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University of California Press

Inscribed Landscapes

Travel Writing from Imperial China
by Richard E. Strassberg (Translator)
Paperback eBook
Price: $49.95 / £42.00
Publication Date: Sep 2023
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 489
ISBN: 9780520914865
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Illustrations: 1 frontisp.
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About the Book

Alongside the scores of travel books about China written by foreign visitors, Chinese travelers' impressions of their own country rarely appear in translation. This anthology is the only comprehensive collection in English of Chinese travel writing from the first century A.D. through the nineteenth. Early examples of the genre describe sites important for their geography, history, and role in cultural mythology, but by the T'ang dynasty in the mid-eighth century certain historiographical and poetic discourses converged to form the "travel account" (yu-chi) and later the "travel diary" (jih-chi) as vehicles of personal expression and autobiography. These first-person narratives provide rich material for understanding the attitudes of Chinese literati toward place, nature, politics, and the self.

The anthology is abundantly illustrated with paintings, portraits, maps, and drawings. Each selection is meticulously translated, carefully annotated, and prefaced by a brief description of the writer's life and work. The entire collection is introduced by an in-depth survey of the rise of Chinese travel writing as a cultural phenomenon. Inscribed Landscapes provides a unique resource for travelers as well as for scholars of Chinese literature, art, and history.


Alongside the scores of travel books about China written by foreign visitors, Chinese travelers' impressions of their own country rarely appear in translation. This anthology is the only comprehensive collection in English of Chinese travel writing from t

About the Author

Richard E. Strassberg is Professor of Chinese at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations 
Preface 
Editorial Notes 
Introduction: The Rise of Chinese Travel Writing

