Journey West

Author: Gu Zhizhong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Under the guidance of the central government's strategic deployment for the development of the western regions, scholars and publishing workers in Gansu have worked diligently and collaboratively in recent years to organize, compile, and publish a series of works on ancient and modern history and culture in the northwest. These works reveal various aspects of the region's history, serving as mirrors for the development and construction of the new era. Among them, the "Collected Records of Northwest Journeys" published by Gansu People's Publishing House in January 2002 and August 2003, comprising a total of 20 volumes in two series, is one of the more substantial efforts. "Northwest Journeys" refer to the travel records left by individuals from the central regions who traveled to the northwest for missions, inspections, tourism, or appointments during different historical periods in China. These records cover various aspects of the northwest, including economics, politics, culture, military affairs, folk customs, astronomy and geography, mountains, rivers, and local products, providing a multi-faceted reflection of the region's natural and social landscapes. They are invaluable sources for understanding the social and cultural history of the northwest.
Since these are personal works, they record only the author's firsthand observations and experiences, making them more authentic. Due to their hybrid nature of history and literature, they blend historical insights with the author's literary sensibilities, combining factual accounts with lyrical descriptions. Written spontaneously and in a free form, the texts are often vivid and engaging, making them highly readable. They represent a significant creative achievement by ancient scholars in bridging history and literature, embodying a dynamic literary form!
The earliest existing "Northwest Journeys" are the "Record of Buddhist Kingdoms" by the Eastern Jin monk Faxian and the "Travel Records" by Song Yun of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but their descriptions of the northwest are extremely brief. The "Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang" by Xuanzang only covers a small portion of the northwest. Most of the works by travelers to the west during the Tang and Song dynasties have been lost or fragmented. From the Yuan and Ming dynasties onward, such works gradually increased. Particularly during the Qing and Republican periods, "Northwest Journeys" flourished, with over a hundred documented examples. Their accounts became more detailed and comprehensive, and some works, while recording events, also offered insightful proposals on governing, stabilizing, developing, and building the northwest, holding significant "historical reference" value.
The study of "Northwest Journeys" has long been valued by scholars. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the rise of "Northwest Studies," historical and geographical research on the northwest attracted many experts and scholars, including Wang Guowei, Feng Chengjun, Xiang Da, and Zhang Xinglang, all of whom achieved remarkable results. However, most previous studies focused on works from the Yuan and Ming dynasties or earlier, primarily within the scope of historical geography. Works from the Qing dynasty and later have received less attention, and many Republican-era works are known only to a few specialists and are often stored in libraries.
In our view, research in this field is not merely a discipline within historical geography but also broadly involves history, geography, cultural studies, anthropology, ethnology, and folk studies. It should be treated as an important part of the overall study of the social and cultural history of the northwest. In the context of today's development of the northwest and the realization of China's four modernizations, the organization and study of "Northwest Journeys" as part of the cultural history research of the northwest will undoubtedly provide valuable historical references for contemporary development and construction.
Moreover, these firsthand accounts of the past social conditions of the northwest can break the narrow circle of professional researchers and be selectively promoted to a broader audience to understand the rise and fall of their homeland, the historical footsteps of the Yellow River plains, and the anecdotes and legends of the places where people have sung and wept. Their spiritual and cultural value is particularly immeasurable.
"The Collected Records of Northwest Journeys" was compiled based on these considerations, selecting and compiling 37 famous works from the 19th century onward into 20 volumes, with the first series containing 10 volumes and 25 works, and the second series containing 10 volumes and 12 works. The time span covers from 1805 to the period of the Anti-Japanese War, with content reflecting the past 200 years of the northwest (Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, and surrounding provinces) in terms of transportation, climate and local products, urban and rural landscapes, folk customs, political changes, ethnic and religious relations, and the development of economy, culture, and education. It can serve as a window for readers interested in the development of the northwest and the modernization process of China, offering insights from a different, micro-perspective.
Record of Northwest Journeys, by Liu Wenhai. Liu Wenhai is from Weinan, Shaanxi, and studied in the United States and Britain for 10 years. After returning to China, he taught at Southeast University, Northwest University, and Northeast University before entering politics. This book is a record of the author's experiences and observations during his journey west in late 1928 to visit his father, who was seriously ill in Jiuquan, concluding in early 1930, lasting a total of one year and two months. The book is organized into chapters based on the regions visited, with each chapter first detailing the journey and observations, followed by an overview and critique of the social conditions of the region, and concluding with the author's constructive suggestions. While some of the proposals may appear naive, biased, or even mistaken, the book remains a valuable work of travel writing in the northwest. It exposes the hardships faced by the people along the way in terms of material and spiritual life, the corruption of local politics, and the harms caused by officials, soldiers, bandits, drought, opium, excessive taxes, and onerous levies, preserving a rare snapshot of a dark world. The book criticizes corrupt officials and policies, pointing out current issues with passion and revealing a sense of justice, reflecting the author's social conscience. Additionally, the descriptions of landscapes, folk customs, and adventures are vivid and emotionally engaging, broadening readers' knowledge and experiences. The book was completed in January 1930 and published in a traditional vertical, double-column format by Nanjing Bookstore in May 1933. This edition is based on the 1933 Nanjing Bookstore publication and has been typeset in a simplified horizontal format for easier reading.