Historical and cultural celebrities who have left footprints in Wenzhou

The most famous one must be Xu Xiake who wrote about Yandang Mountain.

Xu Xiake, a strange man through the ages.

"There was a Xia Xianju in Beituo, and Hong Ying was still in Yang Yang."

Forty miles south of Jiangyin County, Jiangsu Province, there is a village called Nanyangqi, and there is an ancient stone bridge in the south of the village. This pair of couplets is engraved on the rafters. The couplet means that there was once a Xia Xian who lived in the north of Shiqiao. Now Xia Xian is gone, but his spirit is like a rainbow, floating over Nanyang Qi forever. Chivalrous here refers to Xu Xiake. Why does everyone praise him so much? This should start with Xu Xiake's experience.

Xu Xiake (1586- 164 1 year) is a famous macro-ancestor, whose name is Xia Ke. He was born in a famous rich family in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. Ancestors are all scholars, which can be called scholarly family. His father, Xu Youmian, never wanted to be an official or associate with power. He likes to visit and enjoy the surrounding scenery. Influenced by his father in his childhood, Xu Xiake likes reading books such as history, geography, adventure and travel notes. These books made him love the magnificent rivers and mountains of the motherland from an early age and determined to travel all over the world. At the age of fifteen, he should have passed a boy exam and failed. Seeing that his son had no intention of becoming famous and was no longer reluctant, the father encouraged him to read widely and become a learned man. Xu Xiake's ancestors built a scroll building to collect books, which created good conditions for Xu Xiake's extensive reading. He studies very hard, and when asked, he can remember everything he has read. The library at home can't meet his needs, and he also collects some books that he has never seen before. As long as he sees a good book, even if he has no money, he will take off his clothes and change books. At the age of nineteen, his father died. He really wanted to go out and visit famous mountains and rivers, but according to the moral standards of feudal society, "parents are here, don't travel far". Xu Xiake didn't immediately prepare for a long trip because of his old mother in class. His mother is a cultured and reasonable woman. She encouraged her son to say:

"As a man the gentleman, should aim at the quartet. Go out to travel! Go to heaven and earth to stretch your mind and broaden your knowledge. How can I stay at home and do nothing, because I am here, like a chicken in the fence and a pony on the shaft? " After hearing this, Xu Xiake was very excited and determined to travel far. Before he left, he wore a traveling crown made by his mother and left his hometown with simple luggage on his shoulders. This year, he was twenty-two years old. From then on, until his death at the age of 56, he spent most of his time traveling.

Without any government support, Xu Xiake traveled to Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and other 16 provinces. East to Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, west to Tengchong in Yunnan, south to Nanning in Guangxi and north to Panshan in Jixian County, Hebei Province, covering more than half of China. What's more, during more than 30 years of travel and investigation, he mainly walked, even rarely took a boat, and often carried his own luggage. Most of the places he has been to are desolate backcountry or sparsely populated frontier areas. He is not afraid of wind and rain, tigers and wolves, keeps company with Changfeng and Baiyun, feeds his hunger with wild fruits and quenches his thirst with clear springs. He was dying several times, risked his life and tasted the hardships of the journey.

At the age of 28, Xu Xiake came to Wenzhou to climb Yandang Mountain. He remembered that there was a big lake on the top of Yandang Mountain in ancient books, so he decided to climb to the top and have a look. When he climbed to the top of the mountain with difficulty, he saw that the ridge was straight and there was nowhere to stay. How can there be a lake? But Xu Xiake still refused to give up and continued to walk on a big cliff, and the road was gone. He carefully observed the cliff and found a small platform below, so he tied a long cloth belt to a rock at the top of the cliff, then grabbed the cloth belt and hung it down. When he reached the small platform, he found that the bucket below was too deep to get down. He had to grab the cloth belt, climb the cliff, and climb up with difficulty, ready to climb back to the top of the cliff. Crawling and crawling, the belt broke. Fortunately, he grasped a prominent rock skillfully, otherwise he would fall into the abyss and be shattered. Xu Xiake tied the broken belt, struggled to climb, and finally climbed to the top of the cliff. On another occasion, he visited Huangshan Mountain and was caught in heavy snow on the way. The local people told him that in some places, the snow was waist-deep, so he couldn't see the way to climb the mountain clearly and couldn't get up. Xu Xiake was not scared. He leaned against an iron bar to find his way. Up the mountainside, the mountain becomes steeper and steeper. Shady places on the hillside are the hardest to climb. The road was covered with thick ice, steep and slippery. When you step on it, you will slide down. Xu Xiake dug a hole in the ice with an iron bar. Step on the pit, climb slowly step by step, and finally climb up. Monks on the mountain were very surprised to see him, because they had been trapped in the mountain by heavy snow for several months. He also walked through three dangerous roads in Wuyishan, Fujian: Baizhang dangerous ladder in Wang Feng, dolomite steep cliff, "chicken breast" and "dragon ridge" connecting bamboo shoots. When he arrived in Wang Feng, the sun was about to set, and he couldn't find his way down the mountain. He grabbed the hanging thorn with his hand and rolled down. He is in Songshan Mountain in Zhongyue, and he also hangs down the gorge from the top of the Taishi. Xu Xiake's amazing travel notes can indeed show that he is an ancient man.

