Chapter 21 Chapter 21 is over?

finished? it's over. Is it really over? No. Yes, technically this article is over, and I'm sure, as many of you can see, it's not just history. What I'm talking about, besides history, there are many things, their names are: Rights, hope, pain, anger, hesitation, indifference, enthusiasm, strength, weakness, integrity, measurement, loneliness, cruelty, forgiveness, patience, evil, justice, truth, persistence, compromise, kindness, loyalty. That's enough. Now we are talking about the last thing, which is hidden in the following story. When Xu Hongzu was born, it was the fifteenth year of Wanli.

Being born at this specific age is really fate, but the outside world has nothing to do with Xu Hongzu. His hometown is in Jiangyin, with beautiful mountains and rivers, where he doesn't need to engage in politics, and he is not afraid of being hacked, so it is relatively clean. Of course, cleanness is pureness. In those days, there was only one way to get ahead and leave a name in history—examination (it seems to be the same today). Xu Hongzu didn't want to take exams, to be famous, to be famous in history, he just wanted to play. According to historical records, he played it since he was a child, and he played hard and special. He didn't throw sandbags, he didn't roll hoops, he just wandered around, climbed when he encountered mountains, and descended when he encountered rivers. He was extremely small and courageous. Big.

In addition, he hated exams very much. When he grew up, if he was asked to take the imperial examination, he would not die.This plot, placed now, is roughly equivalent to resisting the college entrance examination. This person, what happened back then is probably the same as today. He was dragged home and beaten half to death, and he was never spared. However, Xu Hongzu's parents didn't beat him, not only didn't beat him, but also told him, if you want to play, just play, just do what you like to do. This seemingly shocking thought seems very unreasonable, but to the Xu family, it is very reasonable.

By the way, I should introduce Comrade Xu Hongzu's family background. Although his parents are not big figures and not well-known, he has an ancestor who is quite famous, of course, not a good one. Ninety years before Xu Hongzu was born, an ancestor of the Xu family went to Beijing to rush for the exam. On the way, he met a companion named Tang Yin, also named Tang Bohu. That's right, he is Xu Jing. What happened later, as I said before, is said to be Xu Jing’s cheating. In the end, Tang Bohu was involved, and everyone died together. )'s imperial examination system is deeply abhorred, and to educate children and grandchildren, they must break with this evil system, love the test but fail it, fuck the fuck.

Whether Xu Hongzu understands this century-old grievance is unclear, but he will use it, that's for sure.More importantly, although the Xu family has no grades, they still have some money, so he decided to give up the exam altogether and go on a trip. At the beginning, the scope of his travel was mainly around Jiangsu and Zhejiang, such as Zijin Mountain, Taihu Lake, Putuo Mountain and so on.Later, I became more brave and went to Yandang Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, Huangshan Mountain, Wuyi Mountain, Lushan Mountain and so on. But here, there is a problem - money. The difference between a traveler and a hero is that a traveler has to spend money. Let’s list it, roughly including the following expenses: transportation expenses, accommodation fees, tour guide fees, catering fees, entrance fees, and if the place is not authentic, there will be a slaughter fee.

As I said, the Xu family is rich, but only a little money, not a lot of money, and they are probably middle class.According to today's standards, traveling once a year is enough, but Xu Hongzu's travel schedule is: rest once a year. Except for returning home to take care of his parents at the end of the year, he is out all year round, but with such a way of doing things, his family is still able to get by. The reason is very simple, such as transportation costs, he does not take the train, nor does he take the car (he doesn’t even want to), and rarely rides a horse, but mostly walks (try riding a horse and climbing a mountain).

There is basically no need for accommodation fees. Most of the places Xu Hongzu went to were not visited by anyone, not to mention three-star hotels, not even Sun Erniang's illegal shops. There is no food and beverage fee. I have checked, and there are no restaurants where Comrade Xu Hongzu goes. Every time he sets off, he always brings dry food, and he is very hungry. It is said that he can carry it for seven or eight days. As for drinking water, In the mountains, there is mineral water. There is also no need for entrance fees. Whoever wanted to set up a place to collect tickets in the places where Comrade Xu Hongzu went, it can only show that he is better than Xu Hongzu and should be charged.

There is no fee for being slaughtered, but it is possible to be slaughtered, and it is relatively open. There has never been a secret increase in price to steal money.You know, where there are no tickets, although there are no profiteers, there are likely to be robbers. According to my own research, Xu Hongzu's biggest expense is the tour guide fee.As a traveler, Xu Hongzu knows very well that everything can be saved, but this money cannot be saved, otherwise he will go to the middle of the mountain and dig a hole for you, let you drill a hole, and then rest. In this way, Xu Hongzu, whose family was not very rich, wore simple clothes, had no entourage, no guards, and took dry food, went to famous mountains and rivers alone, and slept in the open, not afraid of hardship or starvation. He only returned home once a year, just for climbing .

