visit. Even when it came to my desire to visit Mount Emei, because of the disruption caused by She Chongming, I could only manage a short amount of time in Shaanxi and Gansu before returning home, which was not my intention.20 I wish to investigate the distant regions of Langfeng Ridge [Langfeng Ling] on Mount Kunlun.
Zhongzhao said: “My cousin had a very filial nature. Whenever he traveled, he gathered various flowers and plants to celebrate his mother’s longevity.”
His accounts of the strangeness of the customs, the marvels of the caverns, the mountain valleys, and the cliffside paths of all the regions he passed made people tremble in astonishment. His mother, on the other hand, was greatly pleased. When she was old, he was keen not to be admonished for his distant travels, but she said: “I once told you, I am still a good eater. Now, you should continue with your travels.” She asked him to accompany her to Bramble Stream and Mount Hook Curl and walked in front of him the entire way there. Everyone joked: “The ability to traverse physical landscape must be in the blood.”
His mother celebrated her eightieth birthday in the jiazi year of the Tianqi reign (1624). Chen Jiru wrote a foreword marking her longevity, Zhang Lingshi painted “Autumn Orchard, Morning Loom” (Qiupu chenji tu), and Xu’s relative Li Benning wrote an introduction. The inscriptions by these honorable gentlemen, all over seventy years old, were renowned nationwide. Xiake collected the treasures written in honor of her longevity as the “Sunny Mountain Hall Copybook” (Qingshan Tang tie).
That year, Xiake once more went out on his travels. Upon reaching Green Stalk Mesa on his descent from Mount Hua, his heart suddenly started to pound. He hurriedly tied on his straw sandals and rushed back home, but his mother was already seriously ill. In 1625, he spent from spring to autumn by her bedside caring for her, never stopping to loosen his clothes. If his mother did not eat, he also did not eat, so she insisted that he should do so. Towards the end of her life, Xiake cried like a child day and night and beseeched Dong Qichang and Chen Renxi for help. Whenever he walked, he stumbled. When her illness was critical, he implored the heavens to take his body in her place and traveled everywhere in pursuit of well-known plants that could serve as medicine. Due to his immeasurable filial devotion, he was almost crushed by his grief.
Once the mourning period was complete, he heaved a big sigh and said: “Formerly, when my mother was alive, I could not devote myself to anything else. Now that she has passed, can I not devote myself to mountains and rivers?” He took leave of his two parents at their tomb, not committing himself to a journey for any length of time, and traveled at leisure, without obstacle.
His idea of traveling was different from that of other people. He would carve out a mountain path with pieces of iron, sleep out in the frosty dew, endure hunger for several days, and eat when he eventually found some food. At night, he would speak with trolls and demons. He could endure winter with a simple quilt and summer with an unlined garment. Most remarkable was that heaven provided him with a pair of calloused feet, so he did not need to avail himself of a carriage. Having spent his days passing through thick bamboo thickets and sheer precipices for one hundred li, in the evenings, he would light a torch and pick up a pen by a withered tree at the foot of a crumbling cliff to record his diary. If, by chance, he met someone who told him about the attractions of a particular place, he would stride off to find it. Several months later, he would seek out that person to inform him of all the unseen wonders.
Once, at a banquet, I asked Xiake: “Have you ever climbed to the summit of Mount Yandang?” On hearing this, his interest was stirred. The next day, before the sun had risen, he stood by my bedside, a pair of straw sandals in his hands, and said: “I am going back there now; I’ll report to you on my return.” Ten days later, he returned and told me: “Setting off on a side path, I clambered up some vines to the Dragon Splash Pool. After thirty li, I came to a tarn where geese had built their homes. I ascended for over ten more li and found the round hut of the monks White Cloud and Beyond the Clouds from the Zhengde reign still there. After ascending another twenty li, I was buffeted by fierce winds at the summit, where a herd of several hundred deer surrounded me as I slept. I did not come down till I had spent three nights there.” Such was his boldness in going forward.