After a day's trek, no matter how tired, no matter where he stayed, Xu Xiake insisted on recording the harvest of his investigation. There are more than 2.4 million words in his travel notes, but most of them are lost. What remained was the famous Travels of Xu Xiake, which was compiled into a book by later generations. With more than 400,000 words, this book is a great "fantastic book" integrating science and literature.

Xu Xiake's trip is not only for innovation and success, but also for exploring the mysteries and laws of nature. For example, his visit to Jianxi and Ningyangxi in Fujian is an example. Liling and Maling are the cradles of Jiangxi and Ningyangxi respectively. The heights of the two ridges are roughly equal, but the flow of the two streams into the sea is quite different. Jianxi is long, Ningyang is short. After investigation, Xu Xiake found that the water flow in Ningyangxi was faster than that in Jianxi. "The more urgent the trip, the more urgent the water flow", that is, the shorter the trip, the more urgent the water flow. This famous conclusion in geography was drawn by Xu Xiake through on-the-spot investigation. His investigation and study of mountains and rivers, waterways, geology and landforms has made achievements beyond his predecessors.

He inspected the waterway sources of many rivers, such as Zuoyou River, Xiaohe Riverside River, tributaries of Xiangjiang River in Guangxi, Erpanjiang River in the north and south of Yunnan, and the Yangtze River, among which the Yangtze River is the deepest. The mighty Yangtze River flows through most of China, and where it originated has long been a mystery. In the geography book Yugong in the Warring States period, there is a saying that "the Minjiang River leads to the Yangtze River", which has been used by later books. Xu Xiake has doubts about this. He took the question of "Sanqin in the north, Wuling in the south, and Shimen Jinsha in the west" and found out that Jinsha River originated at the southern foot of Kunlun Mountain, which is more than 1,000 miles longer than Minjiang River, so he came to the conclusion that Jinsha River is the source of the Yangtze River. Due to the limitation of the conditions at that time, Xu Xiake failed to find the real source of the Yangtze River. But he took an extremely important step and found the source of the Yangtze River. No one found out for a long time after him. It was not until 1978 that the state sent an investigation team to confirm that the real source of the Yangtze River was Tuotuo River in Gladin Cave, the main peak of Tanggula.

Xu Xiake is also a pioneer in the scientific investigation of limestone landforms in the world. Limestone is widely distributed in the southwest of China. Xu Xiake made a detailed investigation in Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, and described, recorded and studied different limestone landforms in various places in detail. He also inspected more than 100 limestone caves. In Jiuyi Mountain in southern Hunan, he heard that there was a flying Longyan, so he asked the local monk Mingzong to show him the way and investigate with a torch. Flying Longyan is a huge cave with twists and turns. There are holes in the cave, full of pits and water, so it is difficult to walk. Xu Xiake didn't care at all, and went deep into it. He doesn't care if his shoes will run away. Mingzong advised him to go back several times, but he wouldn't listen. It was not until the torch was almost burned out that he reluctantly came back. He doesn't have any instruments, only by visual steps, but most of his investigations are very scientific. For example, the records of seven-star rock 15 caves in Guilin are generally consistent with the field survey conducted by our geographical researchers today. More than a hundred years after Xu Xiake's death, Europeans began to investigate limestone landforms. Xu Xiake can be regarded as the earliest limestone geomorphologist in the world.

Xu Xiake has made many contributions to geographical science. In addition to the above, he also studied geothermal phenomena such as volcanoes and hot springs, and carefully described and investigated natural phenomena such as climate change and plant changes due to different terrain. In addition, he vividly described and recorded the situation of agriculture, handicrafts and transportation, the evolution of scenic spots and historical sites in various places and the customs and habits of ethnic minorities. His wonderful book is also of great literary value, and every article can be said to be a beautiful prose.

