Xu Xiake (1587–1641), China’s most celebrated Ming Dynasty geographer and travel writer, spent his final and most poignant chapter in Lijiang — a journey that forged one of the most famous friendships in Chinese literary history.

In the 12th year of the Chongzhen reign (1639), at age 51, Xu Xiake was on his epic “Journey of Ten Thousand Miles” (万里遐征) to trace the source of the Yangtze River. After visiting Chicken Foot Mountain (鸡足山) in Binchuan, he received an invitation from Mu Zeng (木增, 1587–1646), the 19th-generation Naxi chieftain of Lijiang.

Xu arrived in Lijiang on the 25th day of the first lunar month and stayed for 16 days (some sources say 15).

The meeting was arranged through Chen Jiru (陈继儒, “Meigong”), a mutual friend and renowned literatus who wrote recommendation letters for Xu. Though one letter was lost to river bandits, the other reached Mu Zeng, who eagerly awaited Xu’s arrival.

Mu Zeng received Xu with the highest Naxi ceremonial banquet — “eighty grand dishes” (大肴八十品) — and moved him to Jietuo Lin (解脱林, now Fuguo Temple 福国寺), a scenic temple at the foot of the mountain.

Their bond was immediate and deep. Mu Zeng, a cultured chieftain and poet himself, asked Xu to:

Xu also tutored Mu Zeng’s four sons. In return, Mu Zeng gifted Xu a fur mattress and four taels of gold.

Xu left behind over 9,000 words in his Lijiang Diary (丽江日记), making him the first Han Chinese writer to describe Lijiang in such rich, scientific detail. He recorded:

He also wrote the Lijiang Summary (《丽江纪略》) and Origin of the Dharma King (《法王缘起》), providing invaluable historical records of Naxi culture.

Xu Xiake’s health had been deteriorating throughout his southwest journey. In Lijiang, his foot disease (风疾, now believed to be a form of stroke or severe edema) worsened, and his legs swelled until he could no longer walk.

Seeing his condition, Mu Zeng arranged an official sedan chair and escort to carry Xu all the way back to his hometown of Jiangyin, Jiangsu — a journey of 150 days across mountains and rivers.

This act of friendship is remembered as the “Xu-Mu Friendship” (徐木友谊) — a cross-cultural bond between a Han scholar and a Naxi chieftain that transcended ethnicity and status.

Xu returned home in 1640 and passed away the following year at age 54, but he never stopped working on his travelogue.

Today, Lijiang honors this historic friendship in several ways:

Xu Xiake is widely regarded as the first person to “promote” Lijiang to the wider Chinese world through his detailed, affectionate writings — and his friendship with Mu Zeng remains a symbol of cultural exchange between the Han and Naxi peoples.