Zhongzhao laughed, saying: “What is so hard about getting to a place that is so close at hand? I recall when he went to Yan, Chen Renxi spoke to him about Mount Kongtong, where Guangchengzi stayed, and how it was possible to see beyond the frontier from the summit.”21 Xiake set off, carrying enough food for three days. When he returned, he passed his newly acquired knowledge to Chen Renxi. After a few days, the caitiffs had arrived at Jimen.22
From Jiangyin, he went to Fujian, where he visited Huang Daozhou at a halting place near a tomb.23 On arriving in Guangdong, he presented a letter of introduction written for him by Huang. When he returned from climbing Mount Luofu, he was bearing the fruits of a plum tree. The following year, he sought out Huang Daozhou on the way to Yunyang. Then, remembering me at Xiling, he went from the Cao’e River to Mount Siming. After five days, he arrived barefoot carrying an orchid. He praised me for recommending that I look out for the stone window at the heart of the mountain. My cousin was of the type whose sincere heart only looked forward. He had no second thoughts and never promised anything lightly. Here, I have praised the gentleman through a detailed description of his exploits.
Xiake did not like the words of the practitioners of divination and numerology. By the time he had finished his wanderings throughout the empire, he had ascertained the divisions and sources of the stars’ movements and the earth’s twists and turns. He said that the astronomical and geographical records written by scholars of former periods had merely perpetuated false assumptions. Since the earliest records, discussions of the courses of the Changjiang and Yellow Rivers and the major branches of the three mountain ranges had been limited to those parts lying within the territory of China. Nobody before had ever investigated the outer reaches. For this reason, he desired to go to the regions beyond Mount Kunlun. He recorded the words of Xiang Chang: “If I were already dead, I would be fortunate enough not to have family cares.”24
In the ninth month of the bingzi year (1636), he sent me a brief letter saying he was going away beyond the Changjiang: “I will seek a route to the Western Regions, and do not know when I shall return to the eastern lands. Should I be lucky enough to reach Jigong, I will make a report on the exotic realms there.”25 He waited for Zhongzhao to return from Fujian. Before grasping hands in farewell, he set off with a big smile, accompanied by a monk and servant. The monk, Tranquil Hearing, was burning incense in his monastery when he first heard Xu speak. Much taken by Xu’s words, he was oblivious to the difficulties of a long journey. The initial stages of the journey saw them pass through northern and southern Zhejiang, Jiujiang, and Sanchu.26 During an encounter with robbers on the Xiang River, they lost luggage and books. Tranquil Hearing subsequently died of his injuries, and Xiake only just survived.27 Everyone said it would be better to rest than to carry on. Xiake said: “As long as I am carrying a spade, where can I not be buried?”
Borrowing money from villagers, he carried Tranquil Hearing’s remains, crossing Lake Dongting and climbing Mount Heng, where he exhausted the wonders of the seventy-two peaks, ten caves, fifteen cliffs, thirty-eight springs, and twenty-five streams.
Thinking back to his former travels, he realized he had not yet thoroughly explored Mount Emei, so when he took the road to Sichuan, he climbed the mountain before heading north to the Min Mountains, going as far as Songpan.28 To the south, he traversed the Great Crossing River, passed through Li Subprefecture and Ya Subprefecture, and climbed Mount Wawu [Wawu Shan] and Mount Shaijing [Shaijing Shan].29
Next, Xu investigated the Gold Dust River, going as far as the border regions among the yaks, before heading south to cross the Mekong River, then north to explore the Pan River, crossing almost all the southwestern lands of the Yi people as well as most of the sights of Guizhou and Yunnan. When Mu Zeng of Lijiang heard of his exploits, he came out to welcome him with a respectful ceremony.
