Ming and Qing Historical Materials Notes: Five Mountains Travel Notes, Broad Records of the World

Author: Wang Shixing (Ming) / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Wang Shixing, styled Hengshu, styled Yuanbai Daoren, was a native of Linhai, Zhejiang. He was born in the 26th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1547) and died in the 26th year of the Wanli era (1598). He had a fondness for traveling and, while still a student, had already visited the scenic landscapes of Hangzhou and the Yuezhou region. In the 5th year of the Wanli era (1577), he passed the imperial examination and subsequently served as an official in Henan, Beijing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Shandong, and Nanjing, among other places. Except for Fujian, his footsteps covered all the two capitals and twelve provinces of the time. He wrote many outstanding travelogues and poems about his journeys, with the continuation titled "Five Great Mountains Travel Notes." In his later years, he applied theoretical thinking to the places he had traveled and explored, writing two brilliant geographical works, "Broad Travel Records" and "Broad Travel Notes."
The three aforementioned books reflect his geographical thought, achievements, and the valuable geographical materials he preserved, which are more than enough to place him among the great geographers in Chinese history without any hesitation. Unfortunately, he was largely neglected for nearly four centuries, especially after the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, when he was almost unknown. The purpose of this collection is to draw attention not only to Wang Shixing as an individual but also to the group of geographers in the late Ming Dynasty and all geographers in Chinese history.