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Ancient China: Travel Journal

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Shanghai is one of the ____________ cities in China.

most interesting

Which of these happened first?

The narrator bought a silk shirt.

The jade Buddhas arrived from Myanmar.

Shanghai was founded.

The Jade Buddha Temple was built.

What year was the Jade Buddha Temple built in?

What might have helped cause China to become famous for its silk?

It takes a long time for people to make things from silk.

Jade is the most popular stone in China.

The silkworm is part of the 12-year Chinese calendar.

There are many silkworms in China.

Read the following sentences: “In street markets, you can find many things made out of jade, such as jewellery, statues, and chops. Chops are stamps that have a person’s signature on them.”

The word chop in this context means:

An object used to cut something in half

An object used to eat food

An object used to glue something together

An object used to sign a document

This passage is mainly about ____________________.

visiting Shanghai.

the Jade Buddha Temple.

the weather in Shanghai.

how silk is made.

The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence:

________ exploring and discovering much about China on the first day of the trip, the author intends to keep learning about China by taking a cruise down the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze River is ____________________________________.

The third longest river in the world.

The longest river in the world.

The second longest river in the world.

The most famous river in the world.

Why is the Yangtze’s water only brown during the rainy season?

because sediment stays at the bottom of the river

because of the farmers that live along the river

because of the animals in the water

because the rain stirs up sediment

Why does the author describe the areas around the river?

to explain to the reader why the water was brown.

to entertain the reader with descriptions of animals.

to inform the reader about farming on a mountain.

to give the reader a full picture of the river.

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ancient china travel journal part 4

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A Trip in Time: How Did People Travel in Ancient China?

author Story FM

Translated By:

author Ana Padilla Fornieles

  • October 5, 2023

Photo Credit: Liaoning Provincial Museum Collection

Ana padilla fornieles, ​historian duan zhiqian explores road dangers and the emergent travel industry in china’s ming and qing eras.

Modern travelers nowadays are lucky to rely on a range of safe, comfortable transportation to reach their desired destination—from high-speed trains to airplanes and everything in between. What’s more, we can count on many easily available sources of information to stay constantly updated on the specifics of our journey.

Granted, three years of the pandemic made us acutely aware of the privilege of unrestrained movement. But what about travel in historic times? What challenges did our ancestors face on the road, and how did their way of traveling differ from ours?

Today, our narrator is Duan Zhiqiang, a Fudan University history professor who hosted a podcast series called “Travel History in the Silver Age” on Vistopia, an audio, and video podcast app on art, history, and music. Through travel, the series explores the social structure and individual destiny throughout the mid-Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1616 – 1911) dynasties. Let’s set out on this journey in time and space.

A Trip from 20 Years Ago

My name is Duan Zhiqiang, and I teach history at Fudan University in Shanghai.

I am a native of Henan myself, and my first proper trip from home was when I started university in Wuhan back in 1998. The elders in my village were impressed: “Oh, that sure is a big city.”

I had a tight traveling budget as a student. Once, I set out with three male classmates on a boat trip from Wuhan to Nanjing. Needless to say, we were all broke and went for the cheapest fare available. We’d assumed we’d get some sort of berth; little did we know that our ticket basically just allowed us to board the vessel—no beds for us, let alone cabins.

That autumn night, we found ourselves freezing on the deck. Eventually, we sought shelter in a small but toasty boiler room where we squatted until a crew member came to turn on the water in the middle of the night. He was startled. “What are you kids doing here?”

When we replied that we’d bought the so-called “steerage fare,” he was not very impressed. “Boy, are you kids dumb. Steerage fare for a long-distance trip. Alright, let me go find younitwits some seats.”

Eventually, we wound up in a third-class cabin for the night.

I was a northerner, born and raised on dry land. I’d never been aboard a ship for such a long trip, so I was thrilled and brimming with curiosity. It was all very impressive to me. This was back at a time when the Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang was still under construction. On a rainy day, the remote outline of the bridge, shrouded in clouds and fog, was quite the sight. When we came to port, merchants and hawkers came on board and peddled the wares that they toted on bamboo poles. We lived off their scarce offerings of tea eggs until we finally returned to Wuhan.

When Travel Was Forbidden

Story FM: Only 20 years have passed since Duan’s youthful trip, and already travel has changed beyond recognition. Now, let’s truly take a trip down memory lane—namely, to ancient China. What was traveling like back then?

Well, “control” is a good word to start with. There was also a turning point: the Song dynasty (960 – 1279). Prior to this, the state strictly controlled and managed the flow of commoners in society. With the Song dynasty came commerce, and the ever-increasing prosperity led to an incipient tourism industry. From that point onward, travel amenities such as inns and hotels grew in leaps and bounds.

But there’s an end to every golden period. This commercial revolution encountered serious setbacks in the Yuan dynasty (1206 – 1368), and issues such as population increase, land annexation, and famine eventually led to a serious refugee crisis. Into this unfavorable scenario came Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) , the founder of the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) after the Yuan. In one of his signature policies, he renewed the strict control of the population’s flow.

Duan: The society that Zhu Yuanzhang envisioned in the early Ming was a tightly state-controlled machine, where everyone had a clear role to play and abide by—a role they’d inherit from their ancestors, and pass on to future generations. In this society, individuals’ autonomous movement was suppressed to the bare minimum.

Movement was still very common, just as long as it was arranged by the state, whether you were a soldier or a craftsman. The empire would ship you wherever you were needed, and your trip would go through its internal channels rather than the market. Everything was arranged in advance.

Shanhai Pass in Hebei was one of the most important passes of the Great Wall in the Ming dynasty (Tan Yunfei)

Shanhai Pass in Hebei

This rigorous system collapsed by the middle of the dynasty, when there was a gradual uptick in people’s independent mobility. The government also had to respond to the changing times with a series of reforms, enhancing the degree of commercialization and marketization of society.

Here, an important development needs to be mentioned. In the mid-Ming dynasty, a large amount of silver entered China from both the Americas and Japan. Compared with the paper currency used in the Yuan dynasty, silver was considered more trustworthy, thus providing sufficient and reliable currency for commercial activities. Markets, finance, mass production, and overseas trade all flourished right along with commerce. Thus came the so-called “Silver Age” —the period spanning from the mid-Ming to the Qing dynasty.

Earlier, the Yuan dynasty had begun a continuous stream of development for both the land and water networks, as well as a full connection between Beijing and Hangzhou by means of the Grand Canal . This all transformed the transport of the entire country. As a result, independent travel became a common occurrence from the mid-Ming onward. You may or may not exercise this right, but the possibility of travel was now at least firmly on the table.

Detail from “Watercourse Map,” co-drawn by Qian Gu and Zhang Fu in the Ming dynasty (Collection of Taipei Palace Museum)

A painting of a water course map by Qian Gu and Zhang Fu

Perils on the Road

When it comes to travel, our biggest difference with our ancestors is that they likely suffered significantly greater anxiety about the many unpredictable dangers they could face on their journeys.

For starters, mileage was nothing if not inconsistent. “Ten  li ” in one region may not have been equivalent to ten  li  in another. This was a serious problem. Misjudging the distance meant finding yourself alone in relatively remote places with no inns around. That was very dangerous for solo travelers.

A “drum car,” an ancient vehicle used to measure distances, on display in Beijing (VCG)

Ancient drum car on display in Beijing

It’s no wonder that fortune-telling books of yesteryear contained this question: Will a traveler safely return and when?

Mortality rates were so high among ancient Ming travelers that Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for so-called Lonely Ghost Temples (孤魂庙) that were to be built everywhere across the land to worship those souls that passed on while far from home. In wartime, most casualties were brought on by fighting; but traveling was the true grim reaper in times of peace. To this day, the Hongwu Emperor’s legacy of temples still stands for those nameless refugees, vagrants, and business travelers who came to harm and died on the road.

Travel guides would also instruct readers on dangerous roads and areas to avoid. I was really shocked to learn that scamming travelers was common practice on the road from Wuhu to Huizhou by cunning porters. Robbers also abounded. In short, it was dangerous out there.

Our ancestors’ worldview was wildly different from ours. Though we may not be aware of this, our modern world is highly systemized. When we look back at history, it’s easy to take an oversimplified view of it, because we have the benefit of hindsight. But actually, the standard practices and systems we enjoy now evolved through a long and rather arduous process.

Detail from “The Blooming of Gusu,” painted by Xu Yang in the Qing dynasty (Collection of the Liaoning Provincial Museum)

Gusu prosperity map from the Qing Dynasty by Xu Yang

A Travel Industry is Born

Story FM: Riding your donkey through the main traffic arteries of the Silver Age, you may have passed by plenty other travelers. Among the most majestic were the civil servants traveling to take up their posts or returning to Beijing to report on their work.

You were also likely to encounter scholars on scientific research duty, as well as businesspeople and merchants hailing from all over the country. The latter transported mostly basic goods such as grain, wood, and the oil from tung trees, which was used in everything from medicine to textiles to construction in ancient China.

This period already saw several trade routes emerge, such as the Ancient Tea Horse Road in southwestern China. For legitimate merchants, these routes likely provided some much-needed sense of security during their travels. Smugglers preferred offbeat paths to traffic government-controlled salt and other contraband.

Then, of course, you had those who traveled due to family matters—weddings, funerals, searching for relatives, and more. This category of travelers featured quite a few women and even elderly people.

Lastly, the roads swarmed with storytellers, entertainers, thieves, and all sorts of outlaws and outcasts of society whom you might come across, along with homeless people and refugees. Duan: Besides the travelers themselves, ancient voyages also involved professionals who were involved in travel as an occupation.

It’s enticing to imagine idyllic scenes of ancient travelers fanning themselves as they took in the beautiful vista from aboard their ship. The reality was less glamorous. Indeed they stood aboard ships, but rather messy ones where they could expect four-legged fellow passengers like dogs and pigs. It was not unlikely that the captain would try and extort you, either. Sailing on the Grand Canal also meant giving the right of way to official ships sailing the same route; if there was a traffic jam, you risked being stuck on the water for days.

Detail from “The Blooming of Gusu,” painted by Xu Yang in the Qing dynasty (Collection of the Liaoning Provincial Museum)

The water level of the canal could be high or low. If it was too low, you needed to hire workers to tow the boat, and they would charge you by the mile. You may have to haggle over the price with them. There were also people tasked with maintaining the waterways, and though they had extremely low living standards, they played indispensable roles.

There were also brokers, who played similar roles to modern-day travel agents. From an orthodox view, these people were opportunists; though they also played crucial roles, they did not enjoy a good reputation.

The state was in charge of issuing licenses to these agencies. Pulling up at a pier, you may see a series of agencies lined up on the street. Some were licensed; some were not. Travelers could experience all sorts of crises on the road, including some evil boat operators who actively wished them harm; an agency stood as a guarantee against these mishaps.

Checking into an inn, you could also enjoy a series of services. Prospective climbers of Mount Taishan would find entire hospitality teams ready to cater to their every need, from food to lodging, incense offerings, and all sorts of leisure—proper and otherwise. Though our ancestors in the Silver Age didn’t enjoy our current degree of convenience, travel had definitely been made easier for them.

The Pleasure of Travel

The tourism industry was also a source of indirect stimulus for various other industries. One was the emergence of a special kind of vessel operating in the Qing dynasty at the Qiantang River Basin—the so-called “Jiangshan yachts (江山船).”

Jiangshan yachts—numbering over 2,000 in their heyday— transported people and goods, and were your best option for travel next to a government boat. What was different about Jiangshan yachts? Well, they were rather large, with a set-up featuring interconnected cabins for guests in the middle of the ship. The most bizarre aspect was that is that the door of this cabin could only be locked from the outside.

As it turns out, these vessels also doubled as pleasure crafts providing services of the flesh to passengers. The male staff took charge of transportation, while a team of women provided escort services. A popular saying at the time noted Zhejiang and Fujian had both turned into coveted travel destinations, if only because of the perks aboard the Jiangshan yachts. The Qing government was always cracking down on their activities, and yet there is a most famous, entirely true story related to these ships that has been preserved for posterity.

During the rule of the Guangxu Emperor, there was a high-ranking officer named Bao Ting (宝廷). He was a Minister of the Second Rank, the Right Vice Minister of Rites. He was also a member of the imperial clan, descended from a younger brother of Nurhaci, the founder of the dynasty. All in all, Bao Ting enjoyed a high social status and was known as a talented poet with sensitivity towards social injustices.

One year, Bao Ting was sent to Fujian to invigilate the provincial examinations. He took a boat ride on the Qiantang River and met a young girl during the trip. On his way back, Bao Ting suddenly reported himself to the Emperor with a memorial penned by his own hand.

In his self-criticism, Bao Ting openly disclosed his desire to take the young lady he’d met aboard a Jiangshan yacht as his concubine. Now, this was highly frowned upon at the time. Not only was such conduct scorned by mainstream society, but Bao Ting was also theoretically violating the law. In reality, it was hard to chase down all offenders, particularly if they were wise enough to keep a low profile on their romantic misdeeds. But here was Bao Ting proposing to bring his concubine to Beijing and even reporting it to the emperor. This made many people confused about his intentions.

Two years after Bao Ting was dismissed from his post, Empress Dowager Cixi fired a clique of officials over political differences, even exiling some of them. This was a major event in late Qing history. Bao Ting was able to avoid this purge, leading some to believe he’d deliberately sabotaged his career out of disappointment with society. Whether this was accurate or not, the incident turned into a bit of a legend.

Many other ancient romance novels and plays are set in the context of travel. In both The Peony Pavilion (《牡丹亭》) and Dream of the Red Chamber (《红楼梦》), Du Liniang (杜丽娘) and Lin Daiyu (林黛玉) are both outsiders who suddenly arrive in the world of male protagonists, thus setting the plot in motion. Many industries of pleasure were also intertwined with the travel industry. For instance, candidates who came to Nanjing for the imperial examinations consorted in the pleasure quarters by the Qinhuai River , and many traveler’s inns were concentrated in Beijing’s red-light district, Bada Hutong.

Painting of a scene from a Dream of the Red Chamber by Sun Wen (Collection of the Lushun Museum)

Painting of a scene from a "Dream of the Red Chamber"

Ancient Travelogues

We’re in no shortage of travel records penned by our ancestors. School textbooks today often allude to famous essays such as the “Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou (《永州八记)》)”, “An Account of the Old Drunkard’s Pavilion (《醉翁亭记》),” and “Night Tour of Chengtian Temple (《记承天寺夜游》),” all of them born from travels.

Literati were prone to delve mostly into scenery and emotions; detailed, objective travelogues were somewhat less common. Still, those records reflect the personal interests of their authors. They’re open windows for us to gain a vivid glimpse into daily life in ancient times.

For instance, let’s take a look at the travel diaries of Xu Xiake (徐霞客) . He was passionate about geography. Thus, his explorations were peppered with geographical questions. How far did this mountain range extend? Is the origin of this river accurate?

We also have the records of Sakugen Shūryō (策彦周良), a Japanese Zen monk who authored an unusual series of travel notes in China during the Ming dynasty. He copied down every plaque and couplet he saw on the Grand Canal, down to the shop signs from local wine stores. This was something Chinese literati would not have bothered with. As a result of Sakugen’s unique notes, we gained insight into the kind of shops that lined the Grand Canal, the characteristics of shop banners, the couplets hung in inns, and much more.

Many also paid attention to local customs. Recently, I had the opportunity to read the 1882 travelogue of an American traveler to Hainan Island . Walking around, he soon realized that every inn on the island was run in a militant fashion by fierce female proprietors. In his travel notes, these women complained about their husbands being good-for-nothing slobs who did nothing but smoke and eat all day—and their appetites were fairly generous. . It’s no wonder these ladies were bad-tempered by default. When they served up a meal, they threw the pile of dishes down in front of the men, who would glare at them in response. Every inn on the island was like this, wrote the traveler.

And guess what—much like we snap vacation pictures nowadays, our ancestors paired their travelogues with illustrations that sometimes made up for most of the actual volume. In the Ming dynasty, there was a man named Wang Shizhen (王世贞), who became a high-ranking official and thus traveled from his hometown of Taicang to Beijing to take up his post. Wang found a painter to accompany him on his trip, who painted an illustration for each stop along the way. In the end, the duo came up with a series of 30 or 40 paintings in the style of their era that have been preserved up to our present day. Though they’re nowhere near as sophisticated as photography, they do provide us with a trove of visual knowledge.

Detail from The Qianlong Emperor’s Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Six: Entering Suzhou along the Grand Canal (Collection of the National Museum of China)

A part of a painting of Qianlong’s Southern Tour from the Qing Dynasty

Travel as Social Progress

We used to believe that ancient China was a society of low mobility, where men were irrevocably attached to the land and women were merely entrusted with birthing and raising children. The truth is that migration and social displacement were frequent occurrences over our long history.

If we were to explore our own family trees, we’d all be sure to find at least one instance of our ancestors migrating. I find that fascinating, because it goes to show that while most people would prefer staying close to home, real life will often prompt you to move, voluntarily or not, for various reasons.

For instance, there’s this story I shared in my show about a famous mid-Ming pirate named Wang Zhi (汪直). Wang had been born in the mountains of Huizhou and didn’t have a happy life at home. However, he was greatly ambitious. He’s quoted to have said that “China has fairly strict laws that limit all kinds of activities.” Wang yearned to display his many talents, except he constantly clashed against the rules. What’s a man to do? He took to the sea, following some friends to the Philippines. There, he built ships, sold sulfur, and eventually came into his identity as the pirate overlord in the waters of China and Japan.

We’re not morally condoning Wang’s legacy. But surely, you agree that he was quite the adventurer.

Many historical records also show foreign migrants seeking a new life in our land. We have an account of a man from the Korean Peninsula’s Silla Kingdom who migrated to China during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907). He was quoted to have said, “The people of Silla looks only at people’s bones”—that is to say, they were only concerned with a person’s rank by birth. If you were born into the noble class, you were bound to become an official, but those of low birth could never raise their social status. This man allegedly wanted to find his way in Tang society, where he believed he could rely on his own skills to either become a scholar via the imperial examination s or join the imperial army. The Tang dynasty did operate, to a certain extent, on a meritocracy. However, in the Ming dynasty, laws also became much stricter.

These two travelers were both fairly extreme examples. But my point is, that people of every era display a degree of intuitive knowledge about the society they inhabit. To gain social mobility, you must be willing to change your spatial and physical coordinates. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself struggling to overcome the restrictions in one place all your life.

Thus, traveling can be considered a crucial element in the functioning of a society.

Travel: A History that Belongs to Commoners

We know that famous travelers in history, such as Zhang Qian (张骞) , Xuanzang (玄奘) , and Zheng He (郑和) , overcame physical dangers and their fears of the unknown, and were rewarded for their bravery by becoming the history’s archetype of pioneers.

But in fact, there are just as many instances of ordinary, nameless Chinese people who displayed significant ingenuity in order to survive far from home. Ming citizens from the Zhangzhou area, in today’s Fujian province on the southeast coast, are known to have “braved the seas as though they were visiting a town market”; and in the Northwest , along the Silk Roads, commoners regularly traveled for commerce; not to mention the existence of nomadic herding communities.

All these ordinary people remain unidentified by history, and their humble adventures—for instance, those of migrants who voyaged to Nanyang, or Southeast Asia —have been eclipsed by the grand accounts of a selected few. At best, they become part of the spoken folklore of certain ethnic groups who see their stories of resilience passed down in a vague, imprecise fashion from one generation to the next.

Each of our travel experiences is just as valuable as that of our most famous ancestors, and each of them is worth being recorded. I look forward to hearing more of these remarkable stories from my fellow commoners, because the more I read them, the more it seems that none of us are so different. We might exist in different environments in different chapters of history, but we’re all striving to live.

Produced by Ma Da (马达)

This story is published as part of TWOC’s collaboration with Story FM, a renowned  storytelling podcast in China. It has been translated from Chinese by TWOC and edited for clarity. The original can be listened to on Story FM’s channel on Himalaya  and  Apple Podcasts  (in Chinese only). 

Founded in 2017 by Kou Aizhe, Story FM is one of the most renowned podcast in China. Each episode focuses on ordinary people’s lives and viewpoints, including the difficulties of marginalized people. Through intimate and private interviews, Story FM digs out first-person experiences and lets listeners immerse themselves in another person’s voice and feelings. You can listen to their podcast in Chinese on Ximalaya, Qingting FM, Apple Podcasts, and the 故事FM mini-app on WeChat.

Translated By

Ana Padilla Fornieles is a Spanish translator, writer and creative currently based in Beijing, where she is part of Spittoon International Arts Collective and a regular contributor to The Beijinger. You can find her prose and poetry featured in The Shanghai Literary Review, Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Womanhood, Sledgehammer and more. Her comics and linocut prints have appeared in Shaving in the Dark, F*EMS and Celestite Poetry. Her literary translation work has been published or is forthcoming with a series of publishing houses and magazines, such as Penguin, De Gruyter, Spittoon Magazine and Books from Taiwan.

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Chapter 10 A Study on The Travel Journal and Pictures : Li Danlin’s Image of Foreign Lands and Cultures

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This article studies the hetero-images in premodern Chinese painter Li Danlin’s travelogue The Travel Journal and Pictures with regard to Daniel-Henri Pageaux’s and Jean-Marc Moura’s theories. Li draws pictures of foreign lands and cultures to express his exoticist interest, following the tradition entailed from The Classic of Mountains and Seas . He transforms the reality and constructs two forms of hetero-images: those of Western cultures by applying clichés, and stereotyped images of indigenous peoples as “Manyi.” These hetero-images give us insights into premodern Chinese ideology and offer an example of Occidentalism as a Sinocentric form of ethnotype.

In 1903, 1 Li Danlin (李丹麟, 1846–1916), 2 a Cantonese painter in the late Qing dynasty of China, made an overseas trip following the Chinese ambassador Yang Ru (杨儒). He travelled to many countries and continents such as Korea, Japan, the United States, Peru, and Europe, and later visited Vietnam, Cambodia, and the South Pacific islands at his own expense. The journey lasted for around three years. During the trip he made 205 drawings appended with explanatory texts, and compiled them into the two volumes of Youli Tuji 游历图记 (The Travel Journal and Pictures). 3

Although Li was the first Chinese artist to travel around the world and draw his impressions, his book has received little attention in academia. It has only been documented in some Cantonese historical and biographical sources, such as Guangdong Huaren Lu 广东画人录 (The Biographies of Cantonese Painters) (1985, 76–77), Huizhou Mingren 惠州名人 (The Celebrities in Huizhou) (1999, 45), and Boluo Xianzhi 博罗县志 (The Chronography of Boluo County) (2001, 760). 4 This indicates that the circulation of Li’s travelogue was probably confined to local intellectual circles in Guangdong (Canton). While most of the premodern 5 Chinese travelogues were written in the form of a diary in classical Chinese, Li created for the first time a large-scale, systematic depiction of foreign lands, combining the genres of essay, poem, and painting.

My research aims to examine how Li perceives and represents foreign people and cultures from the perspective of imagology, paying particular attention to the specific form of the book, and to further explore the particularities of Sinocentric ethnotyping reflected in The Travel Journal and Pictures . My study of hetero-images in Li’s travelogue is not limited to the literary text but will also consider his drawing and cartography.

The Travel Journal and Pictures consists of four parts. The first part includes twenty hand-painted maps of various locations around the world. His so-called maps vary in form: some are bird’s eye views, some are horizontal views, some are detailed, some are simplified. As we can see from the map “Into Nagasaki, Japan,” 6 unlike in regular geographic maps, the cartography is a mixture of map and Chinese landscape painting. Different from “Ditu” (地图), the modern maps that we are accustomed to find in atlases, cartography using conventional landscape painting style is called “Yutu” (舆图), and was the dominant form in China before the twentieth century. Obviously, the maps painted by Li are “Yutu” rather than “Ditu.” For instance, the mountains and buildings around the bay in the following image ( Figure 10.1 ) do not conform to a proportional graphical perspective but follow the conventions of Chinese landscape painting, which value artistic representation instead of verisimilitude.

FIGURE 10.1

“Into Nagasaki, Japan” 入日本长崎图.

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This is the reason why I translated the title as “Travel Journal and Pictures,” since the term “picture”—unlike possible alternatives such as “map” or “painting”—may refer to multiple genres of painting, drawing, and “Yutu.” Because Li specializes in the depiction of flowers, birds, and figures but not landscapes, his attempt to paint the panorama results in a serious deformation of the landscape. Li’s choice of cartography reveals his outdated technique and traditional mindset.

In the second part, he portrays people in foreign lands with explanatory texts. The painted figures include people from North and South America (Native Americans), Japan, Luzon (the Philippines), Malta, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Java, Kelantan (Malaysia), Siam (Thailand), Tibet, Holland, Hawaii, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kolkata (India), Vietnam, Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Laos, France, and so forth; and people from indeterminate regions like Nanyang (a Sinocentric Chinese term for the “South Sea” or Southeast Asia) and Taixi (泰西, the Far West). Because the geographical terms and the toponyms are not unified, the areas that Li refers to are too vague to be pinned down precisely.

Li consciously paints people of different ages, races, social classes, occupations, and genders for comparison. The characters depicted are chiefs, ancient kings, men, women, children, ancient officials, businessmen, and poor people. They are more specifically divided into elegant men, businessmen, wealthy women, female workers, nuns, and old peasants. Among the gestures shown are the following: arrow shooting, dining, selling food, holding a baby, treasure hunting on the sea floor, spitting arrows, saluting, shooting a gun, smoking, etc. The costumes worn include long gowns, formal dresses, etc. The diverse appearances shown include nose piercings, symmetrical beards, beards under the chin, etc. Sometimes Li zooms in to paint the earrings, aprons, shoes, etc. And sometimes he paints both the front view and the back view. Some pictures have titles and notes; while others are marked with either titles or notes.

Li adopts the Chinese style of line drawing in traditional ink and brush to outline the figures. In his day, Western painting techniques had already been circulating for a long time, having been introduced to China by Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766), an Italian missionary in China who served as an artist at the imperial court. Castiglione paints in a unique way, fusing European and Chinese traditions and adjusting the Western style to suit Chinese tastes. However, Li sticks to the form of Chinese line drawing without any trace of Western influence, which coincides with the Sinocentric content of his travelogue.