Among the places he had passed before, the Luo people had greeted him by taking up their ritual brooms. The Meng leaders had worn their welcome crossbows in a manner that was in no way inferior to what happened on those occasions when Liezi was offered a bowl of soup. Xiake found excuses to leave, not to burden Mu Zeng with his food demands.30 Mu [Duke] of the State of Qian (Mu Qianguo [gong]) also exalted him with ceremonies.31 When he heard of him collecting strange roots, he asked to see them, hoping to exchange them for large piles of gold. Xiake laughed and replied: “It’s not as if I want the Jade of Zhao. I’m just doing what I like. I don’t want to exchange anything for fifteen citadels.” The Marquis of the State of Qian esteemed him even more highly.32
Having rested at Mount Diancang [Diancang Shan] and Mount Chicken Foot, he then donned Buddhist garb to bury Tranquil Hearing’s bones in a Buddhist ceremony in honor of Mahākāśyapa. Grand Scribe (Taishi) Shan wrote an inscription for the pagoda in his honor.33 From Mount Chicken Foot, he went west several thousand li from Rock Gate Pass to Mount Kunlun and as far as Star Constellations Lake. Halfway up a mountain, with the wind blowing so hard his clothes almost flew off, a golden pagoda appeared in the distance. He vowed to walk to Tibet, leaning on his walking stick, to visit the Precious Jewel Dharma King (Dabao Fawang). Apart from the Singing Sands Mountain [Mingsha Shan], they were all hellfire territories such as Milu and A’nou.34 The distances he covered are unfathomable. Chronicles of Western Regions (Xiyu zhi) reports how the heaps of the bones of both men and horses were testimony to the difficulty of traveling through the desert and the impossibility of avoiding the devilishly hot winds. The many demons that tormented Master Xuanzang (ca. 602–64) are all recorded in his Chronicles.35 How could Xiake fly if he did not have a great destiny? By the time he was traveling in the West, he already regarded this life as illusory. He was on Buddhist soil and wanted to throw off his mortal skin.
By chance, when he was looking through some old volumes, he found a reference to a certain Yang Fu (jinshi 1415), residing in reclusion at Mount Five Flowers [Wuhua Shan], who had immersed himself in the School of Principle (Lixue).36 One day, Yang desired to become a Buddhist. Hungry and thirsty during his travels, he met someone who said: “The Buddha is south of here, dressed in the colored garb of a woman and wearing a man’s shoes.” No sooner had this person finished speaking than he disappeared. Although Yang looked everywhere, he could not find any trace of him, so he headed home. When his mother heard a knock at the door, she was very anxious. Putting on her father’s shoes and wearing matching clothing, she went outside. Yang Fu kowtowed to her and offered up worship to Buddha, and he taught the villagers in the ways of Confucius and Mencius. Xiake sighed and replied: “The Three Teachings do not supersede the Five Relationships (Wulun). My forebears are all buried in Jiangyin, and it is there that I shall return today.”37
When he was at the foot of Mount Emei, he sent me a letter, entrusting me with a note for his friend Qian Qianyi that recounted his comings and goings in strange lands. The letter told of all the remarkable and dangerous places through which he had traveled and stated:
“The Changjiang does not originate in the Min Mountains, and the Yellow River does not come down from the heavens. As for their sources, the Yellow River comes from the north of Mount Kunlun, while the Changjiang comes from the south. The overall volume of the water in the Changjiang is twice that of the Yellow River.”
He also discerned the physical contours of the Three Dragons [Sanlong]. The Northern Dragon [Beilong] lies on either side of the north of the Yellow River, and the Southern Dragon [Nanlong] embraces the southern part of the Changjiang. In contrast, the middle part, the dividing line, is particularly short. Only half a spur south of the Northern Dragon enters the Middle Kingdom, and only the Southern Dragon majestically winds into China. Its source is also Mount Kunlun. It then heads south adjacent to the Gold Dust River and circles Lake Dian before arriving at the Five Ranges. When the mountain ranges are long, the water sources are also long, which is why the Changjiang is greater than the Yellow River. These views consequently became his Tracing the Jiang Upstream to Unravel Its Source.38
My friend Li Lingxi (jinshi 1640; d. 1663; also known as Li Duanmu), Prefect of Jiangyin, had blocks cut for Tracing the Jiang Upstream to Unravel Its Source to be printed in the joint gazetteer for Jiangyin and Jiangjing to correct the errors of Sang Qin’s Waterways Treatise and Li Daoyuan’s Commentary on the Waterways Treatise.39
His wanderings were complete when Xiake returned to southern Yunnan. One day, his feet were suddenly too sore to travel, so he spent three months revising the Mount Chicken Foot Gazetteer. Prefect Mu of Lijiang provided food and a bamboo sedan chair for him to return home. After bumping up and down in the chair for one hundred and fifty days, he encountered great difficulties when he arrived at the Chu River [Chujiang].40 District magistrate (daling), the Marquis Huang Gang, then provided a boat, and Xu was back in Jiangyin in six days and was able to return home alive.41 This was the summer of 1640. When he got back, he was unable to receive visitors. All he could do was place strange rocks on the bed, pick them up, and compare them. He did not enquire about family matters.
