Xu Xiake was an explorer of the late Ming Dynasty who travelled huge mountains and deep valleys in China. He was one of the greatest explorers in Chinese history.
Xu's travels were totally up to him and done on his own. He travelled so that his feet could feel strong winds beat his body; he travelled so that his feet could kiss the soil of the mountains.
After his death, Xu left behind his famous book, Xu Xiake's Travels, which provides meaningful materials to the Chinese geological research. It included a record of what he saw, heard and thought about during his travels and was a personal diary that was not published during his lifetime. It was said that Xu was a filial (孝顺的) son and the beginning purpose of his travel diary was to allow his mother to travel the world through his eyes at home. He followed the ancient teaching that says, "When one's parents are alive, one must not travel to far places." For this reason, when his mother was still alive, he mainly travelled the southeast half of the country and would not leave home for too long.
The most important part of his travels was his ten-thousand-mile journey to the southwest. He travelled from Zhejiang to Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, then Guizhou, and Yunnan. This journey took him four years and he wrote about ten times more than he did in the past. In the morning, he would be climbing the mountains and crossing rivers. At night, he would lay out a piece of paper and record his daily experiences beside an oil lamp.
Xu lived his life travelling mountains and rivers all day long. He was an outstanding person in history. In fact, Xu who lived 400 years ago was more like today's backpackers-very cool!