The third part is made up of essays and poems comparing the West with China, including; “Visit to Various Countries and Comment on the Backwardness of Chinese Science and Technology,” “Visit to Philadelphia and the Principle of Making Guns and Artillery,” and “Poem on Visiting the Bronze Column as Boundary Sign in Vietnam.” Li reflects on the reasons why the development of Chinese science and technology fell behind that of the West, and draws the conclusion that the advanced Western knowledge and techniques mostly originated in China and were further developed in the Occident to exceed China. This was a widely accepted strategy in the late Qing dynasty to provide theoretical support for learning from the West while maintaining ethnic identity and superiority. This kind of argument had already been criticized by certain Chinese intellectuals of Li’s time for its arrogance, such as Zhang Zhidong (张之洞) in Quan Xue Pian 劝学篇 (Exhortation to Study), but Li still adheres to the problematic strategy. Li’s attitude corresponds with his Sinocentric representation of foreign cultures. In contrast with other travelogues and geographical treatises of the same period (see Casalin in this volume, chapter 9 ), the ideas revealed in The Travel Journal and Pictures are comparatively conservative.

The fourth part consists of the articles entitled “The Humanized Tiger,” “The Chicken Ghost,” “The Tiger Ghost,” “The Cannibal Tree,” “The Itchy Tree,” “The Animal-Hunting Tree,” “The Insect-Hunting Tree,” “The Feet-Biting Insect,” “The Flytrap Tree,” “The Intoxicant Tree,” “Lujiang Matting Ghost,” “Yugui Mountain God,” and “The Boa Eating the Elephant.” These articles mainly narrate mysterious anecdotes in remote areas, as well as detailing exotic animals and plants.

The Travel Journal and Pictures provides various hetero-images of foreign lands and people. Because I intend to investigate how these hetero-images are formed at both the individual and the collective level, Jean-Marc Moura’s theory provides a foundation for my analysis. Moura elaborates on the triple meaning of every image: “image of a foreign referent, image coming from a nation or a culture, image created by the particular sensitivity of an author” (1999, 184). For instance, the image of the saluting “Taixi” general represented by Li’s drawing ( Li 1905 , fig. 59, 60) is based on actual Western soldiers, and shaped by the Chinese traditional conception of “Taixi” and Li’s own vision. Correspondingly, three levels of analysis are defined: “the referent, the sociocultural imaginary, the structures of a work” ( Moura 1999 , 184). 7

My approach is to scrutinize the peculiar authorial intention of Li’s exoticism in section 1, and to study the form and the structure of The Travel Journal and Pictures as a homage to an ancient Chinese classic depicting foreign lands and cultures in section 2. I will proceed to the level of sociocultural imaginary, namely the analysis of Li’s divergent hetero-images of developing areas and economically developed civilizations as a form of Sinocentric ethnotyping in section 3. Last but not least, in section 4 I will further explore this ideology in relation to the concept of “Occidentalism.”

1 Exoticism and Alterity

As the second and the fourth part of his travelogue show, Li Danlin’s enormous curiosity about exoticism and alterity predetermines his focus. When he paints a boy hunting treasures in the sea in Hawaii, he notes: “It is so bizarre that I have to draw it for memory’s sake” ( Li 1905 , fig. 32). 8 When describing the sky burial, a ritual of consecrating the human corpse to birds, he calls the carrion birds “bizarre” (ibid., fig. 53). 9 He also comments on the Western style of beard as “bizarre” (ibid., fig. 67). In South America, he depicts women with moustaches and remarks: “We Chinese think it is grotesque” (ibid., fig. 68). 10 In the article “Saigon Fortress,” in which he uses the phrase “the most curious thing,” 11 we find another example of this style. Even when reflecting on the gap between China and the West, Li is still interested in the curious aspects: “European countries invent delicate techniques that become more and more extraordinary.” 12 He questions these techniques, asking: “Why did no one make any strange devices or create any curious techniques at the beginning of Western civilization?” 13 “In the past few decades, aren’t there more and more incredible things coming up?” 14 It is evident that Li looks for and records strange phenomena with great enthusiasm. According to the preface written by his friend Deng Jiying (邓骥英), Li’s personality is “quite curious.”

Li’s curiosity implies his exceptional attention to the difference between Self and Other. As Daniel-Henri Pageaux remarks, “every image comes from an awareness […] of an I in relation to the Other, of Here in contrast with Elsewhere” (2014, 455), 15 and the image thus expresses the significant distinction between two cultural entities. Although lacking any in-depth understanding of sociocultural differences, Li consciously made comparisons between China and foreign cultures in his travelogue.

Li’s enthusiasm about otherness evokes the notion of exoticism discussed by Victor Segalen, which describes exoticism as resulting from the perception of the difference and the recognition of the Other. According to Segalen, when we find something exotic, the singularity of the others is a source of enjoyment, arousing the durable pleasure of feeling the diversity ( Segalen 1986 , 44). 16 Therefore, exoticism refers to “the acute and immediate perception of an eternal incomprehensibility” (ibid.), 17 namely the impenetrability of otherness. As Li Danlin takes pleasure from the objects beyond his comprehension and seeks for diversity and alterity, the motivation of The Travel Journal and Pictures can be regarded as exoticism.

Nonetheless, as Joep Leerssen points out, exoticism may also be “ethnocentrism’s friendly face.” When “[t]he other culture is appreciated exclusively in terms of its strangeness; it is reduced to the aspects wherein it differs from the domestic standard” (2007a, 325). Li’s depiction lays stress on the weird characteristics of foreign peoples, alienating them from Chinese civilization. By highlighting the opposition of Self and Other, Li distinguishes domestic culture and reaffirms Chinese cultural identity. However, his judgement of strangeness is based on the preconception that Chinese culture stands for the absolute criterion of normality.

2 The Form Drawn from The Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经, Shan Hai Jing)

In the preface, Deng Jiying suggests a connection between The Travel Journal and Pictures and Shan Hai Jing 山海经 (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), in their way of painting beasts and monsters vividly. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a Chinese classic compilation of fabulous geographical and cultural records in ancient times, and a collection of Chinese mythology. The earliest version that still exists is Shan Hai Jing Zhu ( 山海经注) edited by Guo Pu (郭璞, 276–324 CE ). As Yang Yulian (杨玉莲) (2018 , 91–94) concludes, there are mainly five opinions about the compilation time of The Classic , ranging from the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–c. 1600 BCE ) to the Han dynasty (206 BCE –220 CE ). Although the compilation date cannot be pinned down exactly, it is certain that The Classic had been circulated before Sima Qian (司马迁, c. 145–c. 86 BCE ) started to write The Records of the Grand Historian ( 史记, Shiji) , which mentions The Classic ( Sima 2012 , 3179) for the first time, during the Western Han or Former Han dynasty.

The Classic consists of eighteen chapters, which can be classified into four categories: “Classic of the Mountains,” “Classic of the Seas,” “Classic of the Great Wilderness,” and “Classic of Regions within the Seas.” The chapters of The Classic progress like a travel journal, as each section concentrates on a specific region, describing its unique races, deities, plants, and minerals. The world depicted in The Classic focuses on the central lands surrounded by the regions of the south, west, north, and east mountains. The mainland is encircled by the four seas, beyond which there are still outlying continents. The Classic contains rich knowledge of geography, mythology, folklore, history of science, religion, ethnology, and medicine.

The affinity between The Travel Journal and Pictures and The Classic of Mountains and Seas can be interpreted along three aspects. Above all, the poem “Du Shan Hai Jing” 读山海经 (Reading The Classic of Mountains and Seas ) by Tao Yuanming (陶渊明, 365?–427) (1979) confirms that The Classic originally consisted of pictures and texts. The pictures have been lost since the Tang dynasty (618–907), and only the texts remain. It can be deduced from the drawings recreated in the Ming (1368–1644) and the Qing dynasties (1644–1911) that the original pictures mainly showed mysterious landscapes and creatures. Thus, based on the similar form and Deng’s mentioning of a connection in the preface of The Travel Journal and Pictures , I suggest that Li Danlin chose to combine paintings and texts in order to pay homage to The Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Secondly, as the lands, gods, and creatures portrayed in The Classic blur the boundary between fiction and reality, The Travel Journal and Pictures can also be considered a mixture of mythology and geography. By comparing the second and fourth part of the travelogue with our knowledge about the world acquired from documentaries, scientific research, and travel experiences, we can recognize certain exaggerations in Li’s depiction of folklore, flora, and fauna, such as the anecdote of “The Tiger Ghost.” It is probable that Li Danlin made exaggerated descriptions of foreign people and creatures to imitate The Classic .

Thirdly, both works are characterized by exoticism. The Classic of Mountains and Seas also shows a peculiar interest in the impenetrability of otherness. It has been noted that “officials and intellectuals were amazed by The Classic ; by reading it we can investigate auspicious omens and strange things, and know the exotic customs in distant countries” ( Liu and Liu 2008 , 77). 18 Li Danlin potentially took inspiration from The Classic to create a work that intends to amaze his readers with the diversity and incomprehensibility of exotic scenes.

The Travel Journal and Pictures carries on the tradition entailed from The Classic of Mountains and Seas , bearing resemblance to its form and content. Combining drawings and writings, realistic portrayal and exotic imagination, Li’s choice of form and theme as an allusion to The Classic predetermines his way of depicting foreign lands and people.

In the preface to the earliest still existing version of The Classic of Mountains and Seas , Guo Pu expresses an idea similar to the basic assumption of imagology that the representation of foreign cultures is shaped by the beholder’s ideology: “The objects are not strange in themselves, but only alienated by the subject. The strangeness of the objects lies in the mind of the subject” ( Chen 2012 , 315). 19 The curious aspects of the hetero-image (“other”) can be attributed to the ideology of the curious onlookers (“self”). Therefore, the hetero-images in The Travel Journal and Pictures , as well as in The Classic , relate more to the “self” (domestic culture) than to the “other” (the foreign scenes).

Guo’s statement corresponds to Joep Leerssen’s opinion: “The default value of human’s contacts with different cultures seems to have been ethnocentric, in that anything that deviated from accustomed domestic patterns is ‘Othered’ as an oddity, an anomaly, a singularity” (2007b, 17). The foreign objects are not strange by nature, but Li and the author(s) of The Classic accentuate their strangeness because of their deviation from Chinese conventions.

3 Two Types of Hetero-Images

As already shown in the previous sections of this chapter, Li’s personal interest in exoticism and the analogous structure to The Classic of Mountains and Seas significantly shape Li’s description of foreign lands and cultures. However, another factor that contributes to these peculiar hetero-images, that is to “the opinion that others have about a group’s purported character” ( Leerssen 2007a , 343), in The Travel Journal and Pictures is the traditional Chinese imagination of foreign lands. As Daniel-Henri Pageaux claims, “the representation of the foreign is dependent on a certain ideological option (made of a complex mixture of ideas, feelings, traditional preconceptions, historical orientation, etc. […])” (1995, 138). 20 Hence, authors do not just give an authentic portrait of reality when representing foreign countries but instead sort out the features that conform to the ideology of their own culture, consciously or subconsciously.

Li Danlin’s selection and representation of hetero-images in The Travel Journal and Pictures is imbalanced. On the one hand, his description of developing areas such as Southeast Asia and South America is so detailed that various little-known regions and minority ethnic groups are displayed distinctively. On the other hand, he refers to European countries and North America in general as “Taixi” (the Far West) or “Westerners” without distinguishing different cultures. Obviously, there are many more paintings and texts about indigenous people in less industrialized regions than about the citizens in economically developed countries of “Taixi.” I will analyse the two different types of hetero-images respectively.

3.1 “Taixi”: A Misinterpretation of the West

In premodern Chinese, “Taixi” (泰西) is a cliché that refers to the Western countries, including Europe and the United States. Its usage can be dated back to the Ming dynasty, when the Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci visited China. It literally means “Far West,” which is in contrast with the “Far East” for Western people. As Jean-Marc Moura comments, “the cliché […] is defined as a stylistic effect fixed by the usage, a manifestation of the servile spirit of imitation” (1993, 100). 21 As a result of the repetitive usage of “Taixi,” some Chinese people with a more conservative attitude generalized the West as a whole and refused to explore the nuances and diversity among Western cultures. The notion of “Taixi” is paralleled with the Western concept of the “Orient,” a historical term for the East evolving from the Near East to the continent of Asia. Western terms such as the “Orient” or the “Far East” are also generalizing and illustrate a lack of affirming the diversity of Asian cultures. Hence, we can find similar patterns of thinking about “others” in East and West.

As most of premodern Chinese travel journals rather focus on developed Western countries, Li’s travelogue opens up a new field by introducing neglected parts of the world so as to enrich Chinese people’s knowledge of the globe. However, as Xu Junmian (徐君勉) declared, “generally, it is easy to compose travelogues on less cultivated areas, but difficult to write on more civilized places” ( Liang 2018 , 5). 22 Liang Qichao (梁启超) asserts in Xin Dalu Youji 新大陆游记 (Observations on a Trip to America) that “previous Chinese travel journals mostly describe trivial things such as extraordinary landscapes or splendid palaces […] but fail to grasp the key ideas when observing societies with complex civilizations” (2018, 7). 23

Li Danlin fails to understand Western societies and cultures. He paints figures of Western female workers and Western old farmers, without any regard to Western industrial civilization, the social classes in capitalist societies, or the issue of gender relations. He depicts Catholic nuns and priests, yet he appears to know little about Christianity. His ignorance is clearly reflected in the map of Washington (see Figure 10.2 ).

FIGURE 10.2

“Washington, DC” 华盛顿图.

In this picture, Li labels the Washington Monument as “Honour Tower,” and mistakes Capitol Hill and the White House for “Royal Palaces.” Given that the political institution of the United States had been clarified since 1846 by several Chinese intellectuals, such as Liang Tingnan (梁廷枏) (1993) , Xu Jiyu (徐继畲) (1850) , and Wei Yuan (魏源) (2011) , Li’s ignorance of the separation of powers and the democratic political system seems ridiculous. Moreover, he not only applies the traditional Chinese political system of imperial monarchy to Washington but also adapts the architecture to Chinese style. For instance, the United States Capitol is assimilated to a traditional Chinese tower. In Li’s paintings, there is not much difference between the architecture in Washington (see Figure 10.2 ) and in Japan (see Figure 10.1 ). Recalling Jean-Marc Moura’s reflections on the stereotype as a preconceived idea and an exaggerated belief associated with a category (1993, 100), it can be concluded that the stereotype of feudal monarchy formed by traditional Chinese ideology has distorted Li’s perception of Washington.

3.2 “Manyi”: Hetero-Stereotypes about Indigenous Peoples

By contrast, another kind of hetero-stereotype exists in Li’s description of developing regions, indicating his prejudice and discrimination against other ethnic groups. For example, in the picture of Vietnamese women ( Li 1905 , fig. 50), Li Danlin criticizes their gestures, their unruliness, and arbitrariness from the perspective of Chinese conventional manners and norms of behaviour requiring women to be calm, elegant, and obedient. While we just see two women walking casually, Li infers their morality from their gestures and makes negative judgements out of the preconception that women not following Chinese feudal ethical code are ill-mannered.

In the picture of a Vietnamese tribal chief (ibid., fig. 52), Li Danlin refers to tribal people as “Manyi” (蛮夷), a Sinocentric cliché which means “primitive” or “uncivilized” people, namely “barbarians.” The original European connotation of “barbarian” was “applied to all non-Greek-speakers,” in order to guarantee the Greek “linguistic identity” ( Beller 2007 , 266). However, in the Chinese context, the term “Manyi” reflects the attitudes of Chinese agricultural society on surrounding nomads.

“Manyi” is a pejorative Chinese term for various non-Chinese peoples bordering ancient China, contrary to “Huaxia” (华夏, China) in the centre, which mainly consists of Han (汉), the majority ethnic group in China. According to the Sinocentric worldview, “Huaxia,” namely Han culture, is superior to “Manyi” because of its advanced culture, literature, and etiquette. Ancient Chinese intellectuals including Confucius have emphasized the strict distinction between “Huaxia” and “Manyi” by the measure of courtesy, morals, ideology, costumes, and so forth. For example, Mencius (孟子) states: “I heard that we can convert the Manyi into Huaxia, but I never heard people converted from Huaxia to Manyi” (2000, 175). 24 This ethnotype is seen as based on nurture rather than nature, as the “barbarians” could become Chinese by learning Chinese culture and manners. Despite the fact that the neat line between “Huaxia” and “Manyi” had been blurred, and the superiority of Chinese culture had been challenged first by the nomads, and then by the West at the end of the nineteenth century, Li still insisted on this distinction by highlighting the barbarian features of other ethnic groups.

When Li Danlin depicts the people at the southwest border of China (see Figure 10.3 ), he criticizes: “Women have autonomy there, with lapels pointing to the left. Their custom is lustful.” 25 There are three issues here which illustrate Li’s stereotypical manner. Above all, the lapel is the overlapping part of the Chinese gown, which should point to the right according to Chinese convention. It is an ancient Chinese stereotype that those who dress in the opposite way would be regarded as barbarians. For instance, in The Analects of Confucius (论语), Confucius claims: “If it were not for Zhong Guan (管仲), we would have untied the hair and worn the gowns with lapels pointing to the left” ( Ruan 2009 , 5457). 26 It means that if there were nobody to fight against nomadic peoples with primitive civilization, the Huaxia or Han culture would have been assimilated by the barbarians. Based on the stereotype, Li imposes the conventional Chinese dress code on other ethnic groups.

FIGURE 10.3

“A man from ‘Wutu’ Nation (British colony)” 英属乌吐国人.

Secondly, due to his conservative ideology entailed from the Confucian ethical code, especially the “Three Obediences and Four Virtues” (三从四德), Li took it for granted that a woman should be obedient to her husband as a chaste wife and should not have too much interaction like flirting with other men. Thirdly, besides the text, the drawing also highlights the tattoo on the man’s naked body as a trait of the barbarian.

Other recurrent stereotypes in The Travel Journal and Pictures underline the savage characteristics of indigenous people. For instance, Li represents Native Americans as “wearing fur coats, drinking blood, hunting with bows and arrows, being ruthless,” and characterizes their culture by saying that “the one who kills the most can be the chief.” 27 As we can see from the drawing (see Figure 10.4 ), Li emphasizes the feather decoration, the fur robe, and the bow and arrows as savage traits.

FIGURE 10.4

“The chief of a native American tribe” 堙阵国酋长式.

In Li’s stereotyped depiction, the indigenous people of a Dutch colony are endowed with a “ferocious nature,” “disobeying Confucian moralization, residing in caves and the wilderness.” 28 Furthermore, Li describes their cannibalism at length: “when the parents get old, their children divide their corpses and feast on them […] It is called ‘belly burial’.” 29 The savage custom goes against Confucian filial morality. As if to arouse the reader’s imagination of the bloody scene, Li draws a knife held by an indigenous man (see Figure 10.5 ).

FIGURE 10.5

“A man from the mountain in ‘Mata’ (Dutch colony)” 吗挞山民.

Li accuses people in Kelantan and India of “not using chopsticks” ( Li 1905 , fig. 20), regarding chopsticks as a sign of civilization. He depicts them as sitting on the ground, grabbing the food with their right hands, and cleaning their bottoms with their left hands. They rarely wash their hands but only wipe them on their clothes. “You can imagine how dirty their clothes are.” 30 Such descriptions convey a note of contempt.

Besides the clichés of “residing in the wilderness,” “enjoying hunting,” and “being fierce,” Li describes the mountain people in Taiwan as blowing arrows from specific pipes (ibid., fig. 23). They are characterized by “not tying their hair,” having tattoos, painting their bodies with animal blood, and wearing leaves. 31 Li vividly portrays the untidy hair, the almost naked body, the tattoos, and the large pipe.

There are other repetitive clichés that emphasize the barbarous nature and manifest Sinocentric stereotypes, such as “eating raw meat,” and “taking pleasure in killing people or fighting,” and so on. Such clichés and stereotypes can be associated with the notion of “national character” proposed by Joep Leerssen. National characters originate from “[t]he tendency to attribute specific characteristics or even characters to different societies, ‘races’ or ‘nations’” (2007b, 17). The figures painted by Li automatically become personified portraits of different nations and races. Despite their distinctive appearances and attributes, Li ascribes the common national character of “Manyi” to all these developing societies and cultures.

Daniel-Henri Pageaux points out that to invent a stereotype, “the descriptive elements (physical features) are mixed with the normative order (inferiority of such people, of their culture)” (2014, 457). 32 Li’s descriptions or portraits seem to be objective and neutral, but they actually involve a negative judgement. Pageaux also clarifies “the formation of otherness, through binary oppositions that merge nature with culture: wild vs. civilized, barbaric vs. civilized, human vs. animal […] being superior vs. being inferior” (1995, 144). 33 This explains how Li Danlin transforms the “reality” to construct otherness and alterity following the Sinocentric standard of ethnotyping. Li’s creation of these barbarian hetero-images also conforms to the mythological convention initiated by The Classic of Mountains and Seas .

In The Travel Journal and Pictures , detailed and stereotyped descriptions of peoples in developing areas contrast with brief and fallacious depictions of Western societies. According to Pageaux, the transformations of “reality” inherent in hetero-images typically show two different modes. The first approach is the cultural integration or domestication of the “other” by assimilating the unknown to the known—this is how Li Danlin applies clichés and stereotypes like “Manyi” to foreign peoples. The second method is exclusion or marginalization—this explains how Li simplifies the descriptions of Western cultures ( Pageaux 1995 , 142). 34 As Moura reveals, “reducing distant worlds by schematization and generalization, [clichés and stereotypes] allow the creation of a world both exotic and familiar, based on the principle of an artificial distance, which refers to a familiar series of conventions” (1993, 106). 35 To cater for the traditional Chinese stereotype, Li Danlin creates hetero-images in a dual way: on the one hand, he ignores the democratic politics and core values of certain developed Western societies; on the other hand, he classifies diverse customs of people in developing regions into the conventional Chinese category of “barbarians” based on the division of “Huaxia” and “Manyi,” Han and other ethnic groups.

4 Occidentalism: Sinocentric Schemata of Ethnotyping

The Sinocentric perception represented by Li’s The Travel Journal and Pictures may be associated with the notion of Occidentalism, which can be considered the counterpart of Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism. Occidentalism refers to a hetero-image of the West formed by non-Western countries. Like Orientalism, Occidentalism is a political vision of reality with a structure that promotes the difference between the familiar (China, the East, “us”) and the strange (“Taixi,” the West, “them”) (cf. Said 1979 , 43). As non-Western cultures are remarkably diverse, individual cultures such as the Middle East, India, Japan, and China all have their own particular perceptions and misperceptions of “the West.” My article focuses on Occidentalism in the Chinese context, as The Travel Journal and Pictures exemplifies the conventional way that Chinese people perceived and represented the West in the premodern era.

As Alastair Bonnett states, “[t]he oldest heritage of discovering and interpreting the West is from China,” which can be dated back to the fifth century (2004, 40). The image of “the West” or “the Occident” has been evolving over time, shifting from the myths in The Classic of Mountains and Seas toward a more realistic portrayal, expanding from ethnic groups in western China, the Indian Subcontinent, and Arabia, to the modern geographical and sociocultural West or Occident typically characterized by a capitalist economy, democratic politics, and Christian religion. Summarizing this process, Bonnett claims: “As contact increased, Westerners were accorded a collective identity” (ibid.). The Western countries were gradually essentialized as “Taixi.” Since the nineteenth century, as the West showed military and economic dominance over the East, the traditional stereotype of Westerners as “barbarians” was replaced by the neutral term of “foreigners” (see Casalin in this volume, p. 202).

In Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China , Chen Xiaomei elaborates on the official Maoist Occidentalism and the antiofficial discourse shaped by diverse domestic contexts of contemporary China. Wang Ning claims in his article “Orientalism versus Occidentalism?” that as an immature and problematic academic concept, Occidentalism is only “a strategy of discourse opposed to Western cultural hegemonism, or an ideological force challenging the Western power” (1997, 66). While Chen and Wang are mainly concerned with contemporary China, the case study of Li Danlin’s travelogue offers a historical dimension.

According to Said, “Orientalism expresses and represents that part [the Orient] culturally and even ideologically as a mode of discourse with supporting institutions, vocabulary, scholarship, imagery, doctrines, even colonial bureaucracies and colonial styles” (1979, 2). This coincides with the ethnotype of “Huaxia” and “Manyi” that was deeply rooted in Chinese ideology and backed up by numerous Confucian canons 36 and ancient Chinese diplomatic policies. From my perspective, Said’s explication can thus be adapted to describe the Chinese form of Occidentalism: continued investment made Occidentalism, as a system of knowledge about the West, an accepted grid for filtering through the West into Chinese consciousness (1979, 6). 37

Said comments on the Egyptian courtesan depicted by Flaubert: “she never spoke of herself, she never represented her emotions, presence, or history. He spoke for and represented her” (ibid.). Similar to the courtesan, the Western figures in The Travel Journal and Pictures appear to be silent and absent. It is unlikely that Li Danlin, taking the position of an interpreter and accompanying the ambassadors, had never communicated with Westerners. In his travelogue, except for commenting on their appearances, he seems to have no intention to exchange ideas. In contrast to this, he notes his conversations with indigenous people in the fourth part of the travelogue. However, these seemingly talkative natives are also represented by Li, whose mentality is profoundly influenced by the Sinocentric convention. As Daniel-Henri Pageaux demonstrates, “the stereotype is the index of univocal communication, of a culture in the process of (self-)blocking” (2014, 456). 38 The readers may never hear the authentic voice from either Westerners or indigenous people.

5 Conclusion

As a homage to The Classic of Mountains and Seas and a nostalgic example of the Sinocentric pattern of stereotyping, Li adapts the reality of foreign lands and cultures in a dual way: the detailed and stereotyped description of people in undeveloped areas contrasts with the brief and fallacious depiction of the Western world. While the clichés and stereotypes reflect Li’s conventional mindset about the distinction between barbarians and Han culture, he creates hetero-images of silent Westerners, as well as savage images of indigenous peoples, thus depicting these cultures in a manner that fits his ideologies.

Nevertheless, Li’s underlying intention of misinterpreting Western cultures must be situated within the context of a semicolonized China. Analogous to Chen’s methodology, James G. Carrier affirms that “political contingencies shape the orientalisms and occidentalisms” (1995, 8). For imagological studies, Joep Leerssen also places emphasis on historical contextualization (2007b, 28). Unlike “Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” ( Said 1979 , 3), in premodern China the critical context was the impending threat of being invaded and colonized. The failure of the two Opium Wars in 1839 and from 1856 to 1860 had severely challenged conventional Sinocentric views, as Chinese people found themselves defeated and partly dominated by the so-called “barbarians.”

As shown in my analysis, rather than to present “realistic” images of “others”, Li Danlin’s misinterpretation of foreign “reality” aims to restore the auto-image of China as an autonomous and culturally orthodox empire. As Carrier points out, the self-image of Non-Westerners “often develops in contrast to their symbolized image of the West” (1995, 6). On the one hand, Li depicts “barbarian” peoples to regain confidence of China as a highly civilized nation; on the other hand, he portrays silent Westerners drawing all of their inspiration from ancient Chinese inventions, in order to escape from the reality of Western hegemony. Leerssen declares that the patterns of othering are necessary for “the maintenance of selfhood through historical remembrance and cultural memory” (2007b, 29). Hence, it is possible that Li Danlin—striving to recover from the collective trauma of semicolonization—tries to reconstruct national identity by revisiting outdated stereotypes. In this sense, The Travel Journal and Pictures can be seen as representing a decolonizing or anticolonialist strategy of discourse.

