Classical Prose · LT504

Travel Writing

Reflective travelogues capturing natural geography, temples, and peaks.

27works

6dynasties

17authors

Tang

11 works

618–907

  1. Record of the Small Stone PoolLiu ZongyuanIn the pool were a hundred or so fish, all seeming to swim through empty void with nothing supporting them. Sunlight penetrates straight down casting shadows on stone, motionless one instant, then darting afar in a flash.
  2. First Excursion to the Western MountainLiu ZongyuanMy mind coagulated and physical frame dissolved, communing silently in oneness with myriad cosmic transformations. Only then did I realize I had never truly journeyed before—my true journey began with this mountain.
  3. Preface to Poems of the Foolish StreamLiu ZongyuanWater is what the wise delight in. Why then is this stream alone disgraced with the name of folly?
  4. Great Tang Records on the Western RegionsXuanzang (narrator), Bianji (writer)Seventeen years alone on the road, through more than a hundred lands: a firsthand record of seventh-century Central Asia and India.
  5. Record of Flatiron PoolLiu ZongyuanWhat makes me content to live among the tribes and forget my homeland—is it not this pool?
  6. Record of the Hillock West of Flatiron PoolLiu ZongyuanLying down with pillow and mat, the clear cool scene communed with my eyes, the gurgling sound with my ears, the vast emptiness with my spirit, and the deep stillness with my heart.
  7. Record of Yuan Family KeLiu ZongyuanWhenever the wind comes down from the hills on all sides, it shakes the great trees and bends the grasses; reds scatter and greens start, rich fragrance wafts
  8. Record of the Stone ChannelLiu ZongyuanWhen the wind sways their tops, the echoes stir the cliffs and valleys. Once the eye is at rest, the ear begins to hear far off.
  9. Record of the Stone BrookLiu ZongyuanThe water spreads evenly over it, flowing like woven patterns and sounding like a zither being played.
  10. Record of Little Stone Fort HillLiu ZongyuanI have long doubted whether a Creator exists. Seeing this, I was all the more convinced that one truly does.
  11. Record of a Pilgrimage to Tang China in Search of the LawEnnin (Jikaku Daishi)I was not troubled about returning to lay life; I worried only that the sacred teachings I had copied could not go with me.

Song

7 works

960–1279

  1. Memorial on Yueyang TowerFan ZhongyanBe the first to bear hardships for the world, and the last to partake in its joy.
  2. Record of the Old Drunkard PavilionOuyang XiuThe Old Drunkard's delight lies not in wine, but in the mountains and waters. The joy of mountain and stream is found in the heart and entrusted to wine. People know the joy of following their governor on excursions, yet know not that the governor finds his highest joy in their joy!
  3. Record of Visiting Mount BaochanWang AnshiThe wonderful, grand, strange and extraordinary sights of the world often lie in dangerous and distant places.
  4. Record of Stone Bell MountainSu ShiGreat rocks stood sideways a thousand feet high, like fierce beasts and strange ghosts, looming as if to pounce on us.
  5. Record of the Pavilion of Supreme Delight in HuangzhouSu ZheHow delightful this wind! Is it something I share with the common people?
  6. Record of the Ink PoolZeng GongXizhi's calligraphy became excellent only late in life; so his skill must have been attained by his own effort and was not a gift of Heaven.
  7. A Night Stroll at Chengtian TempleSu ShiThe courtyard was like a pool of still water, clear and translucent, with waterweeds crisscrossing in it: these were the shadows of the bamboo and cypress.

Ming

5 works

1368–1644

  1. Record of a Tour to ManjingYuan HongdaoOnly then did I realize that outside the suburbs spring had never been absent, though city dwellers were unaware of it. To not neglect duty through excursions, while wandering carefree among mountains, rocks, and trees—such is the joy of this humble official.
  2. Record of an Evening Tour on Six Bridges Awaiting the MoonYuan HongdaoFrom the Broken Bridge to the Su Causeway, a green mist and a red haze spread for more than twenty li.
  3. Record of a Journey to TaoyuanYuan ZhongdaoThe Three Gorges are majestic and astonishing; the Flower Spring is graceful and secluded.
  4. Record of Wushigang RidgeTan YuanchunThe stones were jet black, ancient, rugged, and precipitous. Climbing to the summit and overlooking the great river, sails and masts appeared and vanished amid misty hazes as if wandering inside a painted scroll.
  5. The Travel Diaries of Xu XiakeXu Xiake (Xu Hongzu)On the last day of the third month of the guichou year, I left Ninghai by the west gate. The clouds scattered and the sun shone bright; the mood of men and the light on the hills alike wore a look of joy.