He told his son Qi: “Having traveled widely through many numinous regions, I know that life is a lodging, death a return. I now long in my travels to be transformed, for there are no obstacles. My only regret is that I have been unable to see all my old friends again.”
He dispatched his eldest son to visit Huang Daozhou in prison. When his son returned, he told him how Huang was doing. As he lay on his bed, Xiake gave a long sigh: “How short is human life! In this unsatisfactory world, why should I worry any more about all the traps and snares?”
A few days before he died, he ordered his son to see me again at Horse Islet [Mazhu] and wrote a letter saying: “Hanhui. Do not forget the attractions of home life.” His sincerity in friendship remained deep and unshaken.
Three days after the gentleman set off on his celestial travels, Zhongzhao sent me a letter saying: “Xiake has at last gone to Mount Tai. Near the end, he entrusted his ambition to you and prayed that his sons would have the means to make something of themselves rather than waste away their lives.” Xiake did not assign great importance to his travels, but among the travelers of all time, Xiake should be given an important place from now on. Like a crafty and shrewd divine transcendent, he seized the carriage reins, headed off to mulberry fields in the eastern regions, and then returned home to lead his mother by the hem of her robe.42 His earnest filiality was like Zeng Shen gnawing his fingers with an aching heart.43
In his solitary journeys over ten thousand li, he was like Chao Fu, tossing his head and refusing to stay in one place.44 Like Li Bai, the banished immortal who visited Mount Prime Cinnabar [Yuandan Shan] and traveled in his dreams to Mount Celestial Dame [Tianlao Shan], and Du Fu (712–70), who crossed Tree Bark Ridge [Mupi Ling], he had an extraordinary obsession for mountains, whether they were renowned for their beauty or their strategic importance.45 The energetic and lofty sense of righteousness with which he carried out his responsibilities was a match for the devotion shown by Zhuo Qishun, who carried a letter to Huizhou, and Guo Hang, in the way that Xu Xiake carried Tranquil Hearing’s bones to Mount Chicken Foot.46 His resolute disposition was considered to surpass that of former sages or close acquaintances.
Zhongzhao also spoke of two other extraordinary features of Xu’s travels. Firstly, he had such a passion for extraordinary books that when he was on his travels and came across books he had not seen before, if he had no surplus cash in his bag, he would take off his clothes and sell them; he would then carry the books back himself. He had so many books, half of which he acquired in his travels, that they would almost fill four libraries. Second, he was naturally attracted to extraordinary people. But if he met high officials, he would flee; if he came to a city, he would run away. However, when it came to his admirers, he would spontaneously knock on their door in his grass sandals and present a letter from a minor official out of his sleeve before bowing and climbing up to the hall, where they would show mutual respect. He would accept words of advice and bestow his own words before taking his leave, departing the next day without saying anything. Based on what I have heard about Xiake from his friends in Jiangyin, it is not only his travels that they esteem. I have seen evidence of the filiality he displayed to his parents in official records, biographies, and inscriptions on paintings. He happily respected his older brother as if he were his father till his old age.
His younger brother, born of a concubine, received his share of the family’s worldly goods. There was no discrimination when it came to his will. When reminiscing about his ancestors, the respect he showed was even more sincere. Together with Zhongzhao, he devoted himself to due ceremony by engraving their writings, printing their collected works, and wiping clean and mounting old paintings. He placed those tombs of the earlier generations, which were out in the wind and rain, in a tiled pavilion. He divided up the ancestral fields and led the members of his clan in performing sacrifices, saying: “This is what my mother taught me.”
He honored the three associations and placed justice before everything else.47 When he saw cause for moral duty, he took pity on orphans and comforted fallen women. In a bad year, he would hand out grain to relieve the hungry, repair bridges and fords, and happily restore ancient ruins.
