徐霞客与贵州史地文化——《黔游日记》点校前言

Xu Xiake and the Historical and Geographical Culture in Guizhou——An initial preface to Travel Notes in Qian

徐霞客之游历探奇,毫无任何功利色彩,完全是为了满足知识学之求知兴趣,为中国实学史上的重要人物。其游为性灵之游,性情之游,出尘之游,求真之游,生命之游。《徐霞客游记》字里行间,皆有天然之真性真情凝敛其中。而霞客一生精力均在用世,本质上仍为一儒生,对明末清初学风之影响,亦可说有导夫先路之作用。他的包括贵州在内的西南之行,中州士人向来均认为是从未有过的创辟之举。《游记》历来受到学界的重视,其中一个重要原因便是填补了时人对西南史地认知的空缺。

Being a great and important person in the Chinese history, Xu Xiake traveled and adventured in Guizhou not for material gains, but for knowing the mysteries in this world. His journey was the process to temper his soul, cultivate his disposition, transcend worldly affairs, find the truth and upgrade his life. Reading between the lines, you will find the true feeling and temperament in Xu Xiake Travel Notes. Xu sought for the political pursuits all his life, yet he was still a Confucian intellectual. He exerted a pioneering influence on the study style in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. His travel in the southwest including Guizhou was always regarded as a pioneering experience by the esquire in the Central Plains. Xu Xiake Travel Notes is always given great attention to in the academic field. One important reason is that it fills up the blank in history in the southwest of China.