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Carrier , James G. 1995 . Occidentalism: Images of the West . Gloucestershire : Clarendon Press .

Casalin , Federica . 2022 . “ European Ethnotypes in Chinese Words: The Translation and Negotiation of Some Western National Characters in Early Nineteenth-Century China .” In New Perspectives on Imagology , edited by Katharina Edtstadler , Sandra Folie , and Gianna Zocco , 201 – 219 . Boston/Leiden : Brill .

Chen , Cheng . 2012 . Shan Hai Jing Yizhu 山海经译注 [ The Classic of Mountains and Seas with Annotations ]. Shanghai : Shanghai Guji Publishing House .

Chen , Xiaomei . 2002 . Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China . Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield .

Leerssen , Joep . 2007 a. “ Exoticism .” In Imagology , edited by Beller and Leerssen , 325 – 326 .

Leerssen , Joep . 2007 b. “ Imagology: History and Method .” In Imagology , edited by Beller and Leerssen , 17 – 32 .

Li , Danlin . 1905 . Youli Tuji 游历图记 [ The Travel Journal and Pictures ]. Guangzhou : Guangzhou Shijingtang .

Liang , Qichao . 2018 . Xin Dalu Youji 新大陆游记 [ Observations on a Trip to America ]. Beijing : Zhaohua Press .

Liang , Tingnan . 1993 . Haiguo Sishuo 海国四说. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju Press .

Liu , Xiang , and Xin Liu . 2008 . Qilüe Bielu Yiwen 七略别录佚文. Shanghai : Shanghai Guji Publishing House .

Local Chronicle Committee of Boluo County , ed . 2001 . Boluo Xianzhi 博罗县志 [ The Chronography of Boluo County ]. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju Press .

Mengzi [Mencius] . 2000 . Mengzi 孟子 [Mencius]. In Shisan Jing Zhu Shu 十三经注疏 [ The Thirteen Classics with Annotations ], edited by the Editorial Board of The Thirteen Classics with Annotations . Beijing : Beijing University Press .

Moura , Jean-Marc . 1999 . “ L’imagologie littéraire: tendances actuelles .” In Perspectives comparatistes , edited by Jean Bessière and Daniel-Henri Pageaux , 181 – 192 . Paris : Honoré Champion Éditeur .

Moura , Jean-Marc . 1993 . Lire l’exotisme . Paris : Dunod .

Pageaux , Daniel-Henri . 2014 . “ L’imagologie face à la question de l’identité .” In Identities on the Move , edited by Flocel Sabaté , 455 – 466 . Berlin : Peter Lang .

Pageaux , Daniel-Henri . 1995 . “ Recherches sur l’imagologie: de l’Histoire culturelle à la Poétique .” Thélème: Revista complutense de estudios franceses 8 : 135 – 160 .

Ruan , Yuan , ed . 2009 . Shisan Jing Zhu Shu 十三经注疏 [ The Thirteen Classics with Annotations ]. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju Press .

Said , Edward W. 1979 . Orientalism . New York : Vintage Books .

Segalen , Victor . 1986 . Essai sur l’exotisme: une esthétique du divers ; et Textes sur Gauguin et l’Océanie . Paris : Librairie générale française .

Sima , Qian . 2012 . Shi Ji 史记 [ The Records of the Grand Historian ]. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju Press .

Tao , Yuanming . 1979 . Tao Yuanming Ji 陶渊明集 [ The Collection of Tao Yuanming’s Works ]. Beijing : Zhonghua Shuju .

Wang , Ning . 1997 . “ Orientalism versus Occidentalism? ” New Literary History , 28 , no. 1 : 57 – 67 .

Wei , Yuan . 2011 . Haiguo Tuzhi 海国图志 [ Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms ]. Changsha : Yuelu Shushe Press .

Xie , Wenyong , ed . 1985 . Guangdong Huaren Lu 广东画人录 [ The Biographies of Cantonese Painters ]. Guangzhou : Lingnan Meishu Publishing House .

Xu , Jiyu . 1850 . Yinghuan Zhilue 瀛寰志略 [ A Short Account of the Maritime Circuit ]. Hsinchu : Taiwan Huawen Shuju .

Yang , Yulian . 2018 . Shan Hai Jing Chengshu Niandai Kaolun 《山海经》成书年代考论 [ A Research on the Compilation Time of The Classic of Mountains and Seas ]. Guo Xue 国学 6 : 90 – 103 .

Zhang , Zhidong . 2008 . Quan Xue Pian 劝学篇 [ Exhortation to Study ]. Guilin : Guangxi Normal University .

Zhu , Jitang , and Songsen Huang . 1999 . Huizhou Mingren 惠州名人 [ The Celebrities in Huizhou ]. Zhengzhou : Wenxin Press .

Li Danlin narrated in The Travel Journal and Pictures that he departed in 1903. However, according to Boluo Xianzhi , the local chronicle of Li’s hometown, and Huizhou Mingren , the biography of the celebrities in Li’s hometown edited by Zhu Jitang and Huang Songsen, Li started his journey in 1891.

The dates of birth and death confirmed by Huizhou Mingren are widely accepted. Nonetheless, Boluo Xianzhi records other dates: 1840–1910.

Since the journal has never been translated into English or other languages, I translate all the titles and notes cited from the volumes myself.

There exist various versions of The Chronography of Boluo County . The earliest was edited by Han Rizuan (韩日缵) in the late Ming dynasty (1628–1644), and later ones are based on this and other early versions. The edition that I consulted relates the history of Boluo (博罗) county from 214 BCE to 1990 CE .

The “premodern” period in the Chinese context refers to 1840–1919, from the Opium War to the May Fourth Movement.

There are no page numbers but only the numbers of maps or figures in the 1905 edition of The Travel Journal and Pictures . Please note that the number of a map or figure given in parentheses after a quote from Li’s travelogue refers to the numbers used in the 1905 edition of The Travel Journal and Pictures , whereas the designation “ Figure 10.1 ” (up to “ Figure 10.5 ”) in the caption lines of a printed image relates to our own system of numbering. You can compare both numbers in the List of Figures and Tables on p. XIII .

My translation. Original quote: “[P]our l’imagologie, toute image étudiée est […] dans un triple sens : image d’un référent étranger, image provenant d’une nation ou d’une culture, image créée par la sensibilité particulière d’un auteur. Trois niveaux d’analyse se voient définis : le référent, l’imaginaire socioculturel, les structures d’une œuvre.”

My translation. Original quote: “可谓奇也,故图而记之。”

My translation. Original quote: “可谓奇异。”

My translation. Original quote: “妇人生须,中国以为奇怪。”

My translation. Original quote: “所最奇者。”

My translation. Original quote: “欧洲各国艺学精巧,愈出愈奇。”

My translation. Original quote: “虽彼国文明渐启,尚不闻有人焉,制一奇器,创一奇技也欤?”

My translation. Original quote: “数十年来,不更愈出愈奇,有不可思议者乎?”

My translation. Original quote: “Toute image procède d’une prise de conscience, si minima soit-elle, d’un Je par rapport à l’Autre, d’un Ici par rapport à un Ailleurs. L’image est donc l’expression, littéraire ou non, d’un écart significatif entre deux ordres de réalité culturelle.”

My translation. Original quote: “la perdurabilité du plaisir de sentir le Divers.”

My translation. Original quote: “la perception aiguë et immédiate d’une incompréhensibilité éternelle.”

My translation. Original quote: “朝士由是多奇《山海经》者,文学大儒多读学以为奇,可以考祯祥变怪之物,见远国异人之谣俗。” The Qilüe ( Seven Surveys/Seven Reviews) is the first known bibliography of Chinese works.

My translation. Original quote: “物不自异,待我而后异,异果在我,非物异也。”

My translation. Original quote: “La représentation de l’étranger est tributaire d’une certaine option idéologique (faites d’un mélange complexe d’idées, de sentiments, d’a priori traditionnels, historiquement repérables etc. […]).”

My translation. Original quote: “[Le cliché] relève de la stylistique et se définit comme un effet de style figé par l’usage, manifestation d’un servile esprit d’imitation.”

My translation. Original quote: “凡游野蛮地为游记易,游文明地为游记难。”

My translation. Original quote: “中国前此游记,多纪风景之佳奇,或陈宫室之华丽,无关宏旨……但观察文明复杂之社会,最难得其要领。”

My translation. Original quote: “吾闻用夏变夷者,未闻变于夷者也。”

My translation. Original quote: “女子自权,左衽长发,俗淫。”

My translation. Original quote: “微管仲,吾其被发左衽矣。”

My translation. Original quote: “衣毛饮血,善箭,好獵,性狼(狠)恶,亦以多杀人为酋长。”

My translation. Original quote: “性凶恶,不服王化,野处穴居。”

My translation. Original quote: “父母将老,子孙分而食之 […] 名曰腹葬云云。”

My translation. Original quote: “不用箸,不用刀叉,用右手将饭爪挪入口而食之,左手不行礼,专以出公(出恭)之便,抹屎而已 […] 食毕,且不洗手,仅以衣拭之。其衣服不洁,可想而知也。”

My translation. Original quote: “台湾生番,野处穴居,喜獵,用喷筒,能伤虎象各兽。披发文身,遇人即伤。以兽血漆身 […] 性凶恶,男女多衣树叶。”

My translation. Original quote: “Le descriptif (l’attribut physique) se confond avec l’ordre normative (infériorité de tel people, de telle culture).”

My translation. Original quote: “On mettra donc en évidence le système de qualification différentielle qui permet la formation de l’altérité, à travers de couples oppositionnels qui vont faire fusionner nature et culture : sauvage vs civilisé, barbare vs cultivé, homme vs animal […] être supérieur vs être inférieur.”

My translation. Original quote: “Des processus d’appropriation de l’étranger (réduction de l’inconnu au connu) ou d’éloignement, d’exotisation, des processus d’intégration culturelle de l’Autre ou d’exclusion, de marginalisation.”

My translation. Original quote: “Réduisant les mondes lointains par schématisation et généralisation, ils (clichés et stéréotypes) permettent la création, ou plutôt la fabrication, d’un monde à la fois dépaysant et connu, reposant sur le principe d’une distance mimée, artificielle, qui renvoie à une série familière de conventions.”

The Spring and Autumn Annals ( Chunqiu , 春秋); The Three Ritual Classics , which includes Rites of Zhou (Zhou Li , 周礼), Ceremonies and Rites (Yi Li , 仪礼), and Book of Rites (Li Ji , 礼记); The Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals , especially The Commentary of Zuo (Zuo Zhuan , 左传); The Analects (Lun Yu , 论语); Mencius (Mang Zi , 孟子), and other canons in The Thirteen Classics (Shi San Jing , 十三经) of Confucian tradition.

Original quote: “Continued investment made Orientalism, as a system of knowledge about the Orient, an accepted grid for filtering through the Orient into Western consciousness […].”

My translation. Original quote: “Le stéréotype est l’indice d’une communication univoque, d’une culture en voie de blocage.”

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  • Published: 09 June 2023

Disentangling the cultural evolution of ancient China: a digital humanities perspective

  • Siyu Duan 1 , 2 ,
  • Jun Wang 1 , 2 , 3 ,
  • Hao Yang 2 , 3 &
  • Qi Su 2 , 3 , 4  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  310 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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  • Anthropology
  • Cultural and media studies
  • Language and linguistics

Being recognized among the cradles of human civilization, ancient China nurtured the longest continuous academic traditions and humanistic spirits, which continue to impact today’s society. With an unprecedented large-scale corpus spanning 3000 years, this paper presents a quantitative analysis of cultural evolution in ancient China. Millions of intertextual associations are identified and modelled with a hierarchical framework via deep neural network and graph computation, thus allowing us to answer three progressive questions quantitatively: (1) What is the interaction between individual scholars and philosophical schools? (2) What are the vicissitudes of schools in ancient Chinese history? (3) How did ancient China develop a cross-cultural exchange with an externally introduced religion such as Buddhism? The results suggest that the proposed hierarchical framework for intertextuality modelling can provide sound suggestions for large-scale quantitative studies of ancient literature. An online platform is developed for custom data analysis within this corpus, which encourages researchers and enthusiasts to gain insight into this work. This interdisciplinary study inspires the re-understanding of ancient Chinese culture from a digital humanities perspective and prompts the collaboration between humanities and computer science.

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Introduction.

Although still in its infancy, digital humanities research supported by big data and deep learning has become a hot topic in recent years. Researchers began to use digital methods to study cultural issues quantitatively, such as examining cultural evolution (Lewens 2015 ) through the diachronic changes of n-gram frequency (Michel et al. 2011 ; Lansdall-Welfare et al. 2017 ; Alshaabi et al. 2021 ; Newberry and Plotkin 2022 ) and word-level semantics (Newberry et al. 2017 ; Garg et al. 2018 ; Kozlowski et al. 2019 ; Giulianelli et al. 2020 ). This trend also spread to the study of ancient civilizations. Scholars from different cultural backgrounds have investigated the culture of ancient Rome (Dexter et al. 2017 ), ancient Greece (Assael et al. 2022 ), and Natufian (Resler et al. 2021 ) with the assistance of computer technology. It is acknowledged that ancient China was one of the longest-standing civilizations in human history, with a culture that evolved over the past thousands of years. Various ancient literature has been handed down over time, providing extensive textual records of Chinese culture. With the digitized versions of these classics, we can gain a glimpse into the cultural evolution in ancient China.

Ancient Chinese classics are highly intertextual texts. Since the doctrine “A transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients” proposed in Analects (Legge 1861 . VII.I), quoting previous texts became a convention of literary creation in ancient China. Chinese scholars have long studied this cultural phenomenon from different perspectives. For example, Pan-ma i-t’ung (published around AD 1200) demonstrated the character differences between two history books, Records of the Grand Historian (published around 91 BC) and Book of Han (published around AD 82). Since Qing Dynasty, scholars began to enumerate parallel intertextual associations between ancient classics (Chen 1989 ; He et al. 2004 ). However, intertextuality (Kristeva 1980 ) is not only the connections of words and phrases but also manifests at higher levels hierarchically (Riffaterre 1994 ; Alfaro 1996 ), such as document, author, and community. The traditional form of high-level intertextuality studies was the overall literary criticism by scholars. For example, Ming dynasty scholar Ling Zhilong compiled previous scholars’ literary criticism of the above two history books. Literary criticism was themed on the style, skill, and viewpoints of literature, which was seen as a formidable endeavour due to the complexity of Chinese culture. Both parallel enumeration and literary criticism are limited by the reading and memory of scholars, which restricts the discussion on the large-scale corpus. Assisted by computer technology and digital literature, scholars recently began to study intertextuality within large-scale data.

Various natural language processing (NLP) methods have been applied to the intertextuality modelling of ancient literature. The previous automatic detection methods of text-level intertextuality aimed to discover similar phrases or sequences by lexical matching approach (Lee 2007 ; Coffee et al. 2012a ; Coffee et al. 2012b ; Ganascia et al. 2014 ; Forstall et al. 2015 ), which are insufficient and rigid in semantic modelling. The non-literal feature like synonym (Büchler et al. 2014 ; Moritz et al. 2016 ) and rhythm (Neidorf et al. 2019 ) also implies intertextuality, yet it requires language-specific design. Topic modelling lends a hand to passage-level modelling (Scheirer et al. 2016 ), while its dependence on expert annotation limits its generalization on diverse corpora. Simple statistics on text-level results contribute to document-level modelling (Hartberg and Wilson 2017 ). However, it ignores their overall connections. Besides, graph structure seems to be an appropriate way for the community-level modelling of intertextuality (Romanello 2016 ; Rockmore et al. 2018 ). Intertextuality modelling on classical literature widely supports cultural studies, such as quantitative literary criticism and stylometry (Forstall et al. 2011 ; Burns et al. 2021 ). Existing related studies on Chinese literature were limited to the detection methods (Liang et al. 2021 ; Li et al. 2022 ; Yu et al. 2022 ) and shallow studies of intertextual texts on small corpora (Sturgeon 2018a ; Sturgeon 2018b ; Huang et al. 2021 ; Deng et al. 2022 ), short of macroanalysis (Jockers 2013 ) on Chinese culture.

In this paper, we conducted a macroanalysis of ancient Chinese culture on an unprecedented large-scale corpus spanning nearly 3000 years. Figure 1a presents a schematic of this corpus. This corpus consists of 30,880 articles from 201 ancient Chinese books (or anthologies). It covers various topics, such as philosophy, religion, and politics, including the famous works of major cultural groups (e.g., Analects of Confucianism; Tao Te Ching of Taoism). The history books (e.g., Book of Han) and comprehensive anthologies (e.g., Collected Works of Han) of each era are also involved.

figure 1

a The dataset of ancient Chinese literature with an instance in each era. The names of the dynasties and the approximate AD years are marked on the timeline. For each period, it gives one instance book and indicates its subject. b Hierarchical framework with three modules for multilevel intertextuality modelling.

In this work, we modelled ancient Chinese literature with a hierarchical framework. The cultural thought of civilization is composed of multiple levels, such as doctrines, individuals, and communities. Moreover, cultural evolution manifests hierarchically with microevolution and macroevolution (Mesoudi 2017 ; Gray and Watts 2017 ). A comprehensive discussion of cultural evolution requires multilevel perspectives. Therefore, this framework models intertextual associations from the text level to the community level with three modules. A schematic of the framework is shown in Fig. 1b . The text-level detection module tracks intertextual sentences with deep-learning models. The book-level aggregation module gathers text-level clues and abstracts various books into an association graph. The community-level inference module applies topological propagation to explore intertextual associations in the cultural community. After the modelling, millions of intertextual sentence pairs and a book-level intertextual association graph are ready for cultural analysis.

In the experiment, we detected 2.6 million pairs of intertextual sentences and then built them into an association graph. For a specific text collection, its intertextual distribution refers to its quantitative intertextual associations with other texts. Based on the modelling results, we can study ancient Chinese culture through the intertextual distribution among ancient literature.

In the cultural analysis, we considered cultural evolution from the perspective of cultural groups and religions. Schools of thought and religions were part and parcel of ancient Chinese culture (Schwartz 1985 ). The Hundred Schools of Thought that originated in the axial age were the prototype of ancient Chinese philosophy (Graham 1989 ). They rose and fell over the millennia that followed. The introduction of foreign cultures, like Buddhism (Chen 1964 ), also influenced the evolution of native culture. In this paper, we disentangled the cultural evolution of ancient China on three levels: (1) The interaction between individual scholars and philosophical schools; (2) The rise and fall of schools in Chinese history and culture; (3) The cross-culture communication with Buddhism.

Specifically, we validated several acknowledged cultural phenomena: the evolutionary paths of Confucianism and Taoism, and the booms and declines of the Hundred Schools of Thought. We also provided quantitative suggestions for cultural problems that are yet to be definitely resolved, such as the school attribution of Lüshi Chunqiu , the authorship attribution of Collected Works of Tao Yuanming , and the influence of Confucianism and Taoism across different cultural domains. Furthermore, we quantitatively discussed the interaction between Buddhism and native culture, revealing how cultural integration has evolved over time.

In addition, we have developed an online platform to display this corpus, along with millions of intertextual associations detected in this work. The platform supports custom data analysis, which encourages researchers and enthusiasts to gain insight into this work.

Two datasets were built respectively, the classic dataset and the era-text dataset. We considered several factors when building the dataset: era balance, representativeness, and official-folk balance. Two datasets consist of 30,880 articles from 201 books (or anthologies).

Classic dataset

The classic dataset is composed of the most prominent and influential books that represent the core culture of ancient China. Before the Tang Dynasty (618–907), literature was copied manually. Due to the long history and the limitations of publishing technology, only time-tested classics have been handed down to this day. Therefore, we added all the collected pre-Tang literature to the classic dataset. In the Tang Dynasty, the invention of block printing led to the rapid development of the publishing industry, resulting in explosive growth in the amount of literature. Until the mid-18th century, China printed more books than the rest of the world combined (Gernet 1996 ). Considering that this study focuses on the evolution of early thought in ancient China, we selected several most famous classics after Tang Dynasty. The well-known digital library of ancient Chinese classics, CTEXT ( https://ctext.org/ ), also adopted similar rules to build a collection of core classics. We considered the literature samples of CTEXT and built the classic dataset.

Our research focuses on ideological evolution, so books in the classic dataset should reflect cultural thought with good data quality. Therefore, we further screened the classic dataset to filter out inappropriate books, including commentary books, mathematics books, dictionaries, excavated literature (e.g., Mawangdui Silk Texts), and lengthy novels.

Finally, the dataset of ancient Chinese classics contains 133 books, including 8984 articles. Table 1 shows the time-period statistics of this corpus. It covers various aspects of culture, such as philosophy, mythology, politics, and religion. In this dataset, the earliest book was created around 1000 BC (e.g., Book of Documents), while the latest book was published around AD 1750 (e.g., The Scholars).

Era-text dataset

We aim for the era-text dataset to reflect the contemporary culture of each period, encompassing both official and folk traditions. To achieve this, we set our sights on history books and anthologies. As ancient China had a tradition of producing history books for each dynasty, history books typically reflected official attitudes. We added the official history (Twenty-Four Histories), large-scale chronicle history books ( Zizhi Tongjian and Continued Zizhi Tongjian Changbian ), and 15 other influential history books to the era dataset. In addition, we included Quan shang gu san dai Qin Han San guo Liu chao wen , a series of large-scale anthologies organized by era. It collected a wide variety of works from numerous authors, including prose, essays, religious scriptures, inscriptions, etc. These anthologies comprehensively record the contemporary culture of ancient China. To further enrich the era-text dataset, we added 13 well-proofread anthologies.

We categorized these history books and anthologies by era. For history books (e.g., Zizhi Tongjian ) that cover multiple eras, we divided them into corresponding eras. Finally, we got 55 history books and 13 anthologies, containing 21,896 articles. Table 2 shows the time-period statistics of this corpus. These works chronicle Chinese history and culture from the legendary period (e.g., Bamboo Annals , from 2600 BC) to the Ming Dynasty (e.g., History of Ming , ending in AD 1644).

Data processing

Ancient Chinese characters may have multiple written forms, we use the open-source toolkit OpenCC ( https://github.com/BYVoid/OpenCC ) to map them to a unique root character before encoding them using deep learning models. The maximum sentence length was set to 50 characters. Sentences exceeding this length were divided into two sentences. This setting can cover more than 99% of sentences.

Intertextuality detection usually aims to discover meaningful textual connections. It is important to note that texts without actual meaning cannot indicate the ideological connection between texts. Therefore, we use additional computational rules to avoid inappropriate text pairs. First, we filtered out sentences (clauses) with less than three remaining characters after removing the stopwords (such as prepositions and pronouns). Then, with predefined rules, we filtered out meaningless sentences, such as tone, dates, lengths, quantities, and formats. After filtering, there are about 436,000 sentences with 840,000 clauses in the classic’s dataset, and 2,113,000 sentences with 4,526,000 clauses in the era-text dataset.

Challenge and limitation

The collection and processing of ancient Chinese literature present challenges and limitations. Although we used punctuated text in this work, the original ancient Chinese literature has no punctuation. When it comes to no-punctuation data, an automatic punctuation model should be applied beforehand. Moreover, ancient literature could have multiple versions. In our dataset, we opted to include only one widely circulated version of each book. It may restrict the applicability of the dataset for researchers interested in different versions.

Additionally, the selection of appropriate literature collections for cultural analysis from a vast pool of ancient literature requires expert knowledge. In our study, humanities scholars specializing in Chinese history and philosophy were consulted.

Modelling framework

Considering that intertextuality and cultural evolution can manifest at multiple levels, we developed a hierarchical framework to analyze ancient literature. This framework captures intertextuality at three levels, ranging from micro to macro. At the text level, similar sentence pairs shared between books are detected by deep neural networks. At the book level, books are abstracted into an intertextual association graph based on the text-level results. At the community level, information propagates through the topological structure of the book-level graph, thus exploring intertextuality in the cultural community. This hierarchical approach provides both micro-evidence and macro-quantification for intertextual associations and cultural evolution.

Text-level detection

The study of cultural evolution is concerned with the connections of thoughts. Each sentence often expresses a distinct thought, making it a suitable quantitative unit. Therefore, we traced the intertextuality at the sentence level. We considered that the more similar sentences the two books share, the more closely connected they are.

The dissemination of text is not static but mutates. The micro-evolution of texts has multiple patterns (Tamariz 2019 ), such as replication, expansion, and succession. Therefore, this module traced similar sentence pairs shared between books with three patterns: overall similarity, partial similarity, and paraphrased similarity. A sketch is given in Fig. 2a .

figure 2

a Three patterns of similarity between sentences. Darker colour indicates more similar text. b The explicit intertextuality and implicit intertextuality between the three books.

Overall similarity

Two sentences explain the similar meaning with close language expressions.

Partial similarity

Two sentences share similar parts.

Paraphrased similarity

The similar meaning is explained by different language expressions. The text may be disrupted and reorganized.

Deep neural networks (Vaswani et al. 2017 ) and pre-train methods (Devlin et al. 2019 ) have shown excellent performance in text feature extraction. Contrastive learning (Chen et al. 2020 ) can help to obtain personal-defined text similarity models without supervision, which is suitable for text-level intertextuality detection. To get sentence representation for these three patterns, we introduced the RoBERTa base (Liu et al. 2019 ), a pre-trained language model that can be further fine-tuned for our task using different training strategies.

For the overall similarity pattern, it can be treated as the overall semantic similarity between sentences. To train the model 1 , we used SimCSE (Gao et al. 2021 ), a contrastive learning method for extracting sentence embeddings.

For the paraphrased similarity pattern, the sentence structure could be reconstructed. We trained another model 2 for this pattern, with its loss being a weighted sum of loss 1 and loss 2 . The loss 1 was calculated in the same way as for model 1 .

For loss 2 , we randomly dropped and shuffled the clauses and n-grams in the original sentence to obtain a new sentence. It serves as another positive sample of contrastive learning. Negative samples are other sentences in the batch. The final loss for the model 2 is:

r is a hyperparameter that modulates the emphasis between sentence structure and semantics.

For the partial similarity pattern, sentences are considered similar if they share similar clauses. We detected similarities at the clause level using both model 1 and model 2 .

In large-scale information retrieval, brute-force search is often impractical due to the time and resources required. Therefore, it usually follows a multi-step process for the balance of precision and efficiency.