After passing Mount Jun [Junshan] and seeing sacrifices being carried out in honor of Marquis Zhang Zonglian, he dug up a stele from the rubble that honored Yang Shiqi (1365–1444), gathered materials for restoring the building and arranged for the stele to be carved anew. The local worthies all praised his merits.
According to the Jiangyin Gazetteer, Marquis Zhang Temple [Zhanghou Miao], which lies at the western foot of Mount Jun, was constructed in the seventh year of the Xuande reign (1432) to honor Associate Administrator (Tongzhi) Zhang Zonglian who came from that town. His deeds and virtues were recorded in detail by Junior Preceptor (Shaoshi) Yang Shiqi in the account of the temple’s stele. The temple later fell into a state of disrepair. In the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign (1495), County Magistrate (Zhixian) Huang Fu restored the temple on the site of the Celestial Consort Palace [Tianfei Gong], and sacrifices were carried out every year in spring and autumn. After an extended period, it again fell into disrepair. In the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1624), Xu Xiake donated funds for the restoration and asked Dong Qichang to inscribe on stone Zhou Chen’s (1380–1453) stele inscription bearing the words of Junior Preceptor Yang Shiqi. Grand Academician (Da Xueshi) Zhou Yanru (1588–1644) wrote the account on the stele.48
Within his family, all was harmonious, there were no discordant feelings.
Despite having different mothers, his three sons were all brought up without prejudice, received the same education, and lived together.49 When dividing up and sharing money, Xiake treated all of them with remarkable integrity. He had no time to count out every thread of cash endlessly.
Xiake was skilled at writing shi poetry and ancient prose and verse but excelled at travel writing. The two masters, Wen Zhenmeng and Huang Daozhou praised his writing with great relish, but Xiake was happy to keep it in trunks, for he had no wish to show it to anyone. Today, his scattered writings and surviving drafts contain matters within and outside the Six Realms. How is this anything like Sima Xiangru’s (179–117 BCE) “Treatise on Sacrifices?”50 Zhongzhao put the writings in order, which we can hold him accountable for in the future.
Xiake was born in the bingxu (or twenty-third) year of the Wanli reign and died in the xinsi (or eighteenth) year of the Chongzhen reign at fifty-five. On the ninth day of the third month in the renwu year (18 April 1641), he was buried in a specially built site at Horse Bend [Mawan].51 Chen Hanhui wrote an epitaph for him that reads:
The traveling dragon and flying swan pursue the sun and ride the winds. Exhausting the outer regions and wandering throughout China, he now rests among the transcendents. Laid to rest in Mawan, we extol his virtuous heart. He is traveling in the heavens. People say he was gifted and steadfast as a city wall. Alas, it is not a case of A-Meng from Wu.52
—Translated by Julian Ward
____________________
Source: Xu Xiake muzhiming (YJJZ, 2:1431–38; YJ, 2:1191–95).
1 Kuafu was a mythological figure who tried to catch the sun to relieve a constant raging thirst. He eventually died of dehydration.
2 On Miao Changqi, see DMB, 2:1067–69.
3 Southern Crossing refers to the refugee flight south from Kaifeng of some members of the Song imperial family and government officials after the fall of the Northern Song dynasty to the Jin (or Jurchen) in the mid-1120s. Many of these refugees settled in Zhejiang and Jiangsu.
4 This relocation would have taken place in the closing years of the Southern Song dynasty.
5 When the leader of the Mongol empire, Khan (ca. 1215–ca. 1294), proclaimed the establishment of the Yuan dynasty in China in 1271, many former government officials of the Song dynasty and their descendants refused to serve the alien regime.
6 The hyperbole in the summary account of Xu Xiake’s family background that follows—especially the successes of Xu’s ancestors in the civil service examinations, should be compared with the more sobering account of his family history in the Introduction. Because of the profusion of names in the account below, Xu’s ancestors’ birth and death dates, when available, are provided to help readers sort out the roles of his forefathers in the family’s lineage.