I. MA TI-PO (n.d.) 
From A Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices: The Supreme Mountain 
2. WANG HSI-CHIH (ca. 303-ca. 361) 
Preface to Collected Poems from the Orchid Pavilion 
3. LAY SCHOLARS OF HERMITAGE MOUNTAIN (fl. ca. 400) 
Preface and Poem on a Journey to Stone Gate 
4. PAO CHAO (ca. 414-466) 
A Letter to My Younger Sister from the Banks of Thunder Garrison 
5. LI TAO-YUAN (d. 527) 
From The Guide to Waterways with Commentary 
Meng's Gate Mountain 
Lotus Mountain 
The Three Gorges 
6. YANG HSUAN-CHIH (fl. ca. 528-547) 
From The Temples of Lo-yang: The Bazaar of Lo-yang 
7. HSUAN-TSANG (ca. 600-664) 
From A Record of the Western Region: The Land of Baluka 
8. WANG PO (ca. 650-ca. 676) 
Preface to Poems from the Pavilion of the Prince ofT'eng 
9. WANG WEI (701-761) 
A Letter from the Mountains to the "Cultivated Talent" P'ei Ti 
IO. YUAN CHIEH (719-772) 
The Right-hand Stream
The Winter Pavilion
My Own Terrace 
11. HAN YU (768-824) 
The Pavilion of Joyous Feasts 
The 1-ch'eng Station 
12. LI AO (772-836) 
Diary of My Coming to the South 
13. PO CHU-I (772-846) 
The Cottage 
Preface to Poems from the Cave of the Three Travelers 
14. LIU TSUNG-YUAN (773-819) 
Eight Pieces from Yung Prefecture 
I. My First Excursion to West Mountain 
2. Flatiron Pond 
3. The Little Hill West of Flatiron Pond 
4. To the Little Rock Pond West of the Little Hill 
5. Yiian Creek 
6. Stony Brook 
7. Rocky Stream 
8. Little Rock Citadel 
Preface to Poems from Dimwit's Stream 
15. LIU K'AI (947-1000) 
Flat-Top Mountain 
16. FAN CHUNG-YEN (989-I052) 
The Pavilion of Yiieh-yang 
17. OU-YANG HSIU (1007-1072) 
The Pavilion of the Old Drunkard 
The Pavilion of Joyful Abundance 
18. SU SHUN-CH'IN (1008-1048) 
The Temple of the Moon-in-the-Water at Grotto
Mountain in Su-chou 
19. WANG AN-SHIH (1021-1086) 
The Mountain Where Hui-pao Meditated 
20. SHEN K'uo (1031-1095) 
Geese Pond Mountain 
21. SU SHIH (1037-1101) 
Red Cliff I 
Red Cliff II 
Stone Bells Mountain
From Tung-p'o's Forest of Jottings 
Sandy Lake 
An Evening Stroll to the Temple That Receives the Heavenly 
An Account for Kuo of Our Visit to Mount White Water 
22. SU CH'E (1039-1112) 
The Delightful Pavilion of Huang Prefecture 
23. CH'IN KUAN (1049-1100) 
Dragon Well I 
Dragon Well II 
24. LU YU (1125-1210) 
From A]ourney into Shu: The Cave of the Three Travelers 
25. FAN CH'ENG-TA (1126-1193) 
From Diary of a Boat Trip to Wu: Eyebrows Mountain 
26. CHU HSI (1130-1200) 
The Mountain a Hundred Chang High 
27. YEH-LU CH'u-TS'AI (1189-1243) 
From Record of a journey to the West 
28. YUAN HAO-WEN (1190-1257) 
A Trip to Chi-nan 
29. MA KO (fl. ca. 1224-1239) 
Dragon Mountain 
30. CHOU MI (1232-1298) 
From Recollectionso f Wu-Zin:O bserving the Tidal Bore 
31. TENG MU (1247-1306) 
Snow Gorge Mountain 
32. SA-TU-LA (SA T'IEN-HSI, ca. 1300-ca. 1380) 
Dragon Gate 
33. SUNG LIEN (1310-1381) 
Bell Mountain 
34. LIU CHI (1311 -1375) 
The Wind-in-the-Pines Pavilion I 
The Wind-in-the-Pines Pavilion II 
35. KAO CH'l (1336-1374) 
Flat-Top Mountain 
36. CHANG CHU-CHENG (1525-1582) 
Transverse Mountain 
37. WANG SHIH-CHEN (1526-1590) 
Chang's Cave 
38. YUAN HUNG-TAO (1568-1610) 
Tiger Hill 
Heaven's Eyes Mountain 
An Evening Stroll to the Six Bridges to A wait the Moon 
39. CH'IEN CH'IEN-I (1582-1664) 
From Yellow Emperor Mountain 
40. HSU HUNG-TSU (1586-1641) 
From The Travel Diaries of Hsu Hsia-k'o 
Terrace of Heaven Mountain 
Seven Stars Cavern 
41. CHANG TAI (ca. 1597-ca. 1679) 
From Dreamlike Memories from the Studio of Contentment 
The Juniper in the Temple of Confucius 
An Inn in T'ai-an 
West Lake at the Midsummer Festival 
The Riverside Houses Along the Ch'in-huai 
Romance at Twenty-four Bridges 
The Y ii Garden 
The Relic at King Asoka Temple 
42. KU YEN-WU (1613-1682) 
Five Terraces Mountain 
43. CHU 1-TSUN (1629-1709) 
The Chin Temple 
44. SHAO CH'ANG-HENG (1637-1707) 
An Evening Stroll to Solitary Hill 
45. K'UNG SHANG-JEN (1648-1718) 
Stone Gate Mountain 
46. TAI MING-SHIH (1653-1713) 
Diary of a journey North in the Year I-hai 
47. FANG PAO (1668-1749) 
Geese Pond Mountain 
48. YUAN MEI (1716-1798) 
Yellow Dragon Mountain 
Yellow Emperor Mountain 
The Cascade Pavilion at Gorge River Temple 
49. YUN CHING (1757-1817) 
Hermitage Mountain 
50. KUNG TZU-CHEN (1792-1841) 
Passing through Y ang-chou Again in the Sixth Month of the Year Chi-hai 
Notes 
Selected Bibliography 
Glossary-Index 
42. KU YEN-WU (1613-1682) 
Five Terraces Mountain 
43. CHU 1-TSUN (1629-1709) 
The Chin Temple 
44. SHAO CH'ANG-HENG (1637-1707) 
An Evening Stroll to Solitary Hill 
45. K'UNG SHANG-JEN (1648-1718) 
Stone Gate Mountain 
46. TAI MING-SHIH (1653-1713) 
Diary of a journey North in the Year I-hai 
47. FANG PAO (1668-1749) 
Geese Pond Mountain 
48. YUAN MEI (1716-1798) 
Yellow Dragon Mountain 
Yellow Emperor Mountain 
The Cascade Pavilion at Gorge River Temple 
49. YUN CHING (1757-1817) 
Hermitage Mountain 
50. KUNG TZU-CHEN (1792-1841) 
Passing through Y ang-chou Again in the Sixth Month of the Year Chi-hai 

Notes 
Selected Bibliography 
Glossary-Index