{"id":602,"date":"2026-08-06T12:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T12:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ynatcn.com\/?p=602"},"modified":"2026-08-18T01:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:36:23","slug":"xu-xiake-%e5%be%90%e9%9c%9e%e5%ae%a2-in-lijiang-yunnan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ynatcn.com\/?p=602","title":{"rendered":"Xu Xiake (\u5f90\u971e\u5ba2) in Lijiang, Yunnan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Xu Xiake<\/strong> (1587\u20131641), China’s most celebrated Ming Dynasty geographer and travel writer, spent his final and most poignant chapter in Lijiang<\/strong> \u2014 a journey that forged one of the most famous friendships in Chinese literary history.<\/div>\n
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The Journey to Lijiang (1639)<\/h2>\n
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In the 12th year of the Chongzhen reign (1639), at age 51, Xu Xiake was on his epic “Journey of Ten Thousand Miles”<\/em> (\u4e07\u91cc\u9050\u5f81) to trace the source of the Yangtze River. After visiting Chicken Foot Mountain<\/strong> (\u9e21\u8db3\u5c71) in Binchuan, he received an invitation from Mu Zeng<\/strong> (\u6728\u589e, 1587\u20131646), the 19th-generation Naxi chieftain of Lijiang.<\/p>\n

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Xu arrived in Lijiang on the 25th day of the first lunar month and stayed for 16 days<\/strong> (some sources say 15).<\/p>\n

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Friendship with Mu Zeng<\/h2>\n
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The meeting was arranged through Chen Jiru (\u9648\u7ee7\u5112, “Meigong”)<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

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Mu Zeng received Xu with the highest Naxi ceremonial banquet<\/strong> \u2014 “eighty grand dishes”<\/em> (\u5927\u80b4\u516b\u5341\u54c1) \u2014 and moved him to Jietuo Lin (\u89e3\u8131\u6797, now Fuguo Temple \u798f\u56fd\u5bfa)<\/strong>, a scenic temple at the foot of the mountain.<\/p>\n

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Their bond was immediate and deep. Mu Zeng, a cultured chieftain and poet himself, asked Xu to:<\/div>\n