7 In other words, he looked destined to become a transcendent being.
8 Tao Hongjing (also known as Tao Shuijian) was the founder of Daoism’s Supreme Clarity (Shangqing) sect. His biography in the History of the Southern Dynasties (Nanshi) contains the following passage: “He was so fond of the sound of the wind in the pines, that he planted pine trees all over his courtyard; whenever he heard that sound, he was filled with great happiness.” Li Yanshou 李延壽 (fl. 618–76), ed., Nanshi 南史 (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1975), 76.1897–1900.
9 Mount Cangwu, also known as Mount Jiuyi, is in Hunan.
10 Mulberry and catalpa trees were traditionally planted to honor one’s descendants. Chen Hanhui here alludes to the “Xiaobian” poem (Maoshi 197) in the Poetry Canon (Shijing) to convey Xu Xiake’s love for his parents.
11 In his youth, the poet Liang Hong ate alone, allowing the fire used by others to die down before relighting it.
12 Analects, 4:19.
13 Spiritual Majesty (Lingwei) is a transcendent who supposedly once encountered King Helü of the state of Wu (r. 514–496 BCE) on Mount Yu [Yushan].
14 Mount Yi is in Shandong. The “Tribute of Yu” chapter in the Documents Canon references a solitary tree on the mountain’s south side.
15 That is, Mount Putuo.
16 These sites are all in Zhejiang.
17 Moling is an ancient name for the city of Nanjing, which was the capital of the Southern Qi dynasty (479–501), established by Emperor Gao.
18 Yuling’s Mausoleum, a memorial for Yu the Great, is situated near present-day Shaoxing.
19 Five Elders Peak is on Mount Baiyue (or Mount Qiyun).
20 On the rebellion in Sichuan led by She Chongming in the early 1620s, see part 2, note 5, page 354. See also Qian Qianyi’s biography of Xu Xiake in appendix 3.
21 Guangchengzi is a mythical Daoist figure from the time of the Yellow Emperor in high antiquity who resided on Mount Kongtong [Kongtong Shan] in Gansu. He was said to have lived for 1,200 years.
22 Tentative translation. Either some of the original text is missing, or this line is out of place. Jimen is southwest of Beijing.
23 The diaries do not document this meeting. It may have taken place in 1628 when Xu was on his way to Mount Luofu in Guangdong.
24 Xiang Chang was a Daoist from the Later (or Eastern) Han dynasty who traveled to China’s sacred mountains. Xu Xiake recorded Xiang Chang’s words probably because they could be sent to the family in Jiangyin if he met peril during his travels. A rough paraphrase is: “Don’t worry about me. If I happen to die, it’s no big deal. You should carry on with whatever you need to do. Life must go on.”
25 The Western Regions in this line refer to Yunnan, Guizhou, and Tibet. Jigong is a mythical state mentioned in many ancient texts, including the Guideways through the Mountains and Seas.
26 Sanchu (lit., “the three parts of Chu”) refers to the three areas comprising the State of Chu during the Warring States period.
27 This statement is inaccurate. Tranquil Hearing died of dysentery and related ailments.
28 Songpan is in the Min Mountains in the northwestern part of Sichuan.
29 Lizhou, Yazhou, Mount Wawu, and Mount Shaijing are all in Sichuan. There is no evidence that Xu Xiake visited any of these places.
30 Chen Hanhui refers to local, non-Chinese people whom Xu Xiake would have encountered during his journey to southwest China. It was not uncommon in late imperial China for such groups to adopt the name Luo or Meng during the process of Sinicization. The ancient philosopher Liezi (ca. 450–375 BCE) turned back halfway on his journey to the state of Qi. When asked why, he said he was alarmed that five of the owners had served him first at the fifteen inns he had stopped at for food.
31 The title Duke of the State of Qian was first granted to Mu Ying, a well-known general, politician, and adopted son of the founder of the Ming dynasty. The reference here is to Mu Tianbo, who received the title when he was only one year old. For more details, see part 2, Travels in Dian 1, prefatory remarks to the first of Xu Xiake’s “Two Casual Jottings.”
32 This line alludes to an incident recorded in Sima Qian’s biography of Lian Po (ca. 327–243 BCE), a general in the state of Zhao. After King Huiwen of Zhao (r. 298–266 BCE) acquired jade from the He clan, King Zhao of the state of Qin (r. 306–251 BCE) offered fifteen walled cities in exchange. Shiji, 81.2442.