From the secular point of view, Xu Hongzu is a weird person. This person does not take the exam for fame, does not seek to be an official, and does not start a family. According to many people, he is ruined. I know that many people will still say that this kind of life is absurd, that it does not conform to the routine, that it is abnormal, that it is rootless, and that it is mentally problematic. I think that those who say these things are full and full, people only live for one life, how to live is their own business, I have not lived well in this life, and I have the cheek to accuse others, how far is it? , just go as far as you want.

The only resistance for Xu Hongzu to travel is his parents.His father died earlier, leaving his mother alone.The sage once taught us: When parents are here, don't travel far away. So before setting off, Xu Hongzu was always hesitant, but his mother found him and said something like this to him: "A man with ambitions in all directions should show his mind to the world!" In this way, Xu Hongzu started his great journey. He left home at the age of 20, dressed in civilian clothes, had no government support, no friends to help, and traveled the world alone for more than 20 years. The places he visited included Huguang, Sichuan, Liaodong, and Northwest. Save, go all over.

The mountains he has climbed include Mount Tai, Mount Hua, Mount Heng, Mount Song, Mount Zhongnan, and Mount Emei. Simply put, he has been to all the ones you have heard of, and he has been to those you have not heard of. In addition, the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake, Jinsha River, Han River, almost all rivers and lakes, all traveled. During his travels, he encountered robbers three times, was robbed of his belongings, was wounded by a knife, and because he walked into the mountains and couldn't find a way out, he ran out of food several times and almost starved to death.The worst time was in the southwest. At that time, he was going to the Yunnan-Guizhou area, but when he was halfway, he suddenly found that the traffic was interrupted and his residence was surrounded by local indigenous people. After a few days, the Ming army came outside again, and the siege began again. After a few days, it started to be chaotic.Xu Hongzu had seen the world anyway, he ran fast and finally escaped smoothly. During the trip, he also started to take notes, and he recorded his daily experience in detail. In view of his own name in addition to his name, he was called Xiake, so later, his notebook was called "Xia Ke". for. In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), the 50-year-old Xu Hongzu decided to travel again, which was also his last trip, although he himself did not expect it. Just as he was considering the direction of travel, a monk found him. The Buddhist name of this monk is Jingwen, and he lives in Nanjing. He is very devout and respects the Bodhisattva in Jizushan Kasyapa Temple very much. Jizu Mountain is in Yunnan. At that time, Jizu Mountain in Yunnan was considered a barren land, and there was no way to get to it. If you want to go, you can only walk. Obviously, Jing Wen was a sensible person, he knew that he had to go alone, he probably stopped halfway and had to find a companion. Xu Hongzu's reputation was already great at that time, so he came here specifically to go with him. To Xu Hongzu, it didn't matter where he went, so he agreed and the two set off together. Their route is like this, starting from Nanzhili, passing through Huguang, going to Guangxi, entering Sichuan, and finally arriving in Yunnan and Guizhou. There is no need to go to Yungui, because when you go to Huguang, something will happen. When they reached the Xiangjiang River in Huguang (now Hunan), they had no choice but to take a boat to cross the river. Halfway through the crossing, I met a robber. For Xu Hongzu, he has met people who are engaged in this kind of profession several times, but it should be the first time for Master Jingwen.The specific details after that are not clear. Anyway, Xu Hongzu drove away the robbers, but Jing Wen was injured in this turmoil. In addition to his weak constitution, he passed away as soon as he reached Guangxi. Xu Hongzu stopped to deal with Jingwen's funeral. Due to the robbers encountered on the road, Xu Hongzu's travel expenses were already insufficient at this time. If he continued to move forward, the consequences would be unpredictable. So the local people advised him to give up the idea of ​​moving forward and go home. Xu Hongzu and Jingwen were strangers to each other. After all, they were just companions, each with their own ideas. Jingwen didn't intend to write travel notes, and Xu Hongzu didn't intend to go to worship Buddha, so there was really no friendship.And I also checked that he had been to Jizu Mountain before, and this trip didn't mean much to him. However, he said, I want to move on and go to Jizu Mountain. The locals asked: why go. Xu Hongzu replied: I promised him that I would take him to Jizu Mountain. However, he has passed away. I go with his ashes.I will help him do what I promised him. Xu Hongzu set off, for the wish of a deceased person, in order to fulfill his promise, although he was not familiar with this deceased person. The journey was arduous. Xu Hongzu, who had no travel expenses, carried Jing Wen's ashes on his back. Without any financial support, he could only live in the wilderness, relying on wild vegetables and dry food to satisfy his hunger. Just for a promise. In this way, according to the original route, with Jingwen, he