The last time Xu Xiake went out was on 1636, when he was 5 1 year old. This time, I mainly went to the southwest of China, arrived at Tengyue (now Tengchong, Yunnan) on the border between China and Myanmar, and returned to my hometown at 1640. He fell ill soon after he returned to his hometown. During his illness, he also looked through his own collection of rock specimens. Before he died, he still clung to the two stones he brought back during the inspection.

Xu Xiake's spirit of loving the motherland and science and courageously climbing the peak in scientific career is always worth learning by future generations.

Xu Xiake is ambitious, in all directions.

On a clear night after the rain, on a passenger ship moored in Hunan, after several days of rain protection, passengers saw the bright moon and watched the mountains and rivers in the moonlight, feeling refreshed and extremely carefree. Just as the passengers enjoyed themselves and went to bed, suddenly there was a cry of murder and a group of robbers jumped on the boat. At that time, torches were swaying, swords and shadows were intertwined, and disaster befell the ship. At this moment, I saw a man flying into the water, swimming against the current and hiding in another boat.

This diver, about fifty years old, is slender, looks energetic and agile. He is Xu Xiake, a famous geographer in the history of China.

Xu Xiake, born in Jiangyin County, Jiangsu Province, was born in the 14th year of Ming Wanli (A.D. 1586). His ancestors used to be officials. In the Ming dynasty, in order to be an official, intellectuals had to read Confucian classics, four books and five classics, and also take exams, the so-called "imperial examination". Articles written in the exam should also follow the stereotyped writing form stipulated by the government. If they exceed the prescribed scope, they will not be selected, that is, "falling behind". Therefore, most intellectuals have embarked on the road of studying classics and writing eight-part essays. Intellectuals' thoughts are tightly bound and the academic atmosphere is lifeless. Xu Xiake also took the stereotyped writing examination, but failed. From then on, he decided not to take the road of being an official by examination, and he was determined to carry out the geographical investigation career he was interested in. This choice was great at that time, which meant breaking with the prevailing social customs at that time. This requires courage and courage, and it also bears the ridicule and accusation of some conservatives. Xu Xiake has done this firmly, and his family, especially his mother, is also very supportive. She said, "If you are ambitious in all directions, it is also a man's business." "How can your son be trapped in the fence like a chicken?"

Xu Xiake was not interested in the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child. He likes reading books on geography, history, tourism and adventure, and yearns for the life of "famous mountains and great rivers". After Xu Xiake failed in the imperial examination, he buried himself in studying and studying the geography works of his predecessors. However, he did not blindly believe that the works of his predecessors were unchangeable classics, but thought independently while absorbing the knowledge of his predecessors. In his research, he found that many of the works of predecessors inherited and copied earlier geographical works, and few people made field trips. As a result, some geographical works are recorded incorrectly, and some people plagiarize them to spread the truth. The previous generation was wrong, and so were the future generations. He boldly questioned many problems in his previous works. For example, regarding the source of the Yangtze River, in Gong Yu, which is considered as a classic geographical work, there is a saying that "Minshan River is diverted". Later, many people followed this statement. Xu Xiake asked why the Yangtze River is longer than the Yellow River, but the source of the Yangtze River is so short and the source of the Yellow River is so long. He thought that Gong Yu's statement could not be explained. In order to find out the true face of the motherland's rivers and mountains, Xu Xiake decided to make a field trip in person.

Travel life

Since the age of 22, Xu Xiake has started his career of tourism inspection. In the past 30 years, he has traveled long distances for four times, covering Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai 19 provinces, cities and autonomous regions. Three or four hundred years ago, traffic was very underdeveloped. Xu Xiake traveled such a vast area, relying entirely on his own two legs. This alone is enough to impress people, not to mention the dangerous peaks and beaches he visited. It is not difficult to imagine how many difficulties and obstacles he has to go through, and even the danger of losing his life at any time. It can also be seen that Xu Xiake has great determination and strong will to devote himself to nature. Xu Xiake's exploration activities continued until the age of 55 in AD 1640. At that time, he was in Yunnan. Unfortunately, he was seriously ill and was sent back to his hometown in Jiangyin. He died the next year. It can be said that Xu Xiake devoted his life to the geographical investigation of the motherland.