The first step is to recall potential candidates. In our work, we identified K members that were most similar to each sentence embedding. Then, we selected appropriate candidates and calculated a threshold to further filter out similar candidates.

For each pattern, we used the following steps to detect:

1. Extract embeddings of all sentences using the RoBERTa model.

2. De-duplicate embeddings. For each embedding, find its Top K similar embeddings. Denote all embedding pairs obtained as P .

3. Calculate the Euclidean distance of embedding in P and find the t th percentile as the similarity threshold d thr .

4. Filter out sentence pairs whose embedding distance is closer than d thr .

We detected similar pairs with these three strategies separately and gathered their results. The detected similar sentence pairs give concrete evidence of text-level intertextuality.

Book-level aggregation

Text-level results can support textual research on microevolution. However, to analyze at the macro level, text-level results must be gathered and aggregated. In this module, we aggregated text-level intertextuality results and synthesized them into a book-level intertextual association graph g . In this graph, each node B i represents a book, and there are N books in total. The edges indicate the intertextual associations between books. Suppose there are two books B i and B j , they contain n i and n j distinct sentences, respectively, and s ij distinct similar sentence pairs were detected between them. The edge weight α ij between B i and B j is calculated as follows:

For node B i , it has a one-hot node feature \(x_i = [x_{i1},x_{i2} \ldots x_{iN}]\) , where \({x_{ii}} = {1}\) .

Community-level inference

Text-level intertextuality can be observed explicitly. However, some intertextual connections can be implicit, with no direct textual association. In this study, we treated these classics as a cultural community and explored the implicit intertextuality at the community level. A schematic is shown in Fig. 2b .

Explicit intertextuality

If two books share similar sentences, they are explicitly intertextual.

Implicit intertextuality

If Book 1 and Book 2 are explicitly intertextual, and Book 2 and Book 3 are explicitly intertextual, then it can be inferred that Book 1 and Book 3 are implicitly intertextual.

This module performs inference by propagating and aggregating information through the topology of the intertextual association graph:

The first operation gathers explicit intertextuality I ex to the node feature. The second operation infers and integrates the implicit intertextuality I im . r ′ is a custom weight that adjusts the emphasis of implicit intertextuality. After twice graph computations, the node feature of B i is \(y_i = [y_{i1},y_{i2} \ldots y_{iN}]\) , where y ij indicates the united intertextual score I ij between B i and B j .

The node feature reflects the distribution of intertextuality for each book within the community. Excessive aggregation of information on the graph can lead to over-smoothing, which is detrimental to node features. Therefore, we set the number of graph computations to twice. Sparsity is an issue that often plagues text-based cultural analysis. With this method, the sparsity of intertextuality detection results can be alleviated.

Settings and modelling results

In text-level detection, we trained the model on an Nvidia 1080ti GPU. The optimizer is Adam (Kingma and Ba 2015 ). We took the pre-trained ancient Chinese RoBERTa base model as a basis. For both model 1 and model 2 , we fine-tuned the base model 10 epochs at a learning rate of 1e-6. The batch size was 32. The r for the loss of model 2 was set to 0.2. For similarity detection, we set K to 100 and t to 1 based on our data scale and observations. The large-scale vector searching tool Faiss (Johnson et al. 2019 ) was applied to speed up vector retrieval.

In book-level aggregation, we found that diverse genres have variant punctuation styles, disturbing the total number of sentences. After observation, we found that in this dataset, the number of sentences with at least two clauses is relatively stable. Therefore, we set the number of sentences n i of the book B i to the number of sentences with at least two clauses.

In community-level inference, r ′ was set to a value that makes implicit intertextuality one-fifth of explicit intertextuality. \(x_i^\prime\) and I im were clipped with a ten-fold mean. In the modelling after adding era-text, the information propagation between era-text nodes was blocked to evaluate each era independently.

As a result, the detection module identified over 411,000 pairs of similar sentences between classics and 2,209,000 pairs between classics and era-text. An intertextual association graph was built from these pairs.

Manual evaluation of text-level detection

Note that in this corpus, each sentence has millions of intertextual candidates from books on diverse topics. As a result, the likelihood of any two sentences being intertextual is extremely low. Building a hand-labelled test set to evaluate the recall rate is nearly impossible. Therefore, we manually evaluated the accuracy rate with the same number of recalled sentences.

We invited three people with graduate degrees and research experience in Chinese classical literature to conduct the manual evaluation. The evaluators were asked to assess the intertextuality of each detected sentence pair. If the two sentences share a similar meaning, topic, or structural style, give 1 point. Otherwise, give 0 points. We took the single-pattern methods as baselines. We used the SIMCSE (Gao et al. 2021 ) model to detect the same number of pairs at the sentence and clause levels, respectively. One pair is randomly sampled from each book in the dataset of classics. There are three groups with 133 pairs each.

The results are shown in Table 3 . The average accuracy of our proposed multi-pattern detection model is 82.22% ( Pearson ’ s r  = 0.74), while the single-pattern baseline is 73.70% and 45.92%. It suggests that the multi-pattern design can improve intertextuality detection performance.

Ablation of community-level inference

We performed an ablation study on a specific book to validate the designed inference module. Figure 3 shows the intertextual connection between Analects and other classics. To compare the modules fairly, we adjusted the weights r ′ so that explicit and implicit intertextuality have equal status in united intertextuality.

figure 3

They are mean-normalized, and their standard deviations are given respectively. a Number of similar sentence pairs s . b Explicit intertextual scores I ex . c Implicit intertextual scores I im . d United intertextual scores I .

The number of similar pairs varies widely due to the varying length of books. After aggregation, normalized explicit intertextual scores are obtained. However, some books do not share similar sentences, resulting in vacancies. Implicit intertextual scores are positively correlated with explicit intertextuality. It fills the gap of explicit intertextuality and alleviates sparsity. In addition, the introduction of implicit intertextuality brings smoothness, leading to more robust united intertextual scores ( std  = 0.81) than explicit intertextual scores ( std  = 1.07).

Indicator robustness

A metric that is susceptible to data variance is not ideal. Therefore, we examined these two concerns regarding the intertextual score I :

• Q 1 : Is the intertextual score affected evidently by data size?

• Q 2 : Does the intertextual score decrease noticeably due to language discrepancy in different eras?

For Q 1 , we calculated the correlation between data size and intertextuality with the classic dataset. The two variables used in the correlation calculation are as follows:

Data Size: the number of sentences involved in intertextuality detection for each book.

Intertextual Score: The average intertextual score of each book with all other books.

Our results show that there was no significant correlation between data size and intertextual score ( \(r = - 0.1427,\,P = 0.1025,\,n = 133\) ). Therefore, we considered that the decrease in the H index is not due to data size.

For Q 2 , let us examine some cases. Jin Si Lu of the Song Dynasty (published around 1175) and Chuan Xi Lu of the Ming Dynasty (published around 1472–1529) are two famous works of Neo-Confucianism, which emerged as a continuation of Confucianism thousands of years after its birth. Compared with previous books, is the intertextuality between these two books and Confucianism prominent?

To answer this question, we ranked the intertextual scores between all books and keystone works of Confucianism and observed where these two books are placed. We found that these two books rank highly (1/131, 2/131), even surpassing Confucian books that are more recent to the Axial period. Therefore, we consider that language differences across different eras do not have an obvious impact on the intertextual score.

Through these two examinations, we can conclude that the indicator, intertextual score I , is robust to data variance.

Study 1. Interaction between scholars and schools

At the first level, we discussed the interaction between scholars and schools. Schools can be remoulded by later generations of scholars during their thousands of years of evolution. Confucianism and Taoism were the most influential philosophical schools in ancient China. We examined their evolutionary paths by assessing the preference of their followers through intertextual distributions of literary works. Besides, some literature is controversial or ambiguous in the mists of antiquity. To clarify the true path of cultural evolution, we provided quantitative suggestions for the school attribution of Lüshi Chunqiu and the authorship attribution of the Collected Works of Tao Yuanming .

In the axial age, religion and philosophy transformed drastically in various civilizations. The Hundred Schools of Thought, which arose in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (500 BC), were the prototype of Chinese philosophy. The enduring and pervasive influence of schools such as Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, and Military make them essential to any discussion of ancient Chinese culture (Sima 1959 ; Ban 1962 ).

Scholars and schools are symbiotic. Scholars were inevitably exposed to mainstream schools of their periods, while the doctrines of schools needed to be passed down to subsequent scholars. In this section, we investigated the interaction between scholars and schools through the intertextual associations of their literature. We calculated the Tendency Index T between 125 ancient Chinese classics and the five schools mentioned above. This index shows the ideological tendency of a particular collection of texts toward each school. The schematic diagram of this index is shown in Fig. 4a , and the details of its design are as follows.

figure 4

a Calculation of Tendency Index T . b Calculation of Historical Status Index H .

Based on the consensus of Chinese philosophy (Feng and Bodde 1948 ), we selected the keystone works as the benchmarks for each school. We first calculated the average intertextual score between a book and the keystone works of each school. The Tendency Index is defined as the ratio of the average intertextual score with a specific school to its means across all schools. Suppose there are books \(B = \{ B_1,B_2 \ldots B_m\}\) and schools \(S = \{ S_1,S_2 \ldots S_v\}\) . The intertextual score between any two books B i and B j is I ij , which can be obtained from the node features of the association graph. For the book B i and the school S k , the school S k has l keystone works, T ik is calculated as follows:

T ik reflects the tendency of book B i for school S k compared to other schools. When T ik  > 1, Book B i has an above-average preference for school S k .

We also examined the significance of text-level intertextuality. Specifically, we investigated whether sentences from a specific book have a significantly greater probability of being detected in the keystone works of a school than the average of other schools. Considering that these books typically contain a large number of sentences \(({\text{Median}} = 2739)\) , we employed a one-tailed Z -test statistic. This statistic was constructed from the similar sentence pairs detected. Suppose there are books B i and B j containing n i and n j sentences after data processing. There are s ij distinct similar sentence pairs detected between them. For book B i and school S k , the calculation of test statistic Z is as follows:

We set the significance level α to 0.05. With the Tendency Index and P-value , we developed quantitative discussions on the scholar-school linkages.

Evolutionary path of philosophical schools

The schools in ancient China were constantly evolving as scholars reshaped previous theories. As acknowledged in the history of Chinese philosophy (Feng and Bodde 1948 ), the original Taoist philosophy inspired the Taoist religion and Wei Jin metaphysics, while Neo-Confucianism inherited the theories of Confucianism. This section validates these evolutionary paths of Taoism and Confucianism quantitatively.

Taoism was a philosophical school that mainly advocated conformity to nature. Taoist religion evolved from Taoist philosophy, developing into the most prominent native religion until now (Raz 2012 ). The representatives of Taoist philosophy, Laozi and Zhuangzi, were revered as the founder and patriarch of the Taoist religion respectively. Figure 5a shows the Tendency Index of two Taoist religious classics, Cantongqi and Wen Shi Zhen Jing . They were significantly inclined towards Taoist philosophy ( Cantongqi , \(T = 2.48\) , \(P = 0.0142\) , \(n = 529\) ; Wen Shi Zhen Jing , \(T = 2.62\) , \(P = 0.0019\) , \(n = 879\) , for Taoism). It demonstrates the consistency between Taoist religion and Taoist philosophy in their evolution.

figure 5

The dynasty of publication and the corresponding AD years of each book are shown below. The keystone works of each school are listed on the right, including the time of the publication. a Tendency Index of two Taoist classics, Cantongqi and Wen Shi Zhen Jing . And the Tendency Index of the collected works of two scholars, Ruan Ji and Ji Kang. b Tendency Index of two Neo-Confucianism classics, Jin Si Lu and Chuan Xi Lu . c Tendency Index of Lüshi Chunqiu . d Tendency Index of the Collected Works of Tao Yuanming . And the Tendency Index of its widely accepted and controversial parts.

Apart from the religious re-creation, Taoism inspired a new school of philosophy. Wei Jin metaphysics, a variant of Taoist philosophy, arose during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) and flourished in the Jin Dynasty (266–420). Ruan Ji and Ji Kang were two representative scholars. Figure 5a shows the Tendency Index of their collected works. Compared with the other four schools, scholars of Wei Jin metaphysics were closer to the theories of Taoism ( Collected Works of Ruan Ji , \(n = 1590\) ; Collected Works of Ji Kang , \(P = 3.57e - 06\) , \(n = 2209\) , for Taoism).

This kind of transformation also occurred in Confucianism. Confucianism, which originated in 500 BC (Yao 2000 ), had an extensive impact on ancient Chinese culture and spread throughout East Asia. Over millennia, the philosophy evolved, and Neo-Confucianism became the new representative of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) (Bol 2008 ). Jin Si Lu and Chuan Xi Lu , written by Zhu Xi, Lv Zuqian, and Wang Yanming, were two of the most famous classics. Their Tendency Index is shown in Fig. 5b . The significant intertextual connection between the two works and Confucianism confirms their inheritance ( Jin Si Lu , \(T = 2.84\) , \(P = 1.01e - 13\) , \(n = 2914\) ; Chuan Xi Lu , \(T = 3.36\) , \(P = 2.33e - 15\) , \(n = 2495\) , for Confucianism).

Controversial literature attribution

Because of its antiquity, the information of some classics has become vague over thousands of years of circulation. Attributing ancient literature to appropriate schools and original authors has been a long-discussed issue in Chinese cultural studies, and in recent times, scholars have embarked upon quantitative investigations in this regard (Zhu et al. 2021 ; Zhou et al. 2023 ). In this section, we provide quantitative suggestions for controversial literature based on its intertextual distributions among schools.

Appropriate school attribution could contribute to the study of the influence and evolution of cultural thought. For example, Lüshi Chunqiu , an encyclopedic classic from the Warring States Period, was compiled in 239 BC with the support of the politician Lü Buwei. It brought together doctrines from various schools. However, there is no conclusion about its predilection among them (e.g., Syncretism theory, Taoism theory, and Confucianism theory (Chen 2001 )).

In Fig. 5c , our quantitative modelling result shows that Lüshi Chunqiu is a syncretic work ( \(T = 0.78\sim 1.43\) ) led by Taoism ( \(T = 1.43\) , \(P = 0.0004\) , \(n = 6118\) , for Taoism). It indicates that the editors have done a syncretic compilation of the theories in that period, with a slight inclination toward Taoism.

The variation of intertextual distributions can also be applied to controversial authorship attribution. Some ancient books were published in the name of famous scholars, but the real authors maybe someone else. However, the creations by different people have their own styles. The thought divergence between the real celebrity and their impostor could be implied in the intertextual variation of their works.

For example, Tao Yuanming is widely recognized as a representative of Chinese individual liberalism (Swartz 2008 ). He refused to serve the government and pursued a pastoral life. His yearning for a free life was depicted in his poems, which is highly consistent with the claim of Taoism. He is considered to have a strong predilection for Taoism and was slightly affected by Confucianism. Therefore, it is puzzling to find that the Tendency Index shown in Fig. 5d indicates a significant predilection for Confucianism in the Collected Works of Tao Yuanming ( \(T = 2.41\) , \(P = 0.0007\) , \(n = 2119\) , for Confucianism).

Further investigation revealed that the authorship of some parts of the Collected Works of Tao Yuanming is controversial. The version compiled by Xiao Tong (501–531) did not contain Five Sets of Filial Piety Biographies and Book of Ministers , while the version of Yang Xiuzhi (509–582) added them. Yang Xiuzhi mentioned in the preface that Xiao Tong’s version was missing these two parts, so he added them to prevent them from being lost in future generations.

However, later scholars gradually became suspicious of these two parts. The most famous one is the assertion in Siku Quanshu (Ji 1997 ). For its “self-contradictory” and “meaningless”, Siku Quanshu declared that Five Sets of Filial Piety Biographies and Book of Ministers were counterfeit. This view remains popular today, owing to the authority of Siku Quanshu .

To find clues to this dispute, we compared the intertextual distributions of the widely accepted and controversial parts. We divided the Collected Works of Tao Yuanming into two parts: collection 1 included Five Sets of Filial Piety Biographies and Book of Ministers , while collection 2 contains the remaining works. The Tendency Index for the two collections is shown in Fig. 5d . The “Tao Yuanming” of collection 1 exhibited a significant preference for Confucianism ( \(T = 3.02\) , \(P = 0.0002\) , \(n = 436\) , for Confucianism), while the “Tao Yuanming” of collection 2 inclined towards Taoism ( \(T = 2.45\) , \(P = 0.0658\) , \(n=1683\) , for Taoism) and has an above-average preference for Confucianism ( \(T = 1.51\) , \(P = 0.1985\) , \(n = 1683\) , for Confucianism). The modelling result of collection 2 is consistent with the actual behaviours and mainstream cognition of Tao Yuanming.

The Tendency Index shows an antithesis between the controversial sections and other parts in terms of their intertextual connections to Confucianism and Taoism. Considering the life experience of Tao Yuanming, our finding lends further support to the speculation: Five Sets of Filial Piety Biographies and Book of Ministers were forged by others in the name of Tao Yuanming.

Nevertheless, it is also worth considering that these two books were intended as textbooks for family education. If we treat them as the original works of Tao Yuanming, the intertextual discrepancy in the results reveals the divergence between the personal pursuits of Tao Yuanming (Taoism) and his aim to educate future generations (Confucianism).

Study 2. Vicissitudes of schools

At the second level, we studied the rise and fall of schools in different eras and domains. Scholars have employed character co-occurrence (Yang and Song 2022 ), syntactic patterns (Lee et al. 2018 ), and topic analysis (Nichols et al. 2018 ) to quantitatively measure the grammatical and ideological connections in ancient Chinese literature, thus supporting research into cultural differences and thought evolution. In this section, we studied cultural phenomena through diachronic and field-specific intertextual distributions. We investigated quantitative evidence for the connections between historical events and school status. Besides, schools’ claims have their own focus, making them favoured by different aspects of culture. We quantitatively discussed the status of Confucianism and Taoism in various cultural domains.

To achieve this, we divided ancient China into 12 eras and built an era-text corpus from history books and anthologies. The era-text corpus is a comprehensive collection of literature from official and folk sources, allowing them to be taken as indicators of the prevailing thought of that time. The era-text was then classified into 12 eras and added to the intertextuality modelling. For a specific collection of text, its intertextual association with the era-text implies its popularity in that era. The Historical Status Index H was designed to measure the school status in each era. The schematic diagram of this index is shown in Fig. 4b , and the details of the calculation are as follows.

We first calculated the average intertextual score between the keystone works of each school and the era-text in each era. For each school, its index H is defined as the ratio of the average intertextual score in a specific era to its mean across all eras and schools. Let \(S = \{ S_1,S_2 \ldots S_v\}\) denote the set of schools, and \(E = \{ E_1,E_2 \ldots E_f\}\) denote the set of eras. For a given school S k and era E e , where school S k has l keystone works and era E e has c books in era-text, the Historical Status Index H ke is calculated as follows:

H ke reflects the status of school S k in the era E e . If its mean value \(\bar H\) in era E e exceeds 1.00, it suggests that the school had an above-average influence in era E e . The Historical Status Index of five schools in 12 eras is shown in Fig. 6 .

figure 6

The timeline gives the name of each era, with the approximate AD years of its beginning and end. The histogram shows the H of each school, while the line chart indicates its mean value in each era.

School transformation in history

As society changed, schools of thought experienced booms and declines in Chinese history. Historical events like wars, policies and regime changes have impacted the school’s evolution. In this section, we investigated the quantitative textual evidence of these connections through the diachronic changes in their intertextual distributions.

The results show that the keystone classics of these five schools were highly intertextual with era-text within about a thousand years ( \(\bar H > 1\) ) and then gradually decreased ( \(\bar H < 1\) ). Although the original texts created during the axial period were still classic, they gradually became unsuitable for the new era (Feng and Bodde 1948 ). This could be the reason for the decrease in the \(\bar H\) index. Throughout the millennium of prosperity, we can observe the connections between school transformation and historical events.

The popularity of the school of Military was affected by the division of the country in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280), when China was divided into three comparable kingdoms. The country was in turmoil, and wars often broke out between these three kingdoms. Against this background, the school of Military, which was themed on the philosophy of war, reached its heyday ( \(H = 3.15\) , for Military in the Three Kingdoms period).

The linkage between political events and the prosperity and decline of the school manifested in the quantitative results. Confucianism was a school of humanism (Juergensmeyer 2005 ), while Legalism was a school that advocated legal institutions. Some scholars believe that ancient China was influenced by both Confucianism and Legalism (Zhou 2011 ; Zhao 2015 ). In Qin (221 BC - 207 BC) and Han (202 BC - 220) Dynasties, favour from the government made two schools stand out rapidly. The Shang Yang Reform (356 BC & 350 BC) and the advocation from the emperor Qin Shi Huang brought Legalism to a peak in the Qin Dynasty ( \(H = 3.67\) , for Legalism in the Qin Dynasty). However, this brief prosperity ended with the demise of the Qin Dynasty. The policy implemented in the Han Dynasty, which banned other philosophical schools and venerated Confucianism, caused the drop of \(\bar H\) and made Confucianism ( \(H = 1.73\) , for Confucianism in the Han Dynasty) exceed others ( \(H = 0.94\sim 1.23\) , other schools in the Han Dynasty). This advantage continued since then, and Confucianism had long been the dominant philosophical school in ancient China.

School influence in various domains

Confucianism and Taoism were representative schools of collectivism and individualism in ancient China (Munro 1985 ). As the two most prominent native philosophical schools, Confucianism and Taoism have often been compared. In this section, we studied the influence of Confucianism and Taoism through their intertextual distributions among various cultural domains.

Confucianism placed greater emphasis on family and social relations, whereas Taoism focused more on nature and the spirit. For most of the time since the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220), Confucianism was far superior to other schools of thought. Nevertheless, there was an anomaly in history. As shown in Fig. 6 , Taoism experienced a revival from the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) to the Jin Dynasty (266–420). In the Jin Dynasty, the status of Confucianism ( \(H = 2.14\) , for Confucianism in the Jin Dynasty) and Taoism ( \(H = 2.10\) , for Taoism in the Jin Dynasty) was very close. It stemmed from the collapse of the Han Dynasty, which advocated Confucianism. During this period, people sought to find a successor from the theories of other schools (Feng and Bodde, 1948 ). In the background, Wei Jin metaphysics developed from Taoism theory. However, this prosperity did not last long. After the brief revival, Taoism decayed while Confucianism remained the mainstream.

In addition to the diachronic investigation, we discussed the status of Confucianism and Taoism in different cultural domains according to their intertextuality with texts on related topics. History books in ancient China tended to record political events. Therefore, we took the intertextual associations with history books to indicate the political status of a school. The average Tendency Index of history books is shown in Fig. 7a . We also test whether the Tendency Index of Confucianism exceeds Taoism significantly with a one-tailed paired samples t-test. The distribution of their difference value is shown in Fig. 7b , which corresponds to normal distribution. The significance level α is set to 0.05. Confucianism exceeded Taoism significantly in the political domain ( \(P = 2.22e - 15\) , \(n = 55\) ).

figure 7

a The average Tendency Index of history books. b Difference value distribution of Tendency Index between Confucianism and Taoism among 55 history books. c The average Tendency Index of 125 classics from various cultural domains. d Difference value distribution of Tendency Index between Confucianism and Taoism among 125 classics. e Tendency Index of 125 classics towards Confucianism and Taoism, sorted by their difference value.

Although Taoism did not replace Confucianism in the political domain, it is comparable to Confucianism in broader cultural communities. We calculated the average Tendency Index of 125 classics from various cultural domains, and the result is shown in Fig. 7c . We test whether their Tendency Index is variant with a two-tailed paired samples t -test. The distribution of their difference value is shown in Fig. 7d , which corresponds to normal distribution. The significance level α is set to 0.05. There is no significant difference between Confucianism and Taoism among these classics ( \(P = 0.8014\) , \(n = 125\) , not rejecting the null hypothesis). Specifically, Fig. 7e shows the Tendency Index of 125 classics towards two schools. Among these classics, Confucianism and Taoism had respective advocacy groups. Books on politics and regulations are highly intertextual with Confucianism, while books on mythology, occultism, and medicine are close to Taoism.

These indicators show that Confucianism has advantages in the political field, while Taoism attempted to surpass Confucianism yet failed. However, Taoism was on par with Confucianism in other fields of ancient Chinese culture. Thus, it is suggested that in ancient China, the political domain was the territory of collectivism, while individualism flourished in the diverse cultural fields.

Study 3. Communication with foreign culture

At the third level, we investigated the communication between ancient China and foreign cultures, with a focus on Buddhism, one of the most influential foreign religions in ancient China. The preaching of Buddhism experienced imitation and integration (Zürcher 2007 ). We started by identifying the native schools that are most intertextual with Buddhism and then discussed the different stages of the infiltration between Buddhism and native Chinese culture.

Although the dissemination of information in ancient times was much slower than it is now, ancient China had extensive communication with foreign cultures. As a result, the cultural evolution of ancient China was not isolated. Buddhism, a religion that originated in ancient India, spread to ancient China during Han Dynasty. Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese versions, which were widely disseminated over the next millennia.

In this section, we investigated the preaching of Buddhism in ancient China through the intertextual association between Buddhist scriptures and native classics. We selected the four most influential Buddhist scriptures in ancient China ( Diamond Sutra , Lotus Sutra , Shurangama Sutra , and Avatamsaka Sutra ) as the keystone work of Buddhism and added them to the modelling. The diachronic changes of intertextual distributions reveal the evolution of cultural integration in different stages. The topics of intertextual associations show the commonalities between Buddhism and native culture.

Analogue in native cultural groups

As a newly introduced religion, Buddhism inevitably interacted with the existing native cultural groups in its preaching. Taoist religion, which developed from Taoist philosophy, was the dominant indigenous religion in China. Scholars generally believe that Buddhism and Taoism imitated each other in many ways (Mollier 2008 ), including textual scriptures, image symbols, and organization. In this study, we concentrate on textual scriptures. Figure 8a shows the Tendency Index of Buddhist scriptures towards the five native schools. Taoism is the closest native school as expected ( \(T = 1.83\) , \(P = 0.0131\) , \(n = 62693\) , for Taoism).

figure 8

Besides, we found that Buddhist scriptures borrowed language expressions from existing Chinese terms in the translations of Buddhist concepts. Figure 8b shows two cases from the detected intertextual sentences. The term “Amrita” (meaning “immortality drink”) was borrowed from the word “甘露“ (gan lu, meaning “sweet dew”) when translated into Chinese. This word refers to “rain” in the native Taoist classic Tao Te Ching . Similarly, the Chinese translation of “Sattva” (meaning “sentient beings”) employed the term “众生“ (zhong sheng, meaning “all living beings”), as found in the Taoist classic Zhuangzi .