browsed the 100,000 mountains in Guangxi, then entered Sichuan, crossed Mount Emei, followed the Minjiang River, and arrived at Ganzi Songpan. Cross the Jinsha River, cross the Lancang River, pass through Lijiang, pass through Xishuangbanna, and arrive at Jizu Mountain. In Kasyapa Temple, he untied the package on his back and took out Jingwen's ashes. Arrived. Here we are. He solemnly buried his ashes in the Kasyapa Temple, where he fulfilled his promise. Then, he should go home. But he didn't. From a certain point of view, this is a gift from God to him, because this will be his last journey, and he can go as far as he can. He left Jizu Mountain and continued on for half a year, crossing Kunlun Mountain, and another half year before entering Tibetan areas. After traveling for a few months, he set foot on his way home. Not long after returning, he became ill. People who like to exercise should be in good health, but people who exercise every day (such as athletes) are not necessarily good, and the same is true for travel. Probably due to years of fatigue, Xu Hongzu fell ill after all and was unable to travel again.In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1641), he died of a serious illness at the age of fifty-four. The notes he left are said to have a total of more than 2 million words, but unfortunately they were not preserved. The remaining part, about hundreds of thousands of words, was compiled by later generations. In this book, it records the details of the mountains and rivers of the motherland, involving geography, water conservancy, and landforms. It is known as the greatest geography work of the seventeenth century, translated into dozens of languages, and spread around the world. Okay, the summary should come out. This is the story of a great geographer. He traveled around in order to study geography and made outstanding contributions to the development of geography. He is the pride of the Chinese nation. Is that right? no. In fact, telling the story of this man, I just want to discuss one question, why did he do this. No funding, no acknowledgment (at least not during his lifetime), no interest, no future, giving up everything, spending a lifetime, just to travel? What is it for? I was puzzled and puzzled, so I remembered another story. New Zealand mountaineer Hillary, after climbing Mount Everest, was often asked a question by reporters: why are you climbing He never answered, so the reporter always asked, and finally one time, he gave an answer that made it impossible for everyone to ask again: Because it (referring to Mount Everest), it's there! Because it's there. In fact, there are many things in this world that do not need a reason at all. The reason why they need a reason is because many people like to smoke, and after a long time, they need a reason. As Xu Xiake said before his death: "Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty, Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty, Yelu Chucai in the Yuan Dynasty, they all traveled around the world. However, they all accepted the emperor's order and were ordered to go to the four directions." "I'm just a commoner. I didn't receive orders. I just wore common clothes, a cane, and straw sandals. I traveled the world by myself. Therefore, even if I die, I have no regrets." It's over. What I want to tell is in this story. I believe that many people will ask, what did you talk about? With so much space to tell the rise and fall of a dynasty, but at the end, you tell such a story, what do you want to say? I repeat, what I want to tell, in this story, has already been told. So the following words are for those who don’t understand. For those who understand, there is no need to continue reading. I have talked about many things before, many ups and downs, many princes and generals, many helpless changes, and many vicissitudes, but this thing, I personally think, is the most important. Because I want to tell you that the so-called hegemony, eternal glory, and everything else are just dung.First it becomes dung, and then it becomes soil. If you don’t understand now, you will understand in the future. If you don’t understand in the future, just wait for the future. If you don’t understand for the rest of your life, that’s okay. And this last thing, it goes beyond all of the above, at least in my opinion. But this thing, I have thought about it for a long time, and I can't express it in accurate language or words. In the most embarrassing words, it can only be understood, not expressed in words. However, I do not deserve to be beaten after all. After reading many books, but unable to speak, I finally found this suitable sentence from an inconspicuous and worthless reading. This is a desk calendar, a desk calendar that was placed in front of me. I don't know how long it has passed, but I have never turned it over. The desk calendar has long expired. I know that God put this desk calendar on my desk. It looks at my daily efforts and persistence over the past few years. It quietly and patiently waits for the end. It is waiting, on the day that is about to end, I will open this desk calendar that has been with me all the time, but has never been opened, and there is the final answer on it. I opened it, and on this desk calendar, there was a famous saying that didn't even explain who the celebrity was. Yes, this is what I want to say, this is what I want to express through Xu Xiake, enough to despise all princes and generals, the most perfect conclusion: There is only one success - live life in your own way. (full text)