What did Xu Xiake want? He was born in a wealthy family, but he did not go into business, and he had excellent writing, but he did not become an official. He can also be a rich son, indulging in the gentle countryside all day long, why do you have to go trekking through mountains and rivers? In this regard, Xu Xiake said: Because if you want to go, it's that simple.
People didn't understand him then, and people today do the same.
Xu Xiake's original name was Xu Hongzu, his ancestor was called Xu Jing, Xu Jing had a friend named Tang Bohu, and the two had made an appointment to go to Beijing to catch the exam together, but after the exam, there were rumors that Xu Tang and the two bribed Cheng Minzheng. The evidence is that Xu Jing once visited Cheng Minzheng, and Tang Bohu once asked Cheng Minzheng for an article. Although after the investigation, it was found that the two were not admitted, but in order to calm public opinion, they were removed from their membership and demoted to the rank of minor officials of the county government. The two refused to accept the verdict and vowed not to participate in the imperial examination again, and Cheng Minzheng was dismissed and returned to his hometown, and finally died of depression.
This is the famous "trial fraud case" during the Hongzhi period. Although Xu Jing and Tang Bohu were punished, the descendants of the two can still participate in the imperial examination. However, after Xu Jing, the family began to decline from prosperity, to Xu Youmian's generation, the Xu family has been much worse than before, fortunately he married a good wife Wang, and the two of them had a difficult business, which made the family prosperous. Xu Youmian is also strange, some people persuaded him to donate money to buy officials, but he just refused, there were officials who came to make friends, but he just didn't see it. His son Xu Hongzu inherited this characteristic from him, not only did he not want to be an official, but he even did not want to do business. What did he want to do? He said, "Husbands should be facing the blue sea and the twilight." So after a symbolic participation in the imperial examination, he was ready to travel all over the world.
Back then, Xu Hongzu and his friend Chen Jiru climbed the military mountain in their hometown together. Chen Jiru looked at the sunset on the horizon and gave Xu Hongzu the nickname "Xiake". He knew that Xu Hongzu was determined to be in the smoke, and he also hoped that he could live now.
Xu Xiake's first trip was at the age of 21, due to the death of his father and the aging of his mother, although his family encouraged him to travel, but most of them were mainly short distances. It wasn't until 1613 that Xu Xiake officially embarked on a journey. This year, that is, the beginning of the whole travelogue: "The ugly March is dark, from Ninghai out of the west gate, the clouds are scattered and the sun is bright, and the people are happy and happy." ”
From 1607 to 1641, he spent 34 years covering the 21 provinces of today. Before each trip, Xu Xiake would bring a large amount of belongings and two servants, but almost every time a servant would escape, he would have to hire them from the local area. The first two articles of "Xu Xiake's Travels" are about the travels of Tiantai Mountain and Yandang Mountain in Zhejiang. After returning from the trip, his friend Chen Hanhui asked him, "Have you ever been to the highest peak of Yandang Mountain?" Xu Xiake did not answer. As a result, the next day, I turned back and went to Yandang Mountain again. After coming back this time, he told Chen Hanhui that he walked the trail, grabbed the tree vines, climbed the big dragon boat all the way, and then walked more than 40 miles to the peak, and the wind on the top of the mountain was pressing, and he lived on the mountain for three days.
It is not difficult to understand why the servant had to run away, because it is not the path taken by normal people. In addition to these two mountains, he also climbed the Yellow Mountain, Mount Tai, Mount Lu, Mount Hua, Mount Heng, Mount Song, Mount Zhongnan, Mount Wutai and other mountains and rivers, and also traveled to the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake, Jinsha River, Han River and other rivers and lakes.
In addition to mountains and rivers, Xu Xiake also prefers caves, such as in the western part of Chaling, Hunan, there is a Ma Ye Cave, the cave is dark and obscure, and the locals say that there are monsters inside. Xu Xiake was so excited when he heard this, he immediately sold his belongings and hired a guide for a lot of money, but as soon as he came to the entrance of the cave, the guide was scared out, not by the monster, but by Xu Xiake.
He thought that Xu Xiake was a Taoist priest who could subdue demons and eliminate demons, but when he talked, he found out that he was a scholar. So Xu Xiake went in alone, and when he came out, he found a group of local villagers around. They thought that Xu Xiake was a master of the Tao and subdued the monsters in the cave.
During his travels, Xu Xiake encountered robbers at least three times, and each time he faced a lack of food and almost starved to death. Later, his friend advised him not to travel around, and Xu Xiake said: "I carry a shovel with me, where can't I be buried?"