Evolution of cultural integration

Apart from the philosophical schools, intercultural communication manifested in various aspects of society. Therefore, we expanded the horizons to broader cultural domains. In this section, we compared the intertextual associations between Buddhism and native literature before and after its introduction.

During the Jin Dynasty (266–420), these four Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese, paving the way for Buddhism to flourish in ancient China. After separating the texts before and after AD 420, we ranked native classics based on their intertextual scores with Buddhist scriptures. The top 10 classics are shown in Fig. 8c and e . We also juxtaposed Buddhism with five native schools and calculated the Tendency Index of these classics.

Before the introduction of Buddhism, its similar native classics often focused on myth and religion, implying that the Chinese version of Buddhist scriptures retained the original theme. Besides, it may attribute to their assimilation of the corresponding native literature in the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures. Specifically, three similar cases from the top three classics are shown in Fig. 8d . The Chinese version of Buddhist scriptures shares similar phrases with native myths in their discussions of mysteries, including the control of ghosts and gods, and the description of the mysterious phenomenon of “burning day and night”. It also mimicked the language expression of native religious discourses. For example, the description of the choice between justice and evil is highly consistent between Cantongqi and Avatamsaka Sutra .

After the introduction of Buddhism, Buddhist doctrines diffused into various domains of native culture. Compared to the previous period, there was an overall increase in the Tendency Index of Buddhism among the top 10 classics. It indicates the promotion of Buddhism’s influence on Chinese culture. One notable change is the emergence of three native Buddhist works. It symbolizes that Buddhism built its advocacy group in ancient China. These works remoulded Buddhism in a new cultural environment with localized doctrines. In addition to expanding its own religious territory, Buddhism integrated into other native religions (Zürcher 1980 ). For example, the top 1 work shown in Fig. 8e is the native religious classic named Xuan Zhu Lu , which deeply absorbed Buddhist theories. In terms of missionary targets, the preaching of Buddhism was not limited to ordinary people and even reached the supreme ruler, such as the Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549), which ranks third in Fig. 8e . With the advocacy of the emperor, the Liang Dynasty was the heyday of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasty (Strange 2011 ). For details, Fig. 8f shows three similar cases from the top three native classics after the introduction of Buddhism. Religious concepts from Buddhism were mixed into Chinese as new words (e.g., ten directions, immeasurable and Buddha). India’s “Ganges River” flowed into ancient China along with Buddhist scriptures.

Online platform

In this paper, we focused on the theme of cultural evolution. However, there are many other meaningful findings in our modelling results, which await further explanation by relevant scholars. Therefore, we have developed an online platform ( http://evolution.pkudh.xyz/ ) featuring an interactive visualization system that displays the corpus and intertextual sentences. This platform shows millions of intertextual cases detected in this work and provides support for further data analysis. Even researchers without programming backgrounds can gain valuable insights into our work and develop further studies using this convenient tool. We gave several screenshots of the platform in Fig. 9 .

figure 9

a Intertextual sentence browsing from corpus. b Intertextual sentence statistics and visualization within a custom collection. c Visualization of intertextual sentences distribution among different chapters of a book within a custom collection.

With the leap forward of big data and AI technology, computer-assisted cultural studies have expanded in both scale and depth. Intricate cultural problems can be discussed quantitatively with the support of large-scale data. In this paper, we used digital methods to quantify the cultural evolution of China over the past thousands of years within a large-scale corpus of ancient literature.

We gave validated results for several acknowledged cultural phenomena. The two evolutionary paths of Taoism and Confucianism, inspiring new branches of school and migrating to religious fields, were confirmed by intertextual associations. Besides, we provided quantitative evidence for the connections between the schools’ status and several historical events. It shows the intertwining of philosophical schools and politics in ancient China.

Through our analysis, we gained quantitative insights into some long-debated cultural problems. For literature with controversial school attribution, our findings suggest that Lüshi Chunqiu is a syncretic work headed by the theory of Taoism. As for literature with controversial authorship attribution, we revealed that Five Sets of Filial Piety Biographies and Book of Ministers are divergent from other works of Tao Yuanming in ideological preference. In the comparison between Confucianism and Taoism, we propose that collectivism represented by Confucianism was mainstream in the political domain, while individualism represented by Taoism was active in extensive fields of ancient Chinese culture.

Furthermore, we investigated intercultural communication between Buddhism and Chinese native culture. The results suggest that the influence of this foreign culture evolved at different stages, from imitation to integration. In the early days, Buddhism imitated similar aspects of native culture to ease resistance (Kohn 1995 ). After the initial prosperity of Buddhism in China, it was remoulded through localized Buddhist works. As time went by, Buddhism became a part of the local culture. It was evident in various cultural domains of ancient China.

Our study demonstrates that hierarchical intertextuality modelling is a promising tool for cultural analysis within the large-scale corpus. However, there are still limitations in quantitative intertextuality research on Chinese literature. The evolution of language over time presents challenges in detecting intertextuality between ancient Chinese and modern Chinese is challenging. Besides, intercultural communication from different languages requires cross-lingual detection, which is still an area that remains underexplored.

This research represents an innovative attempt to study the evolution of Chinese culture from a digital perspective. It provides new insights into the interpretation of ancient Chinese culture and raises important questions for further exploration: How did ancient Chinese culture evolve into its modern form? What was the impact of global culture on this process of evolution? To conduct more comprehensive research, interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration is necessary.

Data availability

The open-sourced code, data catalogue and online platform can be found here: https://github.com/CissyDuan/Evol . The textual data can be downloaded from open websites: http://www.xueheng.net and http://www.daizhige.org/ . The pre-trained model is accessed from an open-sourced model: https://github.com/ethan-yt/guwenbert .

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the NSFC project ‘the Construction of the Knowledge Graph for the History of Chinese Confucianism’ (Grant No. 72010107003).

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Duan, S., Wang, J., Yang, H. et al. Disentangling the cultural evolution of ancient China: a digital humanities perspective. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 310 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01811-x

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ancient china travel journal part 4

http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/pegol.html Francesco Pegolotti (1310-1347) Florentine merchant, politician who wrote accounts " The Practice of Commerce " instructing Italians how to conduct business in the East. These accounts came at a time when "The Golden Horde" was at it's peak ruling the western Mongol empire. Who is Francesco Pegolotti? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Balducci_Pegolotti See Chen Cheng (envoy to Persia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Cheng_(Ming_Dynasty ) Ma Huan and Fei Xin (chronists of Zheng He's Chinese fleet to Persia's Ormuz). See Zheng He: http://www.famouslives.com/chengho.html As a footnote to Chinese travel narratives see 1402 map, the "Kanguido" made in Korea by Ch'an Chin and Li Hui which portrays China's view as being the center of the world. http://cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/236_Kangnido.html "Yoktae chewang honil Kangnid or the Kanguido," Cartographic-images.net. Monograph 236. http://www.eacrh.net/ojs/index.php/crossroads/article/view/5/Vol1_Park_html Park Hyunhee, "A Buddhist Woodblock-printed map in 13th century China," Crossroads Studies on the History of Exchange Relations in the East Asian World, Volume 1/2, 2010. Map's Buddhist author adapted a circulating geographic representation of China but shifted it's world view to present China at the eastern edge of the Buddhist world. Also Portuguese Jesuit Bento de Gois (1562-1607) who traveled the same route 180 years later. All noted at end of this brief digplanet selection (above). See more on Bento De Gois in "Famous Foreigners in Chinese History," DrBen.net website, last updated November 15, 2012 and also in next section, 1450-1750 CE: http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/History/Foreigners/Famous_Foreigners_in_Chinese_History-Bento_De_Gois-1562-1607AD.html Chen Cheng's voyages in the context of the Yongle era military and diplomatic activity. 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Note some of envoys have left us with travel accounts of Zhen He's voyages including reference to Ma Huan. (30 pp. pdf.) http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/782 "Travels of Sir John Mandeville," (1356) Gutenberg ebook. Mandeville described the imaginary Prester John traveling throughout Asia and his travel account has been labelled as "pure hearsay." This travel chronicle was popular reading and becae a standard account of the East for several centuries. Who was Sir John Mandeville, Knight? http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361698/Sir-John-Mandeville http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/tel4/record/2000061252766 " Anthology of Travel Literature and Texts on the Orient ," Paris: 15th century (1410-1412), The European Library. http://nandinibajpai.blogspot.com/2009/01/bodhidharma-went-east.html Nandini Bajpai, "Bodhidharma Went East," Nandinibajpai blogspot, January 17, 2009. 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This review seen in "The Journal of Asian Studies," (2009), 68:1232-1235 Cambridge University Press. Stewart Gordon's book is filled with travel narratives. http://www.lib.washington.edu/SouthEastAsia/vsg/elist_2009/Travel%20Narratives.html#top "Travel Narratives" thread, Vietnam Study Group a Sub-Committee of SE Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, September 2008. Hosted by U. of Washington Library. Note discussion of travel writers and narratives in Vietnamese history.

Middle East: http://courses.umass.edu/juda373/outlines/documents/Medieval%20Travel%20Narrative.pdf Paul Zumthor, "The Medieval Travel Narrative," trans. Catherine Peebles. New Literary History, Vol. 25, No. 4, 25th Anniversary Issue (Pt. 2) (Autumn, 1994) pp. 809-24. Publisher: The John Hopkins Press. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/469375 Zumthor claims (p. 809) that the "Arab World identified and sometimes taught travel narratives as an autonomous literary genre related to the novel." And that Abu Said of Siraf was the first travel narrative author, 915 CE. http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/3735/pc/Smithsonian%20Journeys/printable/1 "Ancient Worlds of Anatolia-Recommended Reading for Travelers," Longitude (Smithsonian Journeys). First two recommendations on Turkey. http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/?p=603 "The Real Sinbad the Sailor," Silk Road Gourmet account of Abu Said of Siraf, 850-915 CE. Rabban Bar Sauma, A Nestorian Uighur, born near Beijing, travelled to Europe during the second half of the 13th c. and wrote an extensive account of Abu Said's journey. See more on Rabban Bar Sauma: http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sauma.html http://www.tutorgigpedia.com/ed/Ibn_Fadlan "Ahmad ibn Fadlan," Tutorgigpedia. Fadlan traveled from Baghdad as a refined diplomat to the Volga River Viking court in the 10th century where he observed and wrote about the Viking ship burial ritual. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/usamah2.html Usama Ibn Munqidh, Autobiography, excerpts on the Franks, 1175, Medieval Sourcebook Fordham University, Paul Halsall curator. Munqidh (1095-1188) was a chronicler, (professional soldier), poet, diplomat from the Banu Manqidh dynasty of Shaizar in northern Syria, and general for Saladin in the early crusades who dictated his travels and experiences in his Autobiography or " The Book of Contemplation ( Kitab al-itibar ) at age 90. These are excerpts as to his descriptions of the Frankish crusaders. See a biography of Munqidh in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usamah_ibn_Munqidh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade "Arab Slave Trade," wikipedia. See medieval Arabic sources, many being travel narratives, and European texts (16th-19th c.) and quotes as to Arab views of slaves, esp. African, Zanj. http://www.islamictourism.com/PDFs/Issue%202/English/06%20religous%20tourism.pdf Hassan al-Amin (Lebanese researcher and historian), "Religious Tourism in Islamic Heritage. Ibn Jubayr-Writer, Historian, and Tourist, Islamic Tourism, Issue 02, Winter 2002. Ibn Jubayr travel chronicle (1183-1185 CE) describes his pilgrimage to Mecca including a view of Saladin's Egypt and Levant and return through Sicily which had been recaptured from the Muslims a century earlier and its diversity. See Ibn Jubayr (Yabar-Ibn Jubair) travel route: Yabar-IbnJubair.PNG (563 x 229 pixels, file size: 227 KB, MIME type: image/png)

http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/344vil.html Geoffroy de Villehardouin," Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople," Internet Medieval Source Book, @ Paul Halsall, April 1996. Villehardouin (1160-1213) was one of the leaders and chroniclers of the 4th crusade and sack of Constantinople. http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/96/jean-de-joinville-and-his-biography-of-saint-louis-on-the-seventh-crusade Katherine Blakeny, "Jean De Joinville and his Biography of Saint Louis on the Seventh Crusade," Student Pulse-online academic Student Journal, Vol. 1, No. 12, 2009. See more on de Joinville's chronicle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Joinville Jean de Joinville, French knight and crusader 13th century wrote chronicle of 7th crusade into Egypt. wikipedia. http://userwww.sfsu.edu/epf/journal_archive/volume_XIX,_2010/matsushita_e.pdf Elizabeth Matsushita, "Fiction, Ideology, and Identity: Medieval Christian Depictions of the Muslim East," Ex Post Facto, Journal of the History Students at San Francisco State University, Vol. XIX, 2010. Matsushita, in this 15 pp. pdf essay, discusses crusaders and others travel accounts of the Muslim levant. http://books.google.com/books/about/Richard_The_Lionheart.html?id=LUtxKxQwRkcC David Miller, " Richard the Lion Hearted: The Mighty Crusader," Phoenix Illustrated, 2005. See references from web and book description of Richard's travels and narrative accounts in levant crusades. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904746.html S. Maqbul Ahmad, "Yaqut Al-Hamawi Al-Rumi, Shiham Aldin Abu Abdallah Yaqut ibn Abd Allah," Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography , 2008, seen in Enclyclopedia.com March 4, 2013. Yakut (1179-1229), possibly a Greek slave, born in Byzantium, trained as a merchant and accountant, freed by his Islamic owner which allowed Yaqut to travel central Asia and the Middle East writing Islamic biographies and producing his vast Geographic Dictionary in 1218. http://archive.org/details/travelsofibnjuba05ibnjuoft Ibn Jubayr, "Travels of Ibn Jubayr," Leyden, Brill, Internet Archive Ebook. Ibn Jubayr (1145-1217) was a courtier from Grenada, Spain who traveled to Saladin controlled Mecca in 1183 CE for Hajj. It is considered a "rihla" or travel account of learning, like Ibn Battuta's travel account. http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/unusual-antique-hebrew-manuscript-medieval-poet Summary of Judah al-Harizi's " Tahkemoni" seen on worthpoint ebay site. Rabbi al-Harizi was a medievel poet and traveler who recounted his travels in this narrative written between 1218-1220. http://www.tau.ac.il/tarbut/rina.drory/abodot/lit_cont.htm Rina Drory (Tel Aviv University), "Literary Contacts and Where to Find Them: On Arabic Literary Models in Medieval Jewish Literature," Poetics Today, 14:2, 1993, pp. 277-302. Dr. Drory discusses Moses ibn Ezra and travel writer and poet Judah al-Harizi (see link above) contacts with Arabic styles and works. I include this article to emphasize how travel writing and narratives are cross cultural examples of exchange and syncretism, plus giving more information on al-Harizi. See similar analysis from David A. Wacks (University of Oregon) in his Research and Teaching website on Medieval Iberian and Sephardic Culture. http://davidwacks.uoregon.edu/tag/judah-al-harizi/ Two posts, October 6, 2011 and February 23, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2054935?uid=3739728&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101562763663 G. B. Tibbetts, " A Study of the Arabic Texts Containing Material on South-East Asia," Leiden: E. J. Brill (Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund, n.s., Vol. 44), 1979. Tibbetts' research is in two parts with the 2nd being a review of Arab travelers to southeast Asia. He finds ibn Batutta most reliable as a primary source historian yet cites 9th century works such as Akhbar al-Jin wal-Hind and Aga ib al-Hind (Persian navigator Puzurg ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz wrote these) as suitable primary source travel narratives by geographers and merchants. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196206/arabs.and.the.sea.htm "Arabs and the Sea," Saudi Aramco World , 6/1962. The great Arab navigator Ibn Majid and Vasco da Gama . Ibn Majid wrote books on sea trade and navigation plying the entire expanse of the Indian Ocean in the 15th century and cites earlier Arab navigators/sailors who also wrote travel narratives about the Indian Ocean trade route such as Persian navigator Buzurg ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz who wrote about his travels to India (Hind) and China (Sin). Tibbetts also credits the 10th century geography of Abu Zaid which updated 9th c. text of Ibn Khurdadhbih as credible information on southeast Asia. http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/phil/philo/phils/muslim/biruni.html "al-Buruni-Iranian Muslim Philosopher 973-1048," The Window-Philosophy on the Internet, Trinitiy College post. al-Buruni was a diplomat, scientist and mathematician who spent 20 years traveling in India producing, amongst scientific and mathematics discourses, " Kitab al-Hind " which were his observations of India. See more: http://www.alshindagah.com/janfeb2004/albiruni.html "al-Biruni," Al Shindagah website, United Arab Emirates, January/February 2004. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0020_0_20011.html Tovia Preschel, "Travelers and Explorers," Jewish Virtual Library. Annotated discussion of Jewish travelers and explorers, including their travel narratives, from 9th century through 20th century. http://vbm-torah.org/archive/parshanut/13parshanut.htm Dr. Avigail Rock, "Great Biblical Exegetes, Lecture # 13: R. Avraham ibn Ezra, Pt. 1," The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash, trans. by Rav Yoseif Bloch. R. Avraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164 CE) was a great Jewish traveler and writer trained in the Spanish Andalusian manner. His most famous travel narrative may have been " Reshit Hokmak. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200004/the.longest.hajj.the.journeys.of.ibn.battuta-editor.s.note.htm Douglas Bullis, "The Longest Hajj: The Journeys of Ibn Battuta," Saudi Aramco World, July/August 2000. Note three part article on Ibn Battuta's travels. http://smuhlberger.blogspot.com/2012/09/ibn-battuta-imposter.html "ibn Battuta an Imposter," S. Muhlberger blogspot, 9/2012. German historian's evidence that Battuta was a fake. http://origins.osu.edu/review/journeys-other-shore-muslim-and-western-travelers-search-knowledge Mary Sitzenstatter review of Roxanne L. Euben, " Journeys to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travels in Search of Knowledge ," Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006 seen in The Ohio State Universities' "Origins" website-Current Events in Historical Perspective, February 2007. "Rihla" is a genre of Islamic travel writing that documents travel in pursuit of knowledge. Ibn Battuta and Egyptian Rifa a Rafi al-Tahtawi are travelers who exemplify this model of travel writing, ie., Rifa a Rafi al-Tahtawi's " Takhlis al-Ibriz ila Talkhis Bariz " or The Extraction of Gold from a Distillation of Paris, 1834. http://books.google.com/books/about/Islam_and_Travel_in_the_Middle_Ages.html?id=6d-gv0Lw5XwC Houari Touati, "Islam and Travel in the Middle Ages," University of Chicago Press, 2010. Scroll down this google book page to contents of the book, especially "Chronological List of Principal Travel Accounts." Rihla is a key theme in Touati's work. http://www.ibnbattuta.tv/travelMap.html Ibn Battuta, the animated series. See travel map of Ibn Battuta. Compare with:

The Travels of Ibn Battuta (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta ) http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sauma.html "The History of the Life and Travels of Rabban Sawma ," first published in 1928, University of Washington. http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/242%20Course%20Pack/2.%20Ninth/124d.%20Rabban%20Sauma.pdf Alan J. Singer, "The Travels of Bar Sauma In Asia and Europe," pdf from course pack, Hofstra University. Bar Sauma was an envoy of the Mongol Khans, a Onggud Turk Nestorian Christian. Traveled with his student Markos Yahbh-Allaha III who bacame Patriarch of Nestorian Church in Asia. Here is Rabban Sauma describing one of the most exotic and dangerous seas in the world: {Thanks to H-World post by Sebastian Stride} "And he went down to the sea [i.e. embarked on a ship] and came to the middle thereof, where he saw a mountain from which smoke ascended all the day long and in the night time fire showed itself on it. And no man is able to approach the neighbourhood of it because of the stench of sulphur [proceeding therefrom]. Some people say that there is a great serpent there. This sea is called the "Sea of Italy." Now it is a terrible sea, and very many thousands of (54) people have perished therein. And after two months of toil, and weariness, and exhaustion, RABBAN SAWMA arrived at the sea-shore, and he landed at the name of which was NAPOLI" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Medieval_Islamic_travel_writers "Medieval Islamic Travel Writers," wikipedia.org. Thirteen pages of travel writers listed alphabetically with tabs. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Ghiy%C4%81th_al-d%C4%ABn_Naqq%C4%81sh "Ghiyath al-din Naqqash," digplanet wiki. Naqqash was envoy of Timurid ruler of Persia and Transoxania to Yongle (Ming dynasty) Emperor of China (1419-1422) and who acted as official court diarist. His diary has been published as a travel narrative. http://www.ampltd.co.uk/collections_az/Med-Travel-Online/highlights.aspx "Medieval Travel Writing," Adam Matthews Publishing. Collection of digital resources on journeys to the Holy Land, India and China which includes primary sources, supporting materials, maps of routes, and Introductory essays by leading scholars with alphabetical tabs.

Europe: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/willibald.asp "Huneberc of Heidenheim: The Hodoeporican of St. Willibald, 8th Century," Paul Halsall Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University, October 1, 2000. Hunebrec was an Anglo-Saxon nun of Heidenheim. She had taken down the description of Willibald's travels from his own mouth. Willibald was a pilgrim and not a scientist or sociologist, yet the value of his Hodoeporican is it being the only narrative extant of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the 8th century forming a bridge between works of Arculfus (670) and Bernardus Morachus (865). This information from C.H. Talbot introduction to primary source (C.H. Talbot, The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany, Being the Lives of SS. Willibord, Boniface, Leoba and Lebuin together with the Hodeopericon of St. Willibald and a slection from correspondence of St. Boniface, (London and New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954). See more on Medieval Literature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_literature http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-818738-6.pdf Wendy Scase, "'Now you see it; now you don't': Nation, Identity, and Otherness," University of Birmingham, nd. Wendy Scase discusses Medieval English travel writing and documenting England and Wales including John Leland in her review of essays in 4th Volume of "New Medieval Literatures." http://pims.ca/pdf/st172.pdf James P. Carley, ed., De uiris illustribus /On Famous Men-British Writers of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, Bodleian Library, Univeristy of Oxford, 2010. Leland is discussed in this excerpt as father of English topography due to his constant travels through England and Wales. The topographical information was derived from his field notes never intended for publication. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en "The Saga of Erik the Red," Icelandic Saga Database, 1880, English., transl. J. Sephton, from the original 'Eiriks saaga rauoa'. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/nda/nda20.htm "Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni," 1005 CE from "The Norse Discovery of America," A.M. Reeves, N.L. Beamish and R.B. Anderson [1906], at sacred-texts.com. Karlsefni and his wife Gudrid travel accounts are second only to the Saga of Erik the Red. http://www.medievalists.net/category/travel/ "Travel," Medievalist website. Travel narratives focused on medieval European sites. http://travelwriterstales.com/france-medieval.htm Karoline Cullen, "Travels in medieval southwest France," Travel Writer's Tales. See photos and guide book to southwest French medieval sites. http://the-orb.net/textbooks/anthology/beidler/life.html Dr. Peter G. Beidler (Lehigh University), "Chapter One of Backgrounds to Chaucer," The ORB: on-line reference Book for Medieval Studies, 2001. Biography information as to Chaucer as travel writer and Canterbury Tales as a travel narrative. Beidler claims, "Boccaccio's wonderful DeCameron probably suggested to Chaucer the idea of a group of travelers entertaining each other while on a journey..." http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/Margery%20Kempe%20and%20Julian%20of%20Norwich.html Arnie Sanders, "Margery Kempe's and Julian of Norwich," Goucher College English Department syllabus, 2012. Dr. Sanders claims Margery Kempe's (1373-1440) was not a travel writer, but her autobiography details her travels as told to three "ghostwriters." Yet today, many argue that Kempe's was a travel writer and her autobiography was an oral travel narrative. http://www.women-on-the-road.com/early-womens-travel-writing.html#top "Early Women's Travel Writing," Women on the Road. Short article, really an ad for Women on the Road book which shows change over time of women's travel writing by Ban Zhao, Endocia Augusta, Sugarawara no Takasue no musume, Gulbadan Bigam who wrote journals and diaries while traveling with their husbands to women like Elizabeth Craven, Marie Catherine le Jumel de Barneville, Mariana Starke, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Mary Crommelin who traveled alone. http://openlibrary.org/works/OL7245243W/To_Russia_and_return "To Russia and Return, " an annotated bibliography of travelers' English Language accounts of Russia from the 9th century to the present" compiled by Harry W. Nerhood (c) 1968 Ohio State University Press, Library of Congress Catalogue Card # 67-22737. (thanks to AP European history colleague Steve McCarthy) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruy_Gonz%C3%A1les_de_Clavijo "Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo," Wikipedia. Castillian traveler and writer sent to court of Timur from 1403-1405. He died in 1412 and his diary, travel narrative, was published in Spanish in 1582 and in English in 1859.

Africa: http://college.cengage.com/history/primary_sources/world/book_routes_realms.htm Abu Ubaydallah al-Bakri, (excerpt) " The Book of Routes and Realms," from Houghton Mifflin Company's History Companion. al-Bakri (d. 1094) travel account from earlier geographic accounts and named informants who had traveled to Ghana. al-Bakri never left his native Andalusian Spain.

