Poetic Culture of Great Powers (Excerpt 3)
Author: Huang Simon
Read aloud: Liu Shuodan, Fang Fang, Wei Yongheng, Gao Meng
"Xu Xiake" is one of the few ships in China named after the ancients. It is a life training comprehensive support ship, contributing unique strength to the construction of China's overseas security system.
Relevant data show that the "Xu Xia guest ship" can accommodate up to 2500 people to live in the open sea for three weeks. When undertaking the task of large-scale evacuation of overseas Chinese, it can also play the role of a super large navigation practice ship. More importantly, "it provides logistics support for the crew of the aircraft carrier Liaoning Ship, which is a supporting ship of the domestic aircraft carrier Liaoning Ship. It is mainly used for the living security of the crew, pilots, aviation maintenance personnel and engineering technicians during a series of sea trials in the later stage of the aircraft carrier outfitting".
Obviously, "Xu Xiake Ship" got its name from Xu Xiake, a traveler, geographer and writer in the Ming Dynasty. He spent 30 years traveling all over China, leaving 600000 words of "Xu Xiake's Travels" for later generations. His unique experience was very rare among the ancients, and therefore Xu Xiake became a business card of Chinese travel culture. The more you know about Xu Xiake, the more you will appreciate the enthusiasm and perseverance of geographical and cultural explorers.
When referring to Xu Xiake's Travels, many people regard it as a work of ancient geography or travel notes. This famous diary style work has written the magnificent scenery of the motherland, and also incorporated Xu Xiake's lifelong efforts. It was originally the travel investigation content recorded by Xu Xiake before his death, including Journals of Chu Tour, Journals of West Guangdong Tour, Journals of Guizhou Tour, Journals of Zhejiang Tour, etc. After his death, these words were reorganized into Journals of Xu Xiake, leaving precious geographical and cultural materials for future generations.
Although this is a travel note, or a record of exploration and investigation, it is rare to see Xu Xiake's astonishment at "foreign landscapes". His narration is leisurely. Even in a dangerous situation, he will try to describe it as a kind of comfortable situation, which makes people intoxicated without feeling internal tension.
As Xu Xiake said in "Journey of Chu Tour IV", breakfast at Lvzhu Nunnery is not like hiking in the mountains because the city is muddy. Then it passed a small ridge in the southeast to the Xiangjiang River. A total of one mile, from the upstream to the point where the steaming water flows into Hunan. Across the river is Shigu Hejiang Pavilion. Cross the river to the east bank, and travel southeast. The ground is as high as the hill, four miles away, two miles away from the Baxi Temple, and more than Baxi Ridge. Lingnan Pingchou is expanding. The incoming water comes from the southeast, goes straight to the gate of Hudong Temple, and turns north. The people of Hudong Temple are in the flat three miles southeast of the Baxi Ridge. The door is opposite to the water. At the end of the Wanli period, Master Wuhuai built it. Later Han Mountain also came to live together, with a quiet room in it... "
This kind of writing has the feeling of "clean wind and smoke" and "the same color of Tianshan Mountain" in ancient landscape prose, which is in line with the aesthetic consciousness of traditional literature, and this style of writing almost runs through the whole of Xu Xiake's Travels. Perhaps, in Xu Xiake's mind, foreign landscapes and native landscapes can be integrated. The landscapes he recorded in his notes are not only in the sense of geography, but also in the sense of aesthetics. Xu Xiake formed his own complete imagination of national geography and culture through his travel and writing. This was undoubtedly a unique and advanced behavior at that time, which also made the text of Xu Xiake's Travels more likely to have multiple interpretations.
Perhaps, without the spirit of personal exploration and deep feelings for history and culture, future generations can neither read scientific and rigorous historical geography books, nor can they obtain the pleasure of imagination being stimulated from various ancient books. Xu Xiake's exploration spirit and feelings of visiting the ancient times when facing mountains and rivers still inspire many people today, and will be inherited and carried forward in more forms in the future.
Today, our way of scientific research and exploration is like "Xu Xiake" personally inspecting the mountains and rivers of the motherland. Although there will be difficulties and obstacles on the way, "unlimited scenery is in danger". When we climb to the peak of science and technology, we can see a broader world.
(e employees of CRCC)