During his journey, Xu Xiake was robbed three times and deprived of food four times. The above-mentioned incident of Xiangjiang River being robbed and diving out of danger occurred in A.D. 1636, when he was 5 1 year old. During this trip, he plans to visit Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan. Shortly after the trip, he met a robber in Xiangjiang River, one of his companions was injured, his luggage and travel expenses were looted, and he almost died. At that time, someone advised him to go back and help him travel to his hometown, but he firmly said, "I came with a shovel, and I can't bury bones anywhere!" " "Xu Xiake stubbornly continue to move forward. When there was no food, he traded his silk towel for some bamboo rice. Without travel expenses, he traded his jacket, socks and trousers for some money ... He overcame all the difficulties and finally achieved his goal.

What's more, no matter how tired Xu Xiake is, he records his experiences and observations every day. Sometimes he trudged more than a hundred miles, stayed at deserted wild temples overnight, or slept under old trees. He also lit oil lamps, lit bonfires and kept a travel diary. He wrote more than 20 million words of travel notes, leaving a precious record of geographical investigation for future generations. Unfortunately, most of his diaries have been lost, and the existing travel notes of Xu Xiake are only a small part of them. However, Xu Xiake's 400,000-word travel notes still show us his extensive investigation records, especially the geographical features of remote areas.

Achievements made

In the world, there has never been anything for nothing. The more you give, the more you gain. Xu Xiake's arduous geographical investigation activities have finally achieved fruitful scientific results.

Xu Xiake proved that Jinsha River is the source of the Yangtze River by personal investigation and irrefutable facts, and denied Gong Yu's theory that "Minshan guides the river" which was regarded as a classic. At the same time, he also determined the origins of many waterways such as Zuojiang, Youjiang, Dayingjiang and Lancang River, and corrected the confusion and mistakes recorded in the unified annals of Daming. He carefully observed the topography of the rivers flowing through the area, saw the erosion of the rivers flowing through the area, and realized that the erosion of the river banks and valleys was particularly serious. He also noticed the relationship between plants and the environment, observed the different conditions of plant ecology and species under different topography, temperature and wind speed, and realized the influence of the height and latitude of the earth on climate and ecology. Xu Xiake also has a certain scientific understanding of hot springs and groundwater.

Among Xu Xiake's series of contributions to geography, the most prominent one is his investigation of limestone landforms. He is the first geographer in China and the world to systematically investigate limestone landforms. Among Europeans, the first person who extensively investigated and described limestone landforms was Aspell in A.D. 1774. Roman first systematically classified limestone landforms at 1858, which was more than 100 years later than Xu Xiake.

Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan in China are one of the most widely distributed and developed limestone landforms in the world. From A.D. 1630 to A.D. 1640, Xu Xiake traveled in this area for three years, and made a detailed diary, giving a detailed and scientific account of the distribution of limestone landforms in southwest China, the differences in different regions, the types of limestone landforms and their causes, so his travel notes became the earliest limestone landforms document in the world. As can be seen from his travel notes, he has clearly recognized the important reasons for the formation of the peculiar limestone landform. Due to different development periods, different regional differences have been formed, such as Guilin and Yangshuo, which are characterized by steep stone peaks and competing for each other because of lack of weathered materials and no soil cover; The northwest of Liuzhou is different. It is between earth and stone, and the earth mountain twists and turns (Y and l ǐ, meaning continuous twists and turns), and suddenly dozens of stone peaks appear, like cones in a bag. In modern geology, Guilin and Yangshuo are characterized by the peak period of limestone landform development, while the northwest of Liuzhou is characterized by the late period of limestone landform development. It can be seen that Xu Xiake's observation is very accurate and meticulous, and his classification is basically consistent with the classification of modern geology.

Another feature of limestone landform is that there are many caves. Xu Xiake has personally explored more than 65,438+000 caves. Wherever he goes, he always tries his best to explore the mystery. He has a true description and profound insight into the structure and causes of caves and stalactites. He pointed out that caves were formed by running water erosion, while stalactites were formed by limestone dissolved in water. After the water dripping from limestone evaporates, limestone condenses into stalactites, showing various wonderful shapes. Most of these opinions are in line with the principles of modern science.

Xu Xiake not only made great contributions to geography, but also made great achievements in the field of literature. His travel notes are not only precious documents in geography, but also exquisite travel notes literature. His travel notes are as simple and beautiful as the nature he described, and some people praised them as "the truth of the world, Dai Mengji, and strange words", which is not too much. Reading his travels makes people feel that it is a kind of enjoyment of truth and beauty. The ever-changing rain, fog, sun and shade, and the various shapes of mountains, water, trees and stones are reproduced in Xu Xiake's works, as if we followed Xu Xiake's footsteps, trudged through dangerous peaks and beaches, immersed in the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland, intoxicated and proud of it, and suddenly felt infinite affection for the motherland.