Americas: http://archaeology.about.com/od/ancientwriters/Ancient_Writers.htm "Ancient Writers," Archaeology About.com. Spanish Travel Writers in New World. http://www.athenapub.com/pane1.htm Fray Ramon Pan'e: Recording the Taino Customs and Beliefs," Athena Review, Vol. 1, no. 3. Christopher Columbus ordered Father Pan'e to record/investigate the cultural "habits" of the Taino natives. http://books.google.com/books/about/An_account_of_the_antiquities_of_the_Ind.html?id=ylpahoEeajkC (Google EBook) Fray Ramon Pane, "An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians: A New Edition, with an Introductory Study, Notes, and Appendices ," by Jose Juan Arrom. Fray Ramon Pane traveled with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage (1494) to the Americas and he was assigned to live with the Taino natives and record their beliefs and habits. http://frontiertrails.com/america/firstbook.html "Frontier Trails of America," hosted by atjeu publishing @ 2000. Brief bibliography of "First America Books." Travel narratives. See Fray Ramon Pane's account of the Taino natives on Columbus's second voyage, 1494. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/contact/text7/casas_destruction.pdf Bartolom'e de las Casas, " A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies," written in 1542, published in 1552, National Humanities Center. de las Casas wrote his indictment of the Spanish in the New World without permission of the Inquisition. He traveled to the Indies early and often, knew Columbus and was editor of the Admiral's Journal. http://www.thing.net/~grist/ld/bot/boturini.htm Karl Young, "The Last Pages of Codex Boturini," @1982 and 1999. The Codex Boturini is a migration history of the Aztec people. See Annenber Learner module on this travel narrative at the end of this article in "Lessons" section. http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Narratives-Age-Discovery-Anthology/dp/0195155971#reader_0195155971 Peter C. Mancall, editor, " Travel Narratives From The Age of Discovery: An Anthology," Oxford University Press, 2006. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=12840 Sebastain Barreveld (Stanford University), "Teaching Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Travel Literature," review of Peter C. Mancall, ed., Travel Narratives From Age of Discovery: An Anthology , New York: Oxford University Press, 2006 first published in H-Travel, February 2007 seen in H-Net online 2007. http://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Personal/Books/Camoes-Lusiads/ " Lusiads by Luiz Vaz de Camoes," Brown University, April 2007. The "shifty" Portuguese poet and travel writer (1597), Camoes, and his work analyzed in this short piece from Brown University. At the time of his travel narratives Portugal was the major seafaring nation on the globe. http://spanish.colorado.edu/content/volume-3-travel-narratives-latin-america-columbus-new-age "Volume 3: Travel Narratives in Latin America: From Columbus to the New Age," Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder. Primary sources in Spanish. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Gaspar_de_Carvajal Gaspar de Carvajal, Dominican Priest who wrote about an ill-fated journey down the Amazon River in 1542, digplanet.com. http://gradworks.umi.com/32/87/3287103.html Beatriz Carolina Pena, "Images of the New World in Travel Narratives (1599-1607) of friar Diego de Ocana," Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York, 2007. UMI Pro Quest Dissertations & Theses. Read abstract of paper and then one can order complete dissertation, or if your library subscribes to ProQuest (PWDT) database you may be entitled to free copy, or can read a free 24 pp. pdf Preview in Spanish. http://www.common-place.org/vol-07/no-04/author/   Peter C. Mancall, " The Architect of Colonial Desires:  Richard Hakluyt and the English in America,"   "Common-Place," Ask the Author, Vol. 7, No. 4, July 2007. http://www.hakluyt.org/about/ Hakluyt Society website with plans to produce Hakluyt's The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation (2nd edition 1598-1600). Hakluyt's work is most likely the most important piece of travel writing in English history. See more on Hakluyt Society: http://www.hakluyt.com/ Hakluyt Society. http://www.hakluyt.com/hak-soc-bibliography.htm Hakluyt Society bibliography 1847-2011. http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/hakluyt.html Richard Hakluyt And from an H-World post below: Posted August 7, 2012. From: Guido van Meersbergen [email protected] University College London On behalf of the Hakluyt Society, publisher of travel accounts and geographical literature since 1846, I would like to inform you about the Society's latest publication: Pedro Páez's History of Ethiopia , 1622, ed. Isabel Boavida, Hervé Pennec and Manuel João Ramos, transl. Christopher J. Tribe, 2 vols (Farnham, UK and Burlington, VT, USA, 2011–12). 966pp, 19 b&w illns, ISBN 978-1-908145-02-4 (hbk), £100.00 (Website price: £90.00). The Historia da Etiópia by the Spanish Jesuit missionary Pedro Páez (1564–1622) offers a rich eyewitness account of early modern Portuguese missions to East Africa. An essential source for the study of Catholic missions to Ethiopia, relations between European religious orders, and ethnographic writing, it also sheds light on the political and territorial administration of Ethiopia and the political geography, ecology, flora and fauna of the Horn of Africa, southern Arabia and the western Indian Ocean region. This English translation, by Christopher J. Tribe was edited by Isabel Boavida, Hervé Pennec and Manuel João Ramos, the editors of the 2008 Portuguese critical edition upon which the translation is based. The Hakluyt Society's edition makes this important exemplar of seventeenth-century Jesuit writing on Ethiopia available to an international audience. It complements other early accounts of Ethiopia by Ludovico de Varthema, Francisco Alvares, Castanhoso, Bermudez, Arnold von Harff, Manoel de Almeida, Bahrey, Alessandro Zorzi, Jerónimo Lobo and Václav Prutky, all published by the Hakluyt Society. For further information or to order a copy, visit: http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781908145024

For the Hakluyt Society, see: http://www.hakluyt.com/ http://www.facebook.com/HakluytSociety https://twitter.com/HakluytSociety With very best wishes, Guido van Meersbergen (PhD-student at University College London) http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/modernity/travel.html "Origins of Modernity-Travel Literature," University of Sydney Library (Australia), 1540-1800 online exhibition from Rare Book Library at University of Sydney. This section on travel literature. See example of Samuel Purchas (1577-1626) English compiler of travel accounts and contemporary of Richard Hakluyt: http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/modernity/purchas.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Purchas "Samuel Purchas," Wikipedia. English compiler, editor of British travel narratives. His third book was an effort to complete Richard Hakluyt works after Hakluyt's death in 1616. Purchas' first volume " Purchas His Pilgramage," 1613 was one of the sources of inspiration for Willliam Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" poem. See analysis of "Kubla Khan" by Jalal Uddia Khan, "Coleridge's 'Kubal Khan:' a new historicist study," The Free Library, Jan. 1, 2012: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Coleridge%27s+Kubla+Khan%3a+a+new+historicist+study.-a0302403821 See more on Coleridge in next period-1750-1900 or in Lesson's section at end of this article. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh//aia/part1/1i3023.html "Betty Wood on the propaganda to settle the New World," Resource Book/Page for PBS documentary "Africans in the New World: The Terrible Transformation," Pt. 1-4 (1450-1865). Oxford University historian, Dr. Wood, helped prepare resources and European travel accounts as to written propaganda to secure investment capital and to persuade people to travel to the dangerous New World. See Teacher's Guide: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh//aia/tguide/1index.html http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/travel-as-metaphor Georges Van den Abbeele, " Travel as Metaphor From Montaigne to Rousseau," University of Minnesota Press, 1991. Short description and review of book. http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/rmds/portfolio/gordon/travel/ "French Travel Narratives in the Renaissance," Gordon Collection, University of Virginia Library. Jean de Lery, Andre Thevet, Charles Estienne, and Abel Jouan travel narratives can be viewed as digital facsimiles in this portfolio. http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/index.php?type=travelwriter&id=2 "Bernal Diaz," Mariners' Museum section on Travel writers. Diaz accounts of the Spanish colonization of the Americas is titled "The Conquest of New Spain." See other European explorer writers listed on right side of synopsis of Diaz and include Theodore de Bry, Antonio Pigafetta, Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes amongst others. See "Activities" tab on upper right of this page-teacher lessons. (Also seen in Lessons section of this article below) http://books.google.com/books/about/Lieutenant_Nun.html?id=FAtuo0MYVZwC Catalina de Eranso (Trans. by Michele Stepto and Gabriel Stepto), " Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World," Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. Catalina de Eranso (1585-1650) travel memoir of a Spanish nun turned battle hardened soldier in the Americas where she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant at Valdiva in the southern Andes. See more: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lieutenantnun/context.html Catalina de Eranso's Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World," Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. Lessons from Sparknotes. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-dVVITqWJ-QC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=travel+narratives+in+dialogue&ots=WUmywQbfwa&sig=kP0Ya3JDJ1n6yI6pJVm-TB2QSJY#v=onepage&q=travel%20narratives%20in%20dialogue&f=false Google Book-Mary C. Fuller, Voyages in Print: English Travel to America 1576-1624 , Cambridge University Press, 1995. Mary Fuller focuses on printed texts which were generated by and helped to generate English entry into American discovery and colonization, specifically from Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Discourse of Discovery to John Smith's Generall Historie. http://www.americanjourneys.org/ "Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement: A Digital Library and Learning Center," 2011 Wisconsin Historical Society. Resources and primary documents from the Vikings to Mountain Men explorations and settlement in American history. http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/culture_gallery/explorers/detorres.asp "Luis Vaez de Torres," Pacific Explorers Library, Pacific Island Travel website, 2007. Torres Strait named after this explorer who's documents and jounal found after his death. http://www.broadviewpress.com/product.php?productid=782&cat=0&page=1 Oldest American sea farer autobiography edited by Daniel Vickers. 1728 ff. Broad View Press. http://books.google.com/books/about/Colonian_American_Travel_Narrative.html?id=hyHPRok2FnsC Wendy Martin, ed., " Colonial American Travel Narratives," (Google eBook), Penguin, 1994. Four journeys by Mary Rowlandson, Sarah Kemble Knight, William Byrd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton recounted as primary source documents detailing the rugged colonial American landscape. http://www.archive.org/stream/jesuits59jesuuoft/jesuits59jesuuoft_djvu.txt Reuben Gold Thwaites (Wisconsin Historical Society), ed., " The Jesuit relations and allied documents: Travel and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France 1610-1791, Volume 59 ," Cleveland: the Burrows Brother's Company/Imperial Press, 1900. Full Text seen in Internet Archive. See also " The Jesuit Relations," Athabasca University Library (Canada). The Jesuit Relations were 73 volumes of letters and reports which Jesuit missionaries wrote back to France over a forty year period from New France. The first Jesuit mission was in Acadia in 1611. http://canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/jrelations/jrelations.php See complete The Jesuit Relations link at bottom of this page. http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Jesuits_1534_1921.html?id=S4MsAAAAYAAJ (Google Book) Thomas Joseph Campbell, "The Jesuits 1534-1921: a history of the Society of Jesus from its foundation to   the present time," Encyclopedia Press, 1921, Digitized September 9, 2008, 937 pages. http://www.historiclakes.org/S_de_Champ/S_de_Champlain.html James P. Millard, "Samuel de Champlain Adventures in New France," America's Historic Lakes-the Lake Champlain and Lake George Historic Site, 2009. See links to Champlain's other volumes within this page. Note Champlain's 16 year old indentured servant, Etienne Brule, experiences living with the Huron recorded by Champlain below. http://www3.sympatico.ca/goweezer/canada/z16brule1.htm "Etienne Brule-Life Among the Hurons," Sympatico (Canada). Etienne Brule, the first courreur-de-bois (runner of the woods) lived with the Quebec Hurons in the early 17the century and his verbal accounts were recorded by Samuel Champlain and Jesuits.

Africa: http://erea.revues.org/703 Tabish Khair, Martin Leer, Justin Edwards & Hanna Ziadeh, eds., " Other Routes-1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing," Signal Books, 2006. Collection of non-European African and Asian Travel Writing. http://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/orgs/e3w/volume-12-spring-2012/2012-general-section/connie-steel-on-the-anatomy-of-blackness "Connie Steel on 'The Anatomy of Blackness," E3W Review of Books, Volume 12, Spring 2012 seen on dwrl.utexas.edu site.  Review of Andrew Curran, " The Anatomy of Blackness," John Hopkins University Press, 2011.  Curran analyzes the writing of "blackness" or the figure of the 'negre' by canonical authors in the French Enlightenment. http://dannyreviews.com/h/Africa_Discovery_Europe.html   David Northrup, " Africa's Discovery of Europe 1450-1850," Oxford University Press, 2002 review by dannyreviews, Danny Yee's Book Reviews 2008.  Northrup's book includes many travel narratives, especially of Africans and their views of the colonial Europeans. http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/guide/afr-encounters.html   "African Peoples' Encounters with Others," African Collections-Library of Congress An Illustrated Guide, November 15, 2010.  See many resources, travel accounts of African encounters with Europe and the Americas-1300's ff. http://www.unc.edu/~ottotwo/blackatlantic.html Review by Kathryn Rummell of " Black Atlantic World of the 18th Century:  Living the New Exodus in England and the Americas ," ed. by Adam Potkay & Sandra Burr, The Journal of African Travel Writing, Number 1, September 1996, pp. 94-95. http://www.ampltd.co.uk/collections_az/SlaveMorice/highlights.aspx "Slave Trade Journals and Papers," Adam Matthews Publications.  Oversight of these sources by David Richardson, University of Hull (UK).  Slave Journals of Humphrey Morice (1671?-1731) leading British slave trader. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/mysteries-of-great-zimbabwe.html   Peter Tyson, "Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe," Nova, PBS, posted February 22, 2000. Note 1552 reference in Portuguese history Da Asia by Joao de Barros, who did not travel to the Shona homeland, but surmised that the edifice was Axuma, one of the cities of the Queen of Sheba.  In 1931, Gertrude Caton-Thompson revealed the truth. http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/Portugal/Imperial.html   "Portugal and Renaissance Europe-Imperial Portugal and European Printing:  Propaganda, Epics, and the Writing of History," The John Carter Brown Library, Brown University @ 2008.  See reference to Joao de Barros and travel accounts Fernas Lopes de Castanheda's (d. 1559) " History of the Portuguese Discovery and Conquest of India." Castanheda had sailed to Goa in 1528 as a Portuguese scribe returning to Portugal in 1538.  See also Luis de Camoes who served in Portugal India 1553-1570 and who earlier had lost an eye to a splinter fighting in Africa 1546-1549. de Camoes 1570 " Lusiads," was an epic poem combining history, current events, mythology and imagination. Other travel Portuguese travel accounts in Africa (specifically Mutapa or Shona Kingdom) can be found in Joaodos Santos (1625), Antonio Sequeira and Gaspar Azevedo who write about the "chibadi" or Mutapa men who dress like women.  Also, the early Portuguese "backwoodsmen" or sertanejo who traveled into the interior of the Shona kingdom 1512-1516 are interesting stories also seen in Joao de Barros Da Asia. http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8727.html   Luis de Camoes, "The Collected Lyric Poems of Luis de Camoes," trans. by Landeg White, Princeton University Press, 2008.  Camoes poetry where he describes his travels all over the globe, including 16th century Africa.  See more of "exile" travels of Camoes:  http://www.catholicity.com/encyclopedia/c/camoes,luis_vaz_de.html   J.D.M Ford, "Luis Vaz de Camoes," (or Camoens), Catholic City @ 1996-2013 from the Catholic Encyclopedia.             http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/788/bo9.htm Hicham Safieddine, "Discover the World Through non-European Eyes," Al-Ahram, March 30-April 5, 2006. Review of " Other Routes-1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing." http://www.hindu.com/lr/2006/02/05/stories/2006020500050100.htm Soma Basu, "Different Journeys and Destinations," The Hindu, February 5, 2006. Review of " Other Routes." http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35738/35738-h/35738-h.htm Gomes Eannes de Azurara, The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, Vol. I, originally published by the Hakluyt Society, trans. by Charles Raymond Beazley and Edgar Prestage. Published in Portugal for the King 1463. de Azurara spent a year in Guinea studying the scenes of which he would describe as to Portuguese exploration and settlement of Guinea. Gutenberg Book. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/leo_afri.asp "Leo Africanus: Description of Timbuktu from 'The Description of Africa' (1526), Fordham.edu. El Hasan ben Muhammed el-Wazzan-ez-Zayyati born in Moorish Granda 1485 expelled in 1492 travelled throughout North Africa into sub-Saharan Ghana. Captured by Christian pirates and presented to Renaissance Pope Leo X who freed him to write about Africa. http://www.historytoday.com/jos-damen/dutch-letters-ghana Jos Damen, "Dutch Letters From Ghana," History Today, August 2012. Willem van Focquenbroch d. 1670 and Jacobus Capitein d. 1747 lived in Dutch colony on Gold Coast (now part of Ghana). http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=SERP&br=ro&mkt=en-US&dl=en&lp=NL_EN&a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.focquenbroch.nl%2f Capitein was black man who supported slavery and attempted to convert Blacks to Christianity. Living in different centuries, Focquenbroch and Capitein leave us travel narratives giving us insight into the Dutch colony on the Gold Coast (now called Ghana) in the 17th and 18th centuries.

South Asia: http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Abdur_Razzaq "Abdu Razzaq," digplanet.com/wiki. Abdu Razzaq (1413-1482), Persian Timirud ambassador's chronicles describing his travels to India. http://hssthistory.blogspot.in/2011/06/accounts-of-abdur-razzak.html "Accounts of Abdur Razzak," History Blog from the Department of History, Unity Women's College, Manjeri, June 21, 2011. Abdu Razzaq or Abdur Razzak travel accounts of southern India (History of Kerala). http://www.amitavghosh.com/essays/love_war.html Amitav Ghosh, "Love and War in Afghanistan and Central Asia: The Life of the Emperor Babur," Amitav Ghosh website, 2002. An Amitav Ghosh essay critiquing and analyzing Babur's military memoir (travel narrative), " Babarnama." Ghosh ranks Babur's memoirs along with Xenophon and Julius Caesar's memoirs. See this history at: http://archive.org/stream/baburnamainengli01babuuoft/baburnamainengli01babuuoft_djvu.txt " Baburnama in English," Internet Archive. Complete Baburnama memoir in English. First Mughal emperor Babur (1483-1530). http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Lifestyle%20sport%20%20leisure/Travel%20%20holiday/Travel%20writing/Classic%20 travel%20writing/Visions%20of%20Mughal%20India%20An %20Anthology%20of%20European%20Travel%20Writing.aspx Michael H. Fisher and William Dalrymple, " Visions of Mughal India: An Anthology of European Travel Writers," I.B. Tauris, 2007. I.B. Tauris website description of Fisher and Dalrymple's ten carefully chosen travel narratives of Renaissance Europeans to Mughal India. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Ramusio   "Giovanni Battista Ramusio," digplanet wiki.  Ramusio (1485-1557) was the editor of travel books, geographer, and a diplomat  representing the Venetian government. http://books.google.com/books/about/Giovanni_Battista_Ramusio_and_the_Histor.html?id=15k0MlswzhEC   (Google Book) Jerome Randall Barnes, "Giovanni Battista Ramusio and the History of Discoveries:  An Analysis of Ramusio's Commentary, Cartography, and Imagery in 'Delle Navigation Et Viaggi,'" ProQuest, 2007. http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/20454064/1531355876/name/Fisher%282007%29.pdf Michael H. Fisher, "From India to England and Back: Early Indian Travel Narratives for Indian Readers." Fisher, in this 20+ page pdf essay discusses Indian travel writing since 1600. See India and Asia travel writers and travel accounts in Dr. Fisher's footnotes. Also see more Indian travel writers, such as Dean Mahomet in next section 1750-1900. http://www.amazon.com/narrative-transactions-Soobahdaries-Translated-original/dp/1140889729 Salim Allah Munshi, " A narrative of the transactions in Bengal, during the Soobahdaries of Azeen Us Shah,...Translated from original Persian by Francis Gladwin, Esq . originally published in Calcutta: from the press of Stuart and Cooper, 1788 and more recently Gale ECCO, Print edition, May 28, 2010. Account and ledger book which is primary source record of British East India Company travels and business written by a "munshi" or Persian accountant/interpreter working with the English East India Company. Thus business accounts as travel narrative. See more on the history and workings of a munshi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munshi "Munshi," wikipedia.org. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_alam_subramanyam_munshi.pdf Muzaffar Alam & Sanjay Subrahmanyam, "The Making of a Munshi," Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 24:2 (2004). http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk/display/1382030 Natasha Eatan, "Imaging Empire: the trafficking of art and aesthetics in British India c. 1722-c. 1795," PhD thesis for the University of Warwick (UK), 2000, dissertation provided by Warwick Research Archives Portal Repository. Ms. Eatan's thesis paper could be interpreted as "Art as travel narrative" between England and Mughal India in the 18th century. http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&title_id=&edition_id= 22247&calcTitle=1 Chloe Houston (University of Reading, UK), ed., " New Worlds Reflected-Travel and Utopia in the Early Modern Period , Asghate, 2010. http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=r_gould Abdulghani and Mirzoev, "Facts of the history of literary contacts between Mawarannahr and India in the second half of the 16th and at the beginnings of the 17th centuries," XXVI International Congress of Orientalists-Papers Presented by the Russian delegation, Moscow: January 1963, seen in the Selected Works website of Rebecca Gould. Poets to India. http://www.amazon.com/In-Lands-Christians-Writing-Century/dp/0415932289 Nabil Matar, " In the Lands of the Christians, Routledge, 2002. Arab Travel writing in the 17th century by Christian and Muslim travelers. See reviews and book description.

Asia: http://www.enotes.com/eighteenth-century-travel-narratives-essays/eighteenth-century-travel-narratives "Introduction: Eighteenth Century Travel Narratives," eNotes, Literary Criticism (1400-1800), Gale Cengage @2002. See tabs on left for more travel narratives. http://books.google.com/books/about/An_Account_of_Tibet.html?id=HEx9Xg78YNoC Ippolito Desideri, " An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia S.J. 1712-1727 ," Asian Education Services, January 1, 1996. See google book cotents cited quotations. See more on the Jesuit Italian missionary (1684-1733): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ippolito_Desideri http://suite101.com/article/the-bold-and-the-beautifulearly-women-travel-writers-a333194 Posted by Chris Schmidt, "The Bold and the Beautiful-Early Women Travel Writers," seen in Suite101.com, January 16, 2011. Women travel writers from 1600's. http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num1/6_turkistan.php Nathan Light (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio), "Annotated Bibliography of the History and Culture of Eastern Turkistan, Jungharia/Zungaria/Dzungaria, Chinese Central Asia, and Sinkiang/Xinjiang (for the 16th-20th centuries CE, excluding most travel narratives," Silk Road Foundations newsletter, nd. Travel accounts related to formal expeditions are included. http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num1/8_khataynameh.php "Last document of the Silk Road by Khataynammeh," Silk Road Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1. http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Sources/China_Maps/China_Empire_History/Map-EurAsian_Trade_Routes-1200-1300AD-1A.html "Map-EurAsian Trade Routes-1200-1300 AD," drben.net China Report website. Large topographical map of Silk Road. See DrBen Home: http://www.drben.net/ http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-68535764/basho-and-the-mastery-of-poetic-space-in-oku-no-hosomichi Steven D. Carter, "Basho and the Mastery of Poetic Spaces in Oku No Hosomichi ," The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 120, No. 2, April-June 2000, seen in questia in partial form, ie., the beginning of the article. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) wrote six travel accounts and Carter claims he is the best of Japanese travel writers following in tradition of Ki No Tsurayuki who wrote the Tosa Diary in 735 CE. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Matsuo_Basho "Matsuo Basho," National Geographic Geopedia, June 17, 2008. Introduction by Michelle Harris to series of articles on Japanese Edo period poet (1644-1689) famous for his travels, haiku (hokku) and renku poetry. http://books.google.com/books/about/Mapping_early_modern_Japan.html?id=y1mPhE8885kC Marcia Yonemoto, " Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period, 1603-1868," University of California Press, 2003. See travel writing chapters available as excerpts on books.google.com. http://www.fabula.org/actualites/m-harrigan-veiled-encounters-representing-the-orient-in-17th-century-french-travel-literature_26354.php M. Harrigan, " Veiled Encounters. Representing the Orient in 17th Century French Travel Literature," fabula, Rodopi, Collection "Faux Titre," 2010 EAN 13: 9789042024762. http://goodjesuitbadjesuit.blogspot.com/2012/01/bento-de-gois-sj-seeking-cathay-he.html "Bento de Gois S.J., Seeking Cathay he Found Heaven," Good Jesuit Bad Jesuit blog, January 2012. Jesuit de Gois sent to China to see if Marco Polo was telling the truth. See de Gois travel narratives:

Góis, Bento, In Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China , translated and edited by Henry Yule, 2 vols, 1866 and Góis, Bento, " The Travels of Benedict Goëz, a Portuguese Jesuit" in A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels , edited by John Pinkerton, 1808[-]14: vol. 7. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/10185/1/MatteoRicci.pdf Francesco Guardiani, "The West Shall Shake the East Awake-Matteo Ricci (1552-1610). A Jesuit in China," University of Toronto Library, nd. Guardiani highlights Ricci's travels in China and comments on his travel writing, ie., Letters, Commentaries ,or rather On the Entry of the Society of Jesus and Christendom in China.

Europe: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yUOGQSpUmwgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&ots=PvJz7x7s8N&sig=Tu9A-P18I Y5PorjXmHDg_GuDAYc#v=onepage&q&f=false (Google Book) Kumkum Chatterjee and Clement Hawes, eds., " Europe Observed: Multiple Gazes in Early Modern Encounters," New Jersey: Associate University Presses @ 2008 by Rosemount Publishing & Printing Company. Chatterjee and Hawes gather multiple perspectives of travelers from outside Europe and their views of c. 1350-1800 Europe. (see selected passages in this google book). http://www.stm.unipi.it/Clioh/tabs/libri/7/03-Esser_33-48.pdf Raingard E B er (University of the West of England, Bristol), "Cultures in Contact: The Representation of the 'Other' in Early Modern German Travel Narratives," July 2003. Dr. E B er's article (17 pp. pdf) is the first chapter of this essay in which he discusses the historiography of 'otherness' in German literature and history and, secondly, analyzes the German agenda on "intercultural research" especially through the collection of travel narratives published by the de Bry family in Frankfurt. The focus in on the 16th and 17th centuries. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=11204 Kersten Horn (Department of Anthropology and Language, University of Missouri-St. Louis) review of Elio Brancaforte, "Visions of Persia: Mapping the Travels of Adam Olearius," Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Published on H-German (October 2005) as "The Interplay between Maps, Illustrations, and Texts in the World of Adam Olearius." Adam Olearius was a German author, artist, cartographer, and traveler (1633-1639) who journeyed into the Persian East. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/bell_john.htm "Significant Scots-John Bell," Electricscotland.com. Account of early eighteenth century traveler John Bell, born in 1691 trained in medicine, and traveller to Russia where he was employed by the Russian court to join expeditions to Central Asia, Siberia and China. His one travel narrative was " Travels from St. Petersburgh in Russia to Various Parts of Asia," 2 Vols., 1763. http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Songs_and_Travels_of_a_Tudor_Minstre.html?id=uj3aBbVG5IMC Andrew Taylor, " The Songs and Travels of a Tudor Minstrel: Richard Sheale of Tamworth," Boydell & Brewer Ltd., 2012. Taylor examines Richard Sheales' English travel narrative to shed more light on the importance and significance of minstrel singers, ie., he was not a simple busker, beggar or thief. Wikipedia disagrees: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sheale

Middle East: https://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/BI/hst388-schmidt/art.pdf Amanda Wunder (U. of Wisconsin-Madison), "Western Travelers, Eastern Antiquities, and the Image of the Turk in early Modern Europe," seen on Dr. Schmidt's History site, U. of Washington Library. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/06/12/the-arab-world-s-greatest-travel-writer.html "The Arab World's Greatest Travel Writer," The Daily Beast, 6/12/2012. Ottoman Turk Evliya Celebi b. 1611, travelled for 45 years writing about his experiences until he dies in Egypt. His travels and writings places him on par with Marco Polo and ibn Battuta. http://www.thelongridersguild.com/anatolian.htm "The Evliya Celebi Way Project-In the Steps of Historical Long Rider Evliya Celebi," The Long Rider's Guild, 2011. Several scholars and plantsmen followed Celebi's tracks to honor his travels. In 2011 UNESCO honored the Turk traveler naming 2011 the Year of Evliya Celebi. See Evliya Celebi website with excellent map of his route: http://cultureroutesinturkey.com/c/evliya-celebi-way/ http://www.hum.uu.nl/medewerkers/m.vanbruinessen/publications/Evliya_Celebi_Kurdistan.htm Martin van Bruinessen, "Kurdistan in the 16th and 17th centuries, as reflected in Evlija Celebi's ' Seyahatname ,'" The Journal of Kurdish Studies 3 (2000), 1-11. References to Sharaf Khan Bidlisi, " Sharafname," travel narrative written 60 years before Celebi's 10 thick volumes, " Book of Travels (Seyahatname)." http://kurdistanica.com/?q=node/10 See information on Sharaf Khan Bidlisi: Professor M. R. Izady, "Prince Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi," Kurdistanica.com, February 24, 2008. The Sharafname is a collection of dynastic histories and is the single most important surviving text on Kurdistan history and people. http://www.hindu.com/br/2008/08/19/stories/2008081950161500.htm (Book Review) Kanakalatha Mukund, "Travel Encounters," The Hindu, August 19, 2008. Mukund reviews Muzaffer Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, "Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries 1400-1800, New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2007. The two authors focus on non-Western Travel Literature, especially between Persia and India, which exists in large volume yet is unpublicized. http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_three_Brothers.html?id=w2VCAAAAcAAJ (Google Ebook) " The Three Brothers: Or, the Travels and Adventures of Sir Anthony, Sir Robert & Sir Thomas Sherley, in Persia, Russia, Turkey, Spain, etc.," Hurst, Robinson, 1825. Digitized May 4, 2010. The Sherley brother's travel accounts were also turned into an early Jacobean era stage play written in 1607 entitled, "The Travels of the Three English Brothers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_the_Three_English_Brothers The Shirley brothers are referred to as "fortune hunters" in Safavid accounts. See the historical context for Safavid dynasty desire/motivation to hire the Shirley brothers to help modernize their military in 1598 by seeing their military defeats after taking Persia in 1502: http://fouman.com/Y/Get_Iranian_History_Today.php?eraid=19 "The Iranian History Era, Safavid Dynasty 1502-1736 AD," Iranian History. http://teachmiddleeast.lib.uchicago.edu/historical-perspectives/middle-east-seen-through-foreign-eyes/antiquity-modern/image-resource-bank/image-13.html "Middle East Through Foreign Eyes/Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century," Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators @ 2010 The Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago, page updated 12/29/2010. Image of Robert Shirley and his wife in Persia. http://wasalaam.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/history-reality-and-the-ottomans/ "History, Reality and the Ottomans," SEYFETTIN-The Travelogues of a Traveler blogsite, April 12, 2008. Discussion as to European travel writing on the Ottomans and Ottoman territories.