33 The reference here is to Shan Zhongyan (1597–1642), a poet and official with whom Xu spent time in Yunnan. The title grand scribe (taishi) indicates that he held office in the Hanlin Academy. Shan’s inscription is discussed in YJJZ, 2:1123; YJ, 2:1058.
34 Mount Singing Sands is in Dunhuang. Milu and A’nou are in modern Xinjiang.
35 The famous Buddhist monk Xuanzang’s account of his trip from China to India to collect Buddhist sutras is better known as Accounts of the Western Regions during the Great Tang (Da Tang Xiyu ji).
36 The School of Principle refers to the School of Neo-Confucianism, which emerged in the Song dynasty.
37 The Three Teachings are Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism; the Five Relationships are those between monarch and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, and friends.
38 This text is translated in part 2, Travels in Dian 13.
39 Hargett, Jade Mountains and Cinnabar Pools, 51.
40 In Chu, the Changjiang is also known as the Chu River.
41 Huang Gang, magistrate of Bin Subprefecture, had inscribed a stele at the Halt in Place Retreat on Mount Chickenfoot. See YJJZ, 2:1357; YJ, 2:1146.
42 This line loosely alludes to a poem in the “Nine Songs” (Jiuge) of the Songs of the South (Chuci), an anthology of southern verse compiled in the second century CE. In that poem, the Lord of the East (Dongjun) “seizes the reins” of his steed and journeys off to the boundless heavens in the East. Chen Hanhui is saying that Xu Xiake is like the Lord of the East and those divine transcendents of antiquity who journeyed to the East to gather herbs in mulberry fields. In Xu’s case, however, he returned home to guide or look after his aged mother. In other words, Xu was a paragon of filial piety.
43 For Zeng Shen, see Qian Qianyi’s biography of Xu Xiake in appendix 3.
44 Chao Fu was a recluse of high antiquity who built a nest and lived in a tree. “Tossing his head and refusing to stay in one place” alludes to the opening lines of Du Fu’s poem “Seeing off Kong Chaofu Who has Resigned on Account of Illness and Will Return East of the Changjiang to Visit: Presented to Li Bai” (Song Kong Chaofu xiebing guiyou Jiangdong: jian cheng Li Bai). See QTS, 216.2259.
45 The famous Tang dynasty poets Li Bai and Du Fu both enjoyed visiting famous mountains. For the Li Bai poems referenced here, see QTS, 166.1717 and 174.1779–80; for the Du Fu poem, see QTS, 218.2299.
46 When Su Shi was living in exile in Huizhou in 1095, he received a letter from his son Su Mai (1059–1119) that had been carried from Yixing by Zhuo Qishun, a laborer at a temple in Suzhou. In his Commemorative Tomb Biography for the Honorable Guo Hang (Guojun Hang muzhiming), Wei Liaoweng (1178–1237) spoke of the devotion of Guo Hang (courtesy name Zhongren) to his younger brother Lin after his younger brother’s death. Chen Hanhui is suggesting here that Xu Xiake’s devotion to Tranquil Hearing is of a similar caliber.
47 The three associations refer to the family of an individual’s father, mother, and wife.
48 DMB, 1:277–79.
49 As noted in the introduction, Xu Xiake had four sons.
50 Shortly before he died, Sima Xiangru composed a text titled “Essay on the Feng and Shan Sacrifices” (Fengshan wen). He told his wife if an emissary were to visit and ask for his writings, she should present this essay to him.
51 Xu Xiake’s birth year is recorded as the bingxu year of the Wanli reign, which mostly corresponds with 1586. However, Xu was born late that year, specifically on the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, or 5 January 1587 on the Western calendar. He died on the twenty-seventh day of the first month of the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, so he was fifty-five sui (or fifty-four years old by Western reckoning) when he passed away. Chen Hanhui’s note that Xu was buried in the spring of the following year (1642 by Western reckoning) seems unlikely, especially as, according to the chronological biography compiled by Ding Wenjiang, Xu Xiake was buried on 8 March 1641. See NP1, 57.
52 Chen Hanhui draws upon the famous story of a military commander and strategist A-Meng, for whom see part 1, note 4, pages 179–80.