Most of Xu Xiake's funds come from the sale of property, the help of local officials, and sometimes even food and accommodation in temples and Taoist temples. He was also particularly hungry, and could walk hundreds of miles on foot once he had eaten enough. He once used an iron rod to cut through the ice hole in the middle of winter, climbed to the top of the Yellow Mountain step by step, and also climbed the Dawang Peak little by little by grasping the thorns of the cliff with his bare hands after the sunset. When he traveled in Fujian, he caught up with the goose feather heavy snow that was rare in a century, and when he traveled to Zhejiang, he also felt the state of mind that only a saint has. All this was written down by him, leaving words such as "The river is clear and the moon is bright, the water and the sky are empty, and I feel that all worries are clear at this time, and my body is melted with the people of the village".
When exploring the southwest with his friends, he wrote: "The empty mountains are silent, the jade is dustless, and one guest and one monk are casually opposed. At that time, the officials in Beijing were singing wine, and there were students studying hard in front of the people's window lamps. Xu Xiake is different from these people, he and his friends watched the night scene all night by the campfire.
Some people say that Xu Xiake travels because his family is wealthy, I don't deny this, but I believe that even if he has no money, he will choose to travel, just like Zhuangzi who lives in a thatched house and refuses to be a prime minister, and Li Shutong, who has been romantic all his life but insists on becoming a monk. There are such people in history, they are either hidden in the mountains and forests, or hidden in the crowds of cities. The reason why they are not understood by the world, and the reason why they seem to behave strangely, is mostly because they do not follow the rules, or they really live their lives.
In 1636, this was Xu Xiake's last trip, and it was also the "journey of thousands of miles" in his life. This time, he traveled from Zhejiang to Jiangxi, and then through Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan, for four years. This time, in addition to the servant Gu Xing, there was also a friend named Jingwen who was traveling with him. Jing Wen was a devout monk who once used his own blood to transcribe the 70,000-word Lotus Sutra. This trip with Xu Xiake is to enshrine the scriptures to the Bodhisattva's dojo, that is, Jizu Mountain in Dali, Yunnan. As a result, the group of three had just taken a boat to the Xiangjiang River, and when they turned around, they encountered a group of robbers, in order to save their lives, Xu Xiake and the servants hurriedly jumped into the water and were robbed. Jing Wen was reluctant to write scriptures and could only beg the thief bitterly, and finally received a knife.
After that, because of the knife wound and lack of food and clothing, Jingwen began to be bedridden. After arriving in Nanning, Xu Xiake placed Jingwen in the Chongshan Temple on the side, and then went to explore the surrounding area with Gu Xing. When Xu Xiake returned to Nanning again, Jingwen had already passed away. In order to fulfill Jingwen's last wish, Xu Xiake sold the clothes on his body, carried Jingwen's bones and started on the road, rubbing rice and even asking for food along the way, and came to Dali, Yunnan with difficulty. On this day, he climbed up the Chicken Foot Mountain and laid down Jingwen's bones and scriptures. At night, he sat on the mountain and wrote: "Looking at the west there are mountains and life and death, and looking east there is no couple." The hometown only climbs high and little, and the soul is broken and the end of the world is only seen. ”
This time, he was the only one left, because even Gu Xing had already fled. After descending the mountain, Xu Xiake did not return, he seemed to have a premonition of something, and continued to travel west. A few months later, he repaired the "Chronicles of the Chicken Foot Mountain" for a magistrate named Muzeng. By this time, he had lost both feet and could not afford to return to his hometown. So Mu Zeng found someone to carry Xu Xiake back to his hometown in Jiangyin with a sliding rod.
On March 8, 1641, Xu Xiake died of illness, and before closing his eyes, he left his last words: "Zhang Qian chiseled the air, did not see Kunlun; Tang Xuanzang held the title of the master's life, but he had to travel to the west; I took the old cloth clothes, the lonely double shoes, the poor river sand, the Kunlun, the Western Regions, the title of the country, and the death did not hate." ”
Xu Xiake believes that if he can travel all over China, he will have no regrets in this life. And the story doesn't end there.
Xu Xiake has four children, and only one Li Ji is most like him. Li Ji lived in poverty, and was fostered in someone else's house since he was a child, although he studied the scriptures all day long, he never remembered his fame. Li Ji not only did not hate Xu Xiake, but also admired him very much. Later, after the Qing army entered the customs and the Xu family was shattered, 60-year-old Li Ji walked 200 miles on crutches to retrieve his father's manuscript. After that, it took another ten years to compile it into "Xu Xiake's Travels", and finally died of overwork.
After the publication of the travelogue, Xu Xiake began to be highly respected, and there was never a shortage of people and talents among the admirers. They believe that Xu Xiake is a clear stream in this chaotic world, and they are indignant that Xu Xiake was not treated fairly while he was alive. However, I don't think Xu Xiake cares, because he doesn't even care what people thought of him at that time, so how can he care about this thousand years later?
Source: "Reading Times" Issue 01, 2024
Author: Song Yixuan
Editor: Wu Xicheng
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