1. Who is Xu Xiake?

Xu Xiake (January 5, 1587 - March 8, 1641), named Hongzu and courtesy name Zhenzhi, was a native of Jiangyin (now Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province), Nanzhili.

Geographer, traveler and writer of Ming Dynasty.

Of course, this is the evaluation of him by later generations. At that time, he only became famous because he did not seek fame, was obsessed with mountains and rivers, and traveled most of China, but it did not have any real benefits.

Xu Xiake's lifelong ambitions were all over the world, and he traveled to 21 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions with bamboo sticks and mango shoes, "exploring what others have not yet reached, and exploring what others do not know."

His travels are different from our travels.

We traveled by plane, train, and car, but most of Xu Xiake's travels were on foot.

His travels are different from our travels.

We stayed in hotels and took cable cars, and just wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery; while his travels, eating and sleeping in the open air, without any hardships, were to explore the majesty of rivers and mountains, to verify the accuracy of historical and geographical classics, and to explore the majesty of nature.

The secret of operation.

For this reason, he went through life and death. He ran out of ammunition and food several times and almost starved to death.

Several times, he was robbed by bandits and almost killed by a knife.

He really loved traveling and risked his life while traveling. He went out with a shovel and said, "Bury me if you die!" During his travels, no matter what dangers he encountered or how tired he was, Xu Xiake insisted on doing one thing every night.

——Light the oil lamp and write down the day’s travel experiences.

These insights were later compiled into a book, which is the "Travel Notes of Xu Xiake" that shocked the world.

His travel notes are as simple and beautiful as the nature he describes, and are praised as "the true writing, the great writing, and the strange writing in the world."

It is not only a masterpiece of geography and science, but also a masterpiece of literature and soul. Therefore, it is also known as "the first travelogue at home and abroad in ancient and modern times".

In order to commemorate Xu Xiake's great achievements, the State Council designated May 19 as "China Tourism Day".

2. A Lifetime of Travels 1 The Origin of Xu Xiake’s Travels In ancient China, which valued tradition, pursued fame, and honored the ancestors, people did not take imperial examinations, did not pay attention to fame, and just traveled around. Even today, it is deviant and strange.

But the reason why Xu Xiake traveled all his life and was fascinated by mountains and rivers was that he had a good family environment to support him.

This starts from 1498.

This year, Tang Bohu, the most talented man in Jiangnan, came to Beijing to take the exam.

On the way, he met Xu Jing, a young man from a wealthy family who was also rushing to take the exam.

Talented people mix with rich people, and it doesn't matter whether they are arrogant or not.

The two of them spent the whole day in Beijing inviting dignitaries and having such a romantic and debauched time.

Someone asked Tang Bohu: What do you think will be tested this year?

Tang Bohu replied: I think I might take a test of something.

I really didn’t expect that the question I was just making up was the winner!

As a result, gossip and rumors began to fly all over the sky: "Tang Bohu and Xu Jing bought the exam questions..." It can be said that the rumors brought disaster to the public and caused thousands of waves for a while.

At that time, there were many factions in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, and the leaking incident became a trigger. Everyone impeached each other and fought fiercely.

Finally, Emperor Hongzhi got angry, and he struck fifty pieces each - removing both the impeacher and the impeached from office.

In order to calm the turmoil, Emperor Hongzhi announced to the world that Tang Bohu and Xu Jing would be stripped of their official status and would not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination for life.

The unfortunate Tang Bohu and Xu Jing became the most innocent people!

So, you should be low-key!

Without any excuse, Xu Jing was expelled from his official position. Xu Jing was so angry that he almost vomited blood. From then on, he gave up all hope for the imperial examination.

When I returned to my hometown, I said to my children: "I will no longer force you to take the scientific examination. Do you want to take the test or not?" This family motto was passed down to his great-grandson Xu Youmian, and Xu Youmian really listened to it.

Throughout his life, he only liked traveling and had no interest in the imperial examinations.

Seeing that his family was rich, his friends persuaded him to buy an official position, but he turned around and left: "It's better to just buy shit."

In 1587, the fifteenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, this prodigal who regarded the imperial examinations as dirt gave birth to a son named Xu Hongzu, who is now the famous Xu Xiake.

Xu Hongzu has been fond of reading books since he was a child. He loves history, geography and travel notes.

But he hated the imperial examination eight-part essay very much, and he had no intention of achieving fame.

Once, in a private school class, Xu Hongzu secretly read the "Crooked Book" and was so fascinated that he burst out laughing.

The teacher looked through his desk and found that the "Shui Jing Zhu" was hidden under the "Analects of Confucius". He was so angry that he blew his beard and said, "You can't teach a child!" Another time, the teacher asked the students about their ambitions.

Other students all said, "I want to be a scholar" or a Jinshi.

Only Xu Hongzu puffed up his chest and said, "A real man faces the blue sea in the morning and the sky in the evening." He was so angry that his beard trembled and cursed, "Rotten wood cannot be carved!" At that time, everyone regarded obtaining fame and honoring one's ancestors as the only way to achieve success.

The right path, anything else, is not doing the right thing.

Therefore, many friends advised Xu Youmian: "You must take good care of your son, otherwise he will be useless." It is similar to the elementary school teacher today who found the parents and said, "If you don't care about your child anymore, your child will be ruined!" And the weird thing is

Xu Youmian said: "I disdain the teachings of fame and fame, and do not adhere to the words of saints.