Middle East: http://www.odsg.org/Said_Edward(1977)_Orientalism.pdf "Said, Edward (1977) Orientalism , London:  Penguin."  365 pp. pdf. Said's classic analysis of Western views toward the Middle East with much of that perspective shaped by colonial era travel writers and their narrative accounts. http://rbedrosian.com/Trav/trav.html Dr. Robert G. Bedrosian, "Traveller's Accounts: Journeys to the Armenian Highlands and Neighboring Lands in the 17th and early 20th centuries," last updated April 29, 2012. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ordeal-of-elizabeth-marsh-linda-colley/1100618678 Linda Colley's, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh connects Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean shipping through the presence of the British navy and the experience of one family. Marsh (1735-1785) was first women to publish in English from Morocco and also wrote travel narratives from southern India. http://www.nysun.com/arts/around-the-world-with-elizabeth-marsh/61493/ Matthew Price, "Around the world with Elizabeth Marsh," NY Sun, August 29, 2007. Price book review of Linda Colley's The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh, Harper Perennial, 2008. http://books.google.com/books/about/Great_women_travel_writers.html?id=tUB2gFL3Y6sC (Google EBook) Alba Della Fazia Amoia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp, eds., " Great Women Travel Writers:  From 1750 to the Present," Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201301/the.explorations.of.fr.d.ric.cailliaud.htm Andrew Bednarski and W. Benson Harer Jr., "The Explorations of Frederic Cailliaud," Saudi Aramco World, Jan/Feb 2013.  Early 19th century French explorer, scientist and popular French journal writer traveled through Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. http://books.google.com/books/about/On_the_desert.html?id=jS9PAAAAYAAJ (Google EBook) Henry Martyn Field, "On the desert: a narrative of travel from Egypt through the wilderness of Sinai to Palestine," T. Nelson, 1887, digitized June 2010. http://archive.org/stream/narrativetravel00clapgoog/narrativetravel00clapgoog_djvu.txt " Travels and Discoveries in the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824 by Major Denham, F.R.S., Captain Clapperton, and the Late Doctor Oudnay, 2 Vol., London:  John Murray, Albemarle-Street, Internet  Archives digitized book.  Travel narratives of English discoverers in North Africa. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leightonarabhall/travel2.html "Leighton and the Middle East. Forgotten Voices of 19th century travel and exploration," Leighton House Museum, London. http://www.amazon.com/Flaubert-Egypt-sensibility-narrative-Flauberts/dp/0897330196 Francis Steegmuller, " Flaubert in Egypt:  A sensibility on tour:  a narrative drawn from Gustave Flaubert's travel notes & letters," Academic Chicago Limited, 1979.   Steegmuller's use Flaubert's own notes, letters, etc. to transcribe a travel account of Flaubert's 1849 travels into Egypt, Cairo and the Red Sea. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leightonarabhall/travel2.html "Forgotten Voices of 19th century Travel and Exploration," Leighton House Museum (UK). Website tab discussing "forgotten" travel writers visiting Europe and Europeans visiting the Middle East including Turkish woman Zyneb Hanoun, Egyptian male scholar Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and other female travellers. http://www.ndu.edu.lb/academics/faculty_research/fh/naji~oueijan/Oueijan3.pdf Naji Oueijan (Notre Dame University, Lebanon), "Perceptions and Misconceptions:  Islam in Nineteenth Century Art and Literature," 10 pp. pdf essay.  Dr. Oueijan discusses images of Islam through European art saying it was not all negative.  Art as travel narrative. http://www.h2g2.com/approved_entry/A32779119 "Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, 'Sheikh Ibrahim,'" h2g2, May 27, 2008, updated June 5, 2008. See quotes from Burckhardt's travel narratives in this article. See also: http://www.bookrags.com/research/johann-ludwig-burckhardt-scit-051/ Traveler, explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt 1784-1817 founded Petra archaeology finds in Jordan and first non-Muslim to give us eye-witness account of Mecca and the Hajj. Wrote five travel journals about his trips to Petra, Alleppo, Syria, Cairo, sailed the Nile River several times to Shendy in the Sudan, Saharan trade route to Timbuktu. Book Rags Research. http://origins.osu.edu/review/journeys-other-shore-muslim-and-western-travelers-search-knowledge Mary Sitzenstatter review, Roxanne L. Euben, " Journeys to the Other Shore Muslim and Western Travelers Search for Knowledge" Princeton:  Princeton University Press, 2006 seen in "Origins" Ohio State University history website, February review 2007. http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674073340 Roberta Micallef and Sunil Sharma (Boston University), ed., "On the Wonders of Land and Sea," Harvard University Press, May 2013. A comparative study of non-European travel writing in the eastern Islamic or Persianate world from 18th through early 20th century. Each essay investigates a Muslim or Persianate traveler (Parsi/Zoroastrian) both male and female travels to the Hijaz, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Europe. http://rangandatta.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/parsi-zoroastrian-fire-temple-calcutta-kolkata/ Rangan Datta, "Parsi (Zoroastrian) Fire Temple, Calcutta, Rangan Datta Travel Writing blog, January 25, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/03/18th-19th-century-travel-writing Louise Tickle, "Early Adventures in Travel Writing," The Guardian, November 2, 2009.  Ms. Tickle discusses research project by Professor Robin Jarvis, University of the West of England, which studies how 18th-19th century European reading public perceived explorer travel narratives. http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/journeys-from-scandinavia Elizabeth Oxfeldt, ed., " Journeys From Scandinavia-Travelogues of Africa, Asia and South America, 1840-2000," University of Minnesota Press, 2010.  Oxfeldt exhibits eight Danish and Norwegian authors which display change over time of Scandinavian Travel Writing over two centuries. http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/gobineau.htm Comte Francis de Gobineau, " Three Years in Asia 1855-1858 ," Athenaeum Library of Philosophy.   One of the fathers of Western Racism was also a traveler who wrote about his travels in Iran.

Central Asia: http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/walking-with-nain-singh/article4364702.ece Shyam G. Menon, "Walking With Nain Singh," The Hindu, February 2, 2013.  See also: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tibet/ascend/singh.html "Nain Singh's Lost Exploration," PBS Frontline, Dreams of Tibet from "T he Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet and Central Asia ," by Derek Walter, University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Tibetan guide trained by British in late 19th century to map the region. Nain Singh's diaries seen in Bhatt And Pathak: Himalya ki Peeth Par. http://books.google.com/books/about/Servant_of_Sahibs.html?id=BhdTqFwVUQ4C Rassul Galwan, " Servant of the Sahibs: The Rare 19th Century Travel Account as told by a Native of Ladakh," Asian Education Services, 1923. Rassul Galwan's travel narratives of guiding Europeans through central Asia in the late 19th century. http://books.google.com/books/about/Soldier_and_traveller.html?id=5X9CAAAAIAAJ (Google ebook-free) Colonel Alexander Gardner, " Soldier and Traveller:  Memoirs of Alexander Gardner, Colonel of Artillery in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh," W. Blackwood, 1898. http://www.uzbekjourneys.com/2012/05/alexander-bokhara-burnes-great-game.html "Alexander 'Bokhara' Burnes-Great Game Player," Uzbek Journeys, May 15, 2012. Scot Captain Alexander Burns (1805-1841) recounts his travels through Central Asia in his three volume narrative, " Travels into Bokhma:  A Voyage up the Indus to Lahore and a Journey to Cabool, Tartary and Persia in 1835."  http://www.uzbekjourneys.com/2011/07/arminius-vambery-dervish-spy-in-central.html "Arminius Vambery Dervish Spy in Central Asia," Uzbek Journeys,    Vambery was born a poor Hungarian Jew who found he had a gift for languages.  He taught language as a young man, was the first to publish a German- Turkish dictionary in 1858, and was recruited by the British Foreign Office to spy on the Russians in cental Asia as part of the Great Game geopolitical rivalry with Russia. He disguised himself as a dervish and survived to write his travel narrative in 1864, " Travels in Asia." http://www.academia.edu/435878/Propaganda_through_Travel_Writing_Frederick_Burnabys_Contribution_to_Great_Game_British_Politics Sinan Akilli (Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters), "Propaganda Through Travel Writing:  Frederick Burnaby's Contribution to Great Game British Politics,"Edebiyat Fak Itesi Dergisi/Journal of Faculty of Letters Cilt/Volume 26 Say/Number 1 (Haziran/June 2009) seen in Academia.edu @2009 Hacellepe University Faculty of Letters. 1870's British officer, Frederick Burnaby, was pro-Turk, anti-Russian, pro-Imperialist who's writings supported British Disreali Tories' imperialist politics.   Sinan Akilli analyzes Burnaby's travel writings, " Ride to Khiva:  Travels and Adventures in Central Asia (1876) and " On Horseback through Asia Minor (1877)" as imperialist British propaganda in support of British efforts in containing Russian expansion in India and central Asia. http://books.google.com/books/about/Russia_on_the_Black_Sea_and_Sea_of_Azof.html?id=rSsBAAAAMAAJ (Google eBook) Henry Danby Seymour, " Russia on the Black Sea and Sea of Azof:  Being a Narrative of Travels in the Crimea and Bordering Provinces with Notices of the Naval, Military, and Commercial Resources of Those Countries," London:  John Murrary, 1855, digitized July 6, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/09/books/an-act-of-remembrance.html?pagewanted=1 Ted Solotaroff, "An Act of Remembrance," NY Times Books, August 9, 1981. Solotaroff reviews " The Journey of David Toback," by David Toback as retold by his granddaughter Carole Malkin, New York: Schocken Books. David Toback ended his life as a New York East Side Kosher butcher. He was born in the Ukraine and this book tells of his travels throughout Central Asia and his Jewish faith. http://veresh.ru/biografia.php Russian Website dedicated to Vasily Vereshchagin, Russian soldier, artist and traveler (1842-1904).  His artwork of the central steppes is his travel narrative. http://indrus.in/articles/2011/10/17/vasily_vereshchagin_horrors_of_war_through_artists_eyes_13126.html "Vasily Vereshchagin: horrors of war through an artist's eyes," Russia and India Report. http://www.roerich.ru/index.php?r=1280&l=eng Russian artist, writer, peace activist Nicholas Roerich, Roerich Museum (Russia). Art as travel narrative.

South Asia: http://www.mendeley.com/catalog/envisioning-power-political-thought-late-eighteenth-century-mughal-prince/ # Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, "Envisioning power:  The Political thought of a late eighteenth-century Mughal prince," Indian Economic Social History Review, 2006, Vol. 43, Issue 2, pages 131-161.  See abstract of paper and free five page preview.  Alam and Subrahmanyam analyze the mindset and "world view" of a Mughal prince who does not win power through the princes' own travel narrative. http://www.cis-ca.org/voices/a/afghni.htm "Sayyid Jamal al-Din Muhammad b. Safdar al-Afghani (1838-1897)," Center For Islamic Studies.  More on this religious traveler and father of Islamic Modernism.   See more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal-al-Din_Afghani Jamal al Din al Afghani, religious travel writer....pan-Islamist.  Wikipedia.org. http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpsubject/history/history/asiansinbritain/visitors/visitors.html "Asians in Britain:  Visitors," British Library for researchers.  Three Indian travelers to Britain with excerpts from their narratives.  Mirza Abu Taleb Khan who traveled to Georgian Ireland and England from 1799-1803 and left impressions of the upper classes, Bhagavat Sinh Jee Thakore Shaheb of Gondal traveled to Britain in 1880's, and Beramji Malabari, Parsi newspaper editor who was shocked at the level of poverty in London's East end. http://www.indiaclub.com/shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=15057 Mishirul Hasan, " Westward Bound-Travels of Mirza Abu Taleb," Oxford University Press, 2005.  Hasan continues his focus on Indian Muslims with this travel account of Mirza Abu Taleb (1752-1806).  Dr. Hasan details Mirza Abu Taleb's 1799-1803 travels to England, France, Genoa, Malta, Turkey and Baghdad.  See also Mushirul Hasan, ed., " 18th-19th Century Travel Writing by Indians Describing Europe," Oxford University Press, 2012. http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-West-Narratives-Comprising-Itesamuddin/dp/0198063113 "This omnibus presents a unique perspective of travel writing by Indians describing Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This completely unexplored theme provides the missing link in the east-west paradigm. Whereas the other aspect of the western perspective on Indian civilization has been studied for quite sometime, the descriptions of this omnibus invert this image and show Europe in the eyes of the Indian traveller during the arrival of modernity in the subcontinent.  It comprises: Westward Bound: Travels of Mirza Abu Taleb: Descriptions of the Mirza who travelled to England during 1799-1803. Greatly impressed by late eighteenth century England, he also records his impressions of France, Genoa, Malta, Turkey, and Baghdad. Seamless Boundaries: Lutfullah's Narrative beyond East and West : Lutfullah's narrative which includes his visit to England in 1844, provides an understanding of events, people, and their culture beyond mere east-west dichotomies. Travels of Itisamuddin: A n account of the travels of Itisamuddin to France and England in 1765. He describes Nantes in France, and London, Oxford and Scotland with details of everyday life of people." http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dean+Mahomet%27s+Travels%2c+border+crossings%2c+and+the+narrative+of...-a0208536198 Mona Narain, "Dean Mahomet's Travels, border crossings, and the narrative of alterity," The Free Library, June 22, 2009.  See other travel writing Free Library articles on right side of this page.  Mahomet, who received criticism from Europeans and Indians alike, wrote narratives of his travels throughout India and Europe, specifically England (1794). http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/10.1/forum_fisher.html Michael H. Fisher, "Early Asian Travelers to the West:  Indians in Britain, c. 1650-c. 1850," World History Connected, Volume 10, No. 1, February 2013.  Fisher focuses on Dean Mahomet in this essay for the World History Connected Forum (pt. 1) on Travel Writers and Travel Narratives in world history. http://www.academia.edu/1268378/A_Persian_sufi_in_British_India_The_travels_of_Mirza_HasanAli_Shah_1251_1835-1316_1899 _ Nile Green, " A Persian Sufi in British India:  The Travels of Mirza Hasan' Ali Shah (1251/1835-1316/1899), published by British Institute of Persian Studies.  Reviewed in Iran , Vol. 42 (2004) pp. 201-218 seen in Academia.edu. http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/southasia/50yrs4.html "Recurrent Themes in the Representation of South Asia, Pt. IV," South Asia at Chicago Fifty Years of Scholarship, University of Chicago Library.  This summary page of themes (like sati, Hinduism) European travel writers focused on in their travel accounts to India are highlighted. http://www.hindu.com/lr/2003/09/07/stories/2003090700240400.htm Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta review in The Hindu , September 7, 2003 of Sachidananda Mohantz, ed., " Travel Writing and the Empire ," Katha, 2003, p. 185. The essays in this book show via travel narration the colonial experience in South Asia from the 18th-early 20th century. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Solitary+Travelers%3a+Nineteenth-Century+Women's+Travel+Narratives+and...-a0130463983 Lila Marz Harper, " Solitary Travelers:  Nineteenth Century Women's Travel Narratives and the Scientific Vocation," Cranbury N.J.:  Farleigh Dickinson University Press; London:  Associated University Press, 2001. Harper gives us a look at four women travelers who used the science of natural history in their writings, those being Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Martineau, Isabella Bird Bishop, and Mary H. Kingsley. http://toto.lib.unca.edu/sr_papers/history_sr/srhistory_2008/fahey_amy.pdf Amy C. Fahey, "In Search of Knowledge.  The Travel Accounts of Edward William Lane, Sophia Lane-Poole, Rifa 'a al-Tahawi, and Khayr al-Dine al-Tunisi," A Senior Thesis for Bachelor Degree of Arts in History, University of North Carolina at Asheville, April 2008.  Rihla is a genre of Islamic travel writing that documents travel in pursuit of knowledge.  Ms. Fahey describes four 19th century travel writers and their narratives exhibiting rihla. http://books.google.rw/books/about/The_romance_of_the_Holy_Land_in_American.html?id=wBxiyOOEm2YC Brian Yothers, The Romance of the Holy Land in American Literature 1790-1876 ," Ashgate Publishing (UK), 2007. See selections in google book format and Chapter 1 as Ashgate Publishing sampe pages: http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Romance_of_Holy_Land_in_American_Travel_Writing_1790_1876_Ch1.pdf "Chapter 1, Emergence of the Levant in American Literature: Barbary Captivity Narratives, Oriental Romances, and the Holy Land as Protestant Trope." Brian Yothers is critical of American Christian travel writers who journeyed to the Levant and wrote narratives based on their preconceived western Orientalism.

Asia: http://riccilibrary.usfca.edu/view.aspx?catalogID=230 "Xie Qinggao," The Ricci Institute Library Online Catalog. Xie Qinggao (1765-1821) was lost at sea and picked up by a British or most likely Portuguese trading ship which sailed to America, Europe and Asia. Qinggao lost his sight but recorded his travels orally. http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/9.1/po.html Ronald Chung-yam Po, "(Re)Conceptualizing the World in Eighteenth Century China," World History Connected, Vol. 9, No. 1, February 2012. Chung-yam Po discusses the new Chinese "geohistorians" of the 18th century who encouraged a more positive view of northern frontier tribes and European travelers to Asia. Ethnic and anthropological formal studies under Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795) were written by travelers and frontier writers as Chinese territories expanded. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/special-report/12643/int-l-law---sovereignty-over-hoang-sa--truong-sa-.html Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao/Luu Van Loi, "What Chinese historical documents say?" Vietnam.net, last updated September 6, 2011. This article concerns International law and sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands as cited in documents and sources from the Three Kingdoms (220-265 CE) to the Qing (1644- 1911). Note some sources are travel documents and accounts. http://www.nguyenthaihocfoundation.org/lichsuVN/m_tayson_p6.htm George Dutton, "Important Sources Relating to the Say Son-18th and 19th century Sources Originally in Chinese," Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation. http://www.ijalel.org/pdf/68.pdf Nurhanis Sahiddan, "Approaches to Travel Writing in Isabella Bird's 'The Golden Cheronese' and The Way Thither, '" paper (7 pp. pdf) for General Studies course, University of Tenga Nasional, Malaysia. Seen in International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, Volume 1, No. 2, July 2012. A Malaysian university student's analysis of Isabella Bird's Malaysian travel narratives. Coleridge poems as travel narrative, specifically "Kubla Khan" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner:" http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Rime.html "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Cummings Study Guides explains Captain James Cook's voyages ending in 1799 with Cook's death and motivation for"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" first published in 1798. See more on Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" as travel narrative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Purchas "Samuel Purchas," Wikipedia. English compiler, editor of British travel narratives. His third book was an effort to complete Richard Hakluyt works after Hakluyt's death in 1616. Purchas' first volume " Purchas His Pilgramage," 1613 was one of the sources of inspiration for William Taylor Coleridge's poem. See analysis of "Kubla Khan" by Jalal Uddin Khan, "Coleridge's 'Kubal Khan:' a new historicist study," The Free Library, Jan. 1, 2012: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Coleridge%27s+Kubla+Khan%3a+a+new+historicist+study.-a0302403821 http://www.japanese-arts.net/comics/why_narrative.htm "Narrative Art," Japanese Arts/comics website. See "sets of images of famous places" highlighted link which discuss the popular form of Edo 19th century printmaking that are travelogues. http://www.bestmemoirsbooks.com/the-autobiography-of-yukichi-fukuzawa-review/ "The Autobiography of Yukickhi Fukuzawa ," Best Memoirs Books.   Review of 19th century samurai turned entrepreneur and Western advocate.   See point of view on Fukuzawa from Robert Ketcherside blog, July 1996:  http://www.zombiezodiac.com/rob/fukuzawa.htm http://archive.org/details/threeyearswander00fortuoft Robert Fortune, " Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China," London, 1846 seen Internet Archive. Full text available in varied formats. See left of page for options. Fortune also wrote "A Residence Among the Chinese," London, 1857. See free Google book: http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Residence_Among_the_Chinese.html?id=ZdYMAAAAIAAJ Fortune was a biotanical Indiana Jones of the nineteenth century. The British Royal Horticultural Society sent him to China to procure seeds and plants and to steal secrets of tea manufacturing so the British could stop relying on Chinese tea and start plantations in India. See review of Fortune's travels and writing in China by Jeffrey Mather: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13645145.2010.500099 Jeffrey Mather (2010): Botanising in a Sinocentric World: Robert Fortune's Travels in China," Studies in Travel Writing, 14:3, 257-270.

Map: Tocqueville's travel route from www.tocqueville.org below.   http://www.tocqueville.org/ "The Alexis de Tocqueville Tour-Exploring Democracy in America, May 9, 1997-February 20, 1989," C-Span link celebrating Tocqueville's 9 month travels in America, 1831-1832.  See primary source documents of de Tocqueville's travel narratives and 1:16:56 Video, "A Conversation on Democracy" in Real Player. http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1929/article_detail.asp "A Review of 'Letters From America, ' by Alexis de Tocqueville, translated by Frederick Brown; and Tocqueville's 'Discovery of America, ' by Leo Damrosch," Claremont Institute, posted April 18, 2012 by Michael McDonald. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/slavery-and-anti-slavery/resources/northerner%E2%80%99s-view-southern-slavery-1821 "A Northern View of Southern Slavery, 1821," Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Aurelia Hale of Hartford, Connecticut offers her impressions of Southern Life in this primary source document letter to her sister. Hale traveled to Georgia to teach school at the age of 22 and stated that she enjoyed the "manner of living" in the South and that the South was "better that at the North" and found slavery agreeable. http://www.enotes.com/slave-narratives-reference/slave-narratives "Slave Narratives," enotes.com.  Many of the American slave narratives referenced in this article/essay were travel narratives. http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/lit.html Tom Costa and University of Virginia, "The Geography of Slavery," @ 2005. Travel narratives, documents, primary sources, newspaper accounts slaveholder records, Literature and narratives. http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/equiano1/summary.html Jenn Williamson summary of " The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vasa, the African," Documenting the American South, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004. See more:  http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/vassa.html Angelo Costanzo, "Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)," Georgetown University study guide. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=2788 Paulette M. Chaisson, "Campbell, Patrick 1765-1823," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, University of Toronto, 2000. Campbell was a Scot who served in the military fighting wars in Europe, returning to Scotland as head forester of a provincial realm. He sailed to North America to find the suitability of land for Highland Scots who wished to migrate to Canada. His travels are noted in his journal. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/02/02/exhibit_tells_story_of_mohawk_chiefs_slave.html John Goddard, "Exhibit tells story of Mohawk Chief's slave," Toronto Star online (Canada), February 2, 2009. Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant owned a kidnapped black, slave girl, Sarah Pooley. Pooley was born to slave parents in Fishkill, New York in the mid-1760's. She was eventually sold to a Canadian farmer and recounted her travels to Benjamin Drew in an oral narrative, " Refugee: or the Narratives of the Fugitive Slaves in Canada ," published in 1856. Sarah Pooley lived to be 90 years old. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35658/35658-h/35658-h.htm Alexander MacKenzie, " Voyages From Montreal Throught the Continent of North America To the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793 With An Account of the Rise and State of the Fur Trade," New York: A. S. Barnes & Company, 1903. Gutenberg Project, release date March 2011. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=36643 W. Kaye Lamb, "MacKenzie, Sir Alexander," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, 2000. Scottish born Alexander MacKenzie was first man to cross continental North America by canoe, 12 years before Lewis and Clark. His travel journal (fur trade account) was published in 1801. Did it inspire President Thomas Jefferson to enlist Lewis and Clark for their trek and purchase of the Louisiania Purchase? http://www.lewis-clark.org/ Discovery Lewis and Clark website, Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation (Washburn, North Dakota), @1998-2009. See journal excerpts from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 13 Volumes, edited by Gary E. Moulton, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001. http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~bak00112 " Astor, John Jacob, 1763-1848: John Jacob Astor business records, 1784-1812 (inclusive), 1809-1848 (bulk): A Finding Aid," Baker Library, Harvard Business School, October 2009. Fur mogul Astor's business records, property maps, etc. qualify as travel narrative? http://www.nativeamericanwriters.com/copway.html "George Copway, Ojibwe," Early Native American Literature website. See video biography. George Copway, born 1818 in Trent River, Canada West (now Ontario) is first Native American writer focused on travel narrative as seen in 1847 Autobiography, "The Life, History, and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh," and first travel book written by a Native American, " Running Sketches of Men and Places," 1851. Copway traveled the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi, the Eastern seaboard and in 1850 traveled to England. Other Native American literature that can be labeled "travel narratives" are Hendrick Aupamut, " A Short Narrative of My Last Journey to the Western Country," 1827 and Black Hawk's account of his "tour" of the East while prisoner of war, " Life of Black Hawk " 1833. http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dgarneau/metis.htm D. Garneau, "Metis Nation of the Northwest-Complete History of the Canadian Metis Culture," telusplanet.net, May 15, 2012. See links to history periods 1500 through 2006. See comments: "The Jesuits claimed: 'Not a cape was turned, not a river entered, but a Jesuit led the way." "The People said: The Jesuit (black robes) are damnable liers (liars). Even the most amateur of historians knows the actual explorers of New France (Canada and the American West) were without question the Coureurs and Metis." http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_metis/fp_metis_origins.html "The Metis Origins of the Metis Nation," Canada's First Peoples, 2007. The Metis were offspring of French Canadians involved in the fur trade and First Nation Peoples. Note 19th century paintings (art as travel narrative) of Metis peoples. http://www.scribd.com/doc/57838741/The-People-of-the-Metis-Nation-A-C Lawrence J. Barkwell, "The People of the Metis Nation: A-C, Metis History Through Biography," Louis Riel Institute, Winnipeg, 2012. See "D-G," etc. biographies on right side of page and travel accounts such as "Sinclair Expedition to the Spokane Country 1854," at bottom of this page. http://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/mhcpresent/metisprs.html Tom Bacig, "Metaphors for the People: A Presentation Exploring the Metis and the History of Minnesota," Minnesota Humanities Commission Teacher Institute Seminar: French Legacies in Minnesota-November 10-11, 2000. This website last updated March 1, 2011, University of Minnesota, Duluth. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/exploration-and-travel-literature-in-french#ArticleContents P. Savard and R. Ouellet, "Exploration and Travel Literature in French," The Canadian Encylopedia. Note last paragraph as a summary of change over time and French point of view as to travel literature in Canada.  See any Metis examples? http://masters.ab.ca/bdyck/early-canada/fur/index.html Brenda Dyck, "Early Canada Fur Trade,"  Masters Academy and College, Canada, last reviesed April 25, 2005. See esp. "A Cree Boy Visits York Factory" brief travel account.  See more travel accounts from this site: http://www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/early-canada/explorers/tour/index.html http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1591&context=usgsstaffpub Neil Woodman, " History and Dating of the Publication of the Philadelphia (1822) and London (1823) editions of Edwin James's Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains," Digital Commons @ University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USGS-Published Research US Geological Survey, January 1, 2010. http://www.gonomad.com/historic-travel/historic-travel.html Historic Travel Writers: Isabella Bird (1870's) and Charles Dickens (1840's), gonomad.com. See excerpts of their travel narratives in America-19th century. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Isabella_Bird "Isabella Bird," digplanet.com/wiki/. Note links to Isabella Bird travel narratives and her natural history references. http://books.google.co.za/books/about/Pictures_from_Italy.html?id=3SENAAAAYAAJ (Google Book) Charles Dickens, Pic t ures From Italy and American Notes, 1867 , Harper & Brothers, 1880. http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-books/charles-dickens-the-first-great-travel-writer-20100330/ Frank Bures, "Charles Dickens: The First Great Travel Writer," World Hum, May 25, 2010. Does Bures's evidence support his claim? http://www.literarytraveler.com/articles/jack-london-the-american-karl-marx/ "Jack London: The American Karl Marx," Literary Traveler, posted December 1, 2001. This article examines the travels and writings of Jack London who is described here as a Socialist. http://brbl-archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/illustratingtraveler/illus.htm "The Illustrating Traveller:  Adventure and Illustration in North America and the Caribbean in 1760-1895," Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library Exhibition, Beinecke Library archives Yale University, last revised September 4, 1996. "In the late18th century travel accounts began to increasedly incorporate illustration as a parallel visual text to describe and explain the observations of travelers." http://pvtimes.com/news/early-travel-writing-reveals-pahrump-valleys-ranching-history/ Bob McCracken, "Early Travel Writing Reveals Pahrump Valley's Ranching History," Pahrump Valley Times, January 2013. Bob McCracken tells the story of Thomas W. Brooks, 19th century Georgia travel writer, mining engineer, Civil War and George Custer veteran, and rancher.

Latin America: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6mtlN4T_UrAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=travel+narratives+in+dialogue&ots=kSMudpIA7h&sig=Q3MM-NPG98VlZrs_GxYcNT6Mxuo#v=onepage&q=travel%20narratives%20in%20dialogue&f=false (Google book) Monica Szurmuk, "Women in Argentina: Early Travel Narratives," University of Florida Press, 2000. Monica Szurmuk displays and analyzes a hundred years of women's travel writing in Argentina from 1830-1930. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WGjhBAIZBHIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=travel+narratives+in+dialogue&ots=2UzM6MB4VM&sig= 083vuY74efrAggCwtFx0qqd0CK4#v=onepage&q&f=false (Google book) Shannon Marie Butler, " Travel Narratives in Dialogue: Contesting Representations of Nineteenth-Century Peru," New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2008. Ms. Butler quotes Manuel A. Fuentes-- Lima: Apuntes historicos descriptivos, estadisticas y costumbres (1867) in the introduction to her book: "If one were to judge a travel book, recently published in Paris, according to its veracity in regards to the various places around the world and regarding Peru itself, one could say that its authors pretend to write a novel whose characters have all the crude mannerisms of a savage." {trans. by Shannon Marie Butler} http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=7261&pc=9 Miguel A. Cabanas, The Cultural "Other" in Nineteenth-Century Travel Narratives:  How the United States and Latin Americans Described Each Other,"  Mellen Press, 2008. Book advertisment.  See review in Spanish by Leila Gomez (University of Colorado, Boulder) in "A Journal on Social History and Literature in Latin America," (A Contra corriente) Vol. 7, No. 3, Spring 2010. http://www.ncsu.edu/acontracorriente/spring_10/reviews/Gomez_rev.pdf http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1AcBiP9mOmoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=travel+narratives+in+dialogue&ots=v7mX_QinWp&sig=eG_tklOxEVAk61OobTmlL1XY4U4#v= onepage&q=travel%20narratives%20in%20dialogue&f=false (Google book) Angela Perez-Mejia, " A Geography of Hard Times:  Narrative About Travel to South America 1780-1949 , trans. by Dick Cluster, 2002, Albanly NY:  State University of New York Press, 2004. http://books.google.com/books/about/Culture_of_empire.html?id=pDcdVLN2P8AC (Google Ebook) Gilbert G. Gonzalez, " Culture of Empire:  American Writers, Mexico, and Mexican Immigrants 1880-1930," University of Texas Press, 2004.  Scroll down page to see chapter on "American Writers Invade Mexico" pp. 46-70 and book review. http://cw.routledge.com/ref/travellit/index.html June E. Hahner, ed., " Women Through Women's Eyes: Latin America in Nineteenth Century Travel Accounts, Wilmington, DE: S. R. Books, 1998. Seen in Routledge 3 Vol. Travel Literature Encyclopedia. http://www.branchcollective.org/?ps_articles=ian-duncan-on-charles-darwina-and-the-voyage-of-the-beagle-1831-36 "Ian Duncan, On Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle," Branch: Britain, Representation and Nineteeth- Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. [March 28, 2013]. http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/the-beagle-letters "The Beagle Letters," Darwin Correspondence Project, University of Cambridge, 2013. Letters originally published in volume 1 of the " Correspondence of Charles Darwin," Burkhardt et. al. eds. CUP 1985. Charles Darwin evolution as travel writer.

Pacific/Oceania: http://southseas.nla.gov.au/ "South Seas Voyaging and Cross Cultural Encounters in the Pacific (1760-1800), South Seas website, Australia. Wonderful bibliographies and resources as to indigenous histories, Voyaging Accounts, Captain James Cook's journal, European reaction amongst others. http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/50066/mcms.html "Captain James Cook," Longitude Books. An annotated listing of links to books about Captain James Cook travels along with his diaries/travel narratives. See more on Captain James Cook (1728-1779): http://www.cptcook.com/ http://books.google.com/books/about/A_voyage_round_the_world.html?id=wuhGQPuvpPsC (Google Ebook) George Forster, " A Voyage Around the World, Vol. I, University of Hawaii Press, 2000. George Forster accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold Forster, on James Cook's second Pacific voyage (1772-1775). Johann Forster was the ship's naturalist and George based his travel account on his father's ship journal as to the geography, science, and ethnographic knowledge uncovered. It is a good example of 18th century travel literature. http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_101_1992/Volume_101%2C_No._3/Archaeology%2C_ethnography%2C_and _the_record_of_Maori_cannibalism_before_1815%3A_a_ critical_review%2C_by_Ian_Barber%2C_p_241-292/p1 Ian Barber (University of Otago), "Archaeology, Ethnography, and the Record of Maori Cannibalism Before 1815: A Critical Review," The Journal of the Polynesian Society, New Zealand, Vol. 101, No. 3, 1992, pp. 241-292. Ian Barber cites many travel accounts from Captain James Cook and Cook's botanist Joseph Banks as to eyewitness evidence as to Maori cannibalism. http://www.travel-studies.com/travel-narratives-spring-2013/video Mark Twain video, Travel Studies, spring 2013, "Innocents Abroad." http://www.twainquotes.com/sduindex.html Mark Twain, Letters From Hawaii, in Sacramento Union newspaper, 1866. http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-mark-twains-letters-from-hawaii/ Mark Twain, Letters From Hawai'i, (Sandwich Islands) study guide with discussion guide, Bookrags.com. http://books.google.com/books/about/Jack_London_and_Hawaii.html?id=Onc1V2uLQscC Charmian London, Jack London and Hawaii , Mills & Boon, 1918, originally from Harvard University Press, Digitized September 22, 2005, 305 pp. http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/ Jack London's books, short stories...note those on Melanesia, Solomons, and Hawai'i. http://voices.yahoo.com/travel-narratives-edgar-allan-poe-herman-melville-135085.html?cat=38 Shaun Richards, "Travel Narratives in Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville-The Escape from Moral Absolutism on the Journey Toward Self-Realization," Yahoo Voices, December 14, 2006.  Melville's Moby Dick. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/melville.html John Clendenning (California State University, Northridge), "The American Novel-Herman Melville, American Masters," PBS.org from the World Book Encyclopedia @2007. Summary of Herman Melville as sailor, travel writer and his travel narratives/novels. http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/MobyDick.html Melville's Moby Dick Study guide, Cummings Study Guides. http://rmmla.innoved.org/ereview/62.2/reviews/shear.asp Jack W. Shear (Binghamton University), RMMLA (Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association) review of "Oliver S. Buckton.  Cruising with Robert Louis Stevenson: Travel, Narrative, and the Colonial Body .  Athens:  Ohio University Press, 2007, 344 p.," Rocky Mountain Review, Volume 62, No. 2, Fall 2008. Scotland's Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) travel writings. http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/ Robert Louis Stevenson website.  See more on his travels and map below: In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson

http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/images/travels-map.jpg

Europe: http://www.academia.edu/1454686/Necromanticism_Traveling_to_Meet_the_Dead_1750-1860 Paul Westover, " Necromanticism: Traveling to Meet the Dead, 1750-1860," short review by Robin Jarvis seen in Academia.edu, as part of Paula Kennedy's list of literature, drama, dance blog. Westover has researched literary tourism--reader's compulsions to visit homes, landscapes, and (especially) graves of Romantic writers in the long Romantic period. http://www.nbol-19.org/view_doc.php?index=254 Harald Hendrix review of Paul Westover, " Necromanticism: Traveling to Meet the Dead, 1750-1860 ," Palgrave MacMillian, 2012 seen in Review 19 website, October 5, 2012. http://danassays.wordpress.com/encyclopedia-of-the-essay/voltaire/voltaire-francois-marie-arouet/ "Voltaire-Francois Marie Arouet," Encyclopedia of the essay, danassays.wordpress.com. Voltaire biography. Voltaire as travel writer. http://www.russianlife.com/blog/alexander-herzen/ Ilya Ovchinniko, "Alexander Ivanovich Herzen," Russian Life, February 29, 2012. Herzen, b. 1812, was a noted revolutionary but foremost a writer. He was a leading Russian emigre in London, 1852, publishing the anti-Romanov, " Russian Free Press " and it's almanac, " The Polar Star " and an anthology of Russian revolutionary writings "Voices From Russia." http://www.prx.org/pieces/70545 "From the Volga to the Mississippi," PRX Radio with Sarah McConnell, With Good Reason show, November 19, 2011. See 0:28:59 audio and transcript (with reenactors) on Russian and American travel writers journeying to each other's country and their narratives which start off friendly, like comments on Russian travels in Mark Twain's " Innocents Abroad", but by 1905, Twain is calling for the assassination of the Russian Czar. http://landlibrary.wordpress.com/2013/03/ Jane T. Castlow, " Heart-Pine Russia-Walking and Writing the Nineteenth-Century Forest ," Cornell University Press, 2012 reviewed in Rocky Mountain Land Library blog, March 2013.  See other travel accounts in this blog including Ian Frazier's " Travels in Siberia."  http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100088420&fa=author&person_id=4773 Jane T. Castlow, " Heart-Pine Russia-Walking and Writing the Nineteenth-Century Forest" description and reviews seen in Cornell Press site. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/books/review/Hammer-t.html?_r=0 Joshua Hammer, "Cold Case Files," NY Times Sunday Book Review, October 28, 2010.  Hammer reviews Ian Frazier's, Travels in Siberia , Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010.  See podcast interview with Ian Frazier and excerpts of this travel narrative. http://www.prx.org/pieces/70543-russian-and-american-travel-writers#description "Russian and American Travel Writers," PRX With Good Reason show, Kelley Libby, November 19, 2011. Audio and transcript 0:02:30. Libby and Sarah McConnell share production of this PRX With Good Reason piece analyzing how Russian and American travel writing grew more hostile even before the Cold War. http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/letters-from-russia/ Astolphe de Custine, " Letters From Russia ," New York Review of Books Classics, April 2002, 672 pages. Introduction by Custine 1996 biographer Anka Muhlstein. Muhlstein says Marquis Custine's "Letters From Russia" (1839) is "brillantly perceptive...a wonderful piece of travel writing." Of course, this is in sharp contrast to emotional criticism from the Czarist and Communist Russians. Scroll down Gutenberg Project "C" page to download Custin(e)'s four volumes in French: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/c http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/g-rard-depardieu-s-russian-play-by-nina-l--khrushcheva Nina L. Khrushcheva, "The Czar of the French," Project Syndicate, January 7, 2013. Putin, Gerard Depardieu, and respect from the French. Marquis de Custine " Letter From Russia " in 1839 suggested that Russian civilization amounted to little more than the mimicry of monkeys. Russians have been sensitive to French and American disrespect. http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=62 Richard Howard, ed., " Henry James Collected Travel Writings: The Continent," including A Little Tour in France, Italian Hours, and Other Travels, The Library of America. See Overview of narratives included in this edition of Henry James' travel writing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambles_in_Germany_and_Italy Mary Shelly's " Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843 ," Wikipedia. Note other travel narratives and writers mentioned in this Wikipedia essay including Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and her reports on smallpox inoculations in Turkey, Madame de Stael's novel, Corinne, 1807 and Samuel Johnson's advise to Travel Writers in 1742. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sherwoodtimes/grandtou.htm "Lord Byron's Grand Tour," Sherwood Times. Romantic English poet as travel writer. See Sherwood Times homepage: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sherwoodtimes/index.html http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Writing-Pedestrian-Travel-Jarvis/dp/0333658140 Robin Jarvis, " Romantic Writing and Pedestrian Travel," Macmillan, 1997. Jarvis analyzes the 1790's relationship between walking (pedestrian travel) and writing and its impact on the creativity of major Romantic writers, ie. releasing "restless textual energies." See Philippe Vandenbroeck review and his comparative to Grand Tour traveling and safer middle class domestic "pedestrian walking." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Journey_to_the_Western_Islands_of_Scotland Samuel Johnson's travel narrative to the Western Islands of Scotland, Wikipedia.

South Asia: http://literature.britishcouncil.org/vikram-seth "Vikram Seth," Literature Matters newsletter, British Council of Literature. Born in Kolkata, India in 1952, educated in India, US and China, Vikram Seth is a novelist, poet and travel writer with travel narrative, "From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet " (1983) as his most noted travel writing. http://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/orgs/e3w/orgs/e3w/volume-10-spring-2010/new-directions-in-south-asian-studies/sakoon-n-singh-on-travel-writing-in-india Sakoon N. Singh, "Sakoon N. Singh on 'Travel Writing in India,'" E3W Review of Books, University of Texas, Austin originally seen in "New Directions in South Asian Studies," Vol. 10, Spring 2010. Singh's reveiw of Shobhana Bhattacharji, ed., Travel Writing in India , Sahitya Akademi, 2008. http://zenfloyd.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html "The Intersection of the Postcolonial and the Modern Mythology:  Halide Edib's 'Inside India,'" zenfloyd blog, April 14, 2010. Edib's description of 1930's India and comparison with Turkey through her travel writing is analyzed in this blog. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/suketu-mehta/maximum-city-2/ Kirkus review, July 15, 2004, of Suketu Mehta, " Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found ," Knopf, 2004. William Dalrymple, "Home Truths on abroad," The Guardian, September 18, 2009 claims Mehta is one of the great new travel writers. Dalrymple says the new generation of travel writers have, "less to do with heroic adventures and posturing than an intimate knowledge of people and places." Does Dalrymple have a case for comparison? That 19th century travel writing was about "place" or filling the blanks of the map while the best travel writing in the 21st century is almost always about people. In Maximum City Suketu Mehta, a New York writer and transplanted Indian, views the future of urbanization as bleak for people, if Bombay is an exemplar. See more recent example of Mehta's travel writing "critique:" http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/indias-limited-freedom-of-speech.html?_r=0 Suketa Mehta, "India's Speech Impediment," NY Times The Opinion Page, February 5, 2013. India's press censorship ranks it one of worst in the world. Censorship's effect on people. http://books.google.com/books/about/Arrow_of_the_Blue_Skinned_God.html?id=FXRZ1X8BANIC Jonah Blank, " Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God:  Retracing the Ramayana Through India," Grove Press, 2000.  Note sample chapters in google.com.  See editorial review from Publishers Weekly:  Editorial reviews of Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India. Publishers Weekly, 1992-07-13: Jonah Blank, who has reported on Asia for the Dallas Morning News, traveled the length and breadth of India, retracing the footsteps of the god Rama, hero of the ancient Sanskrit epic (portions of which introduce each chapter). Coupling journalistic detachment with piercing lyricism, he samples the subcontinent in all its horrific, multitudinous, overwhelming diversity, from Bombay's Hollywood-style dream factories to Calcutta's leper-filled streets. He ponders the nation's lingering caste divisions, with their ``BMW Brahmins'' and destitute untouchables. He meets Sikh separatists in the Punjab and, in Sri Lanka, tracks down Tamil Tiger guerrillas, young boys carrying AK-47s. He converses with holy men in ashrams and probes the erotic intensity of the Krishna cult. He scuffles with Indian's venal, infuriating bureaucracy. Blank writes beautifully and taps into India's elusive, indestructible soul with a clarity few writers attain, as he ponders the paradoxes of a country where deep-rooted fatalism clashes with Westernization and a new social mobility. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. http://truth-out.org/news/item/15853-arundhati-roy-jungles-of-resistance "Arundhati Roy: Jungles of Resistance," Truth out, April 20, 2013. Roy spoke out against Indian government and their war on India's people and received an invitation to meet with Maoist guerrillas in Indian jungles/rain forest from which she wrote a book, " Walking With the Comrades." She has demanded voting rights for the people of Jammu and Kashmir which caused the Indian government to attack her in court. http://www.india.com/topic/Arundhati-Roy.html See Arundhati Roy videos on social activism: http://www.weroy.org/arundhati_media.shtml

Middle East/Central Asia: http://www.egypttoday.com/news/display/article/artId:309 Pakinam Amer, "A Legacy Lost: The Scarcity of Travel Writing," Egypt Today, August 8, 2011 seen in Egypt Today, March 16, 2013. Amer, in a lengthy article, bemoans the lack of good Egyptian travel writing today. http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/212050/travel-writing-in-a-postcolonial-world Amine Zidouh, "Travel Writing in a Post Colonial World," grin.com, 2013 essay. Short essay summarizing recent intellectuals and writers thoughts on post colonial travel writing. http://www.academia.edu/1045576/Hearing_the_Call_Along_the_Nile_an_early_draft_of_travel_notes_from_Egypt_journeying_in_the_SS_Karim V.K. McCarty, "Hearing the Call Along the Nile/an early draft of travel notes from Egypt. See excerpts and available download of Ms. McCarty's narrative about the Nile aboard the SS Karim. http://www.aritabaaijens.nl/index_en.php Arita Baaijens', Dutch travel writer and desert explorer by camel caravan, travel narrative " Desert Songs: A Woman Explorer in Egypt and Sudan," American University in Cairo Press, 2009. See 25 photo slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/baaijens/desert-songs and Mikael Strandberg blog, "Guest Writer # 6 Arita Baaijens on Female Leadership in the Desert," February 15, 2010. (Baaijen notes that "besides every strong woman in the desert stands a gentle man.") http://nabataea.net/camel.htm Camels-Ships of the Desert, nabataea.net. http://girlsoloinarabia.typepad.com/girl_solo_in_arabia/2007/11/dubai---21st-ce.html Carolyn McIntyre, "Dubai 21st Century Entrepot," Girl Solo in Arabia: In the Footsteps of ibn Battuta blogsite, November 2, 2007. Ms. McIntyre, travel writer, has followed in the footsteps of ibn Battuta and noted her experiences in this blog. http://www.blessitt.com/ Arthur Blessitt, Evangelical who has traveled 36,000 miles carrying a 70 pound cross and the movie review, "The Cross": http://documentaries.about.com/od/revie2/fr/TheCross.htm http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2012/05/guy-delisle-jerusalem-comics Erika Eichelberger, "An Expat Dad's Cartoon Adventures in the Holy Land," Mother Jones, May 8, 2012. Review of Guy Delisle, graphic memoirist and writer of autobiographical travelogues, new graphic travelogue, " Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City." http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Riding_the_Steppes.html Gloria Emerson, "Riding the Steppes," Smithsonian, 1/2004.  Ms. Emerson reviews Stanley Stewart's 1000 mile travel narrative book, In the Empire of Genghis Khan, Lyons Press, 2002.  See Google Book review comments: "Vivid, hilarious, and compelling, this eagerly awaited book takes its place among the travel classics. It is a thrilling tale of adventure, a comic masterpiece, and an evocative portrait of a medieval land marooned in the modern world. Eight and a half centuries ago, under Genghis Khan, the Mongols burst forth from Central Asia in a series of spectacular conquests that took them from the Danube to the Yellow Sea. Their empire was seen as the final triumph of the nomadic "barbarians."In this remarkable book Stanley Stewart sets off on a pilgrimage across the old empire, from Istanbul to the distant homeland of the Mongol hordes. The heart of his odyssey is a thousand-mile ride, traveling by horse, through trackless land. On a journey full of bizarre characters and unexpected encounters, he crosses the desert and mountains of Central Asia to arrive at the windswept grasslands of the steppes, the birthplace of Genghis Khan. (6 x 9, 288 pages)" http://steppemagazine.com/articles/feature-istalif-pottery/ Thomas Wide, "Istalif Pottery," Steppe Magazine. Issue 5, winter 2008.  Travel writer Thomas Wide's short article on the pottery makers of Afghanistan's Istalif region/city and their troubles with British and Taliban. http://www.nhn.ou.edu/~jeffery/writer/byron_robert.html "Robert Bryron (1905-41)," Robert Bryon was a travel writer, architecture critic, and historian noted especially for his travel narrative, " The Road to Oxiana," 1937. Note tabs for "Images," and "Bryon on Buddhas of Bamiyan." Bamiyan Buddhist sculptures blown up by the Taliban. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/27/william-dalrymple-top-10-afghanistan-books "William Dalrymple's Top 10 Afghanistan books," Guardian/books, March 27, 2013. Travel writer and historian William Dalrymple claims "it was a bad idea to invade Afghanistan, but a good idea to write about Afghanistan." See Dalrymple's website and new book, " Return of a King. The Battle for Afghanistan 1839-42," published in India by Bloomsbury December 2012 and in UK February 2013 and in US by Knopf April 2013. http://www.williamdalrymple.uk.com/ http://steppemagazine.com/articles/food-flatbreads/ Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford, "Food:  Flatbreads," Steppe Magazine, Issue 3, winter 2007.  Duguid and Alford are travellers, writers, photographers and cooks and in this short article explain the use of tandoor ovens in making flatbreads in central Asia, specifically Afghanistan. http://www.academia.edu/1048636/The_Portrayal_of_America_in_Arab_Travel_Narratives Khaled Al-Quzahy, "The Portrayal of America in Arab Travel Narratives," a paper for the Masters Programme of Sidi Mohammed Bin Abdullah University, 2008/2009.  Perhaps this paper is a raw sample, but the Muslim travel writers described can be of use and the author as a Muslim provides interesting point of view as to analysis of his research. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Steppe-Daniel-Metcalfe/dp/0091925525 Daniel Metcalfe, "Out of Steppe:  The Lost Peoples of Central Asia," Hutchinson Publishers, 2009.  See reviews and other books in this genre.  See Daniel Metcalfe's website:  http://danielmetcalfe.com/ http://www.uzbekjourneys.com/2011/07/langston-hughes-african-american-writer.html "Langston Hughes African American Writer," Uzbek Journeys, July 24, 2011. American poet and author was also a traveler journeying to central Asia in the early 1930's. Hughes penned a slim travel narrative in 1934, " A Negro Looks at Central Asia ." 1500 copies were published by the Cooperative Publishing Society of Foreign Workers in the U.S.S.R. of which there are two left, one in Leningrad and the other at Yale. Hughes wrote "glowing descriptions of USSR as a worker's paradise where people regardless of colour were equal." In 1956 he wrote "I Wonder as I Wander " where his Central Asia sojourn fills 90 pages. See at the end of this article links to Hughes' photographs and an audio and video recording of his poetry readings. http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061029/news_lz1j29newby.html Margalit Fox, "Eric Newby; a master of travel writing and understatement," U-T San Diego, October 29, 2006. Ms. Fox references Erick Newby (1920-2006) as the best British post-WW II travel writer most famous for his acclaimed travel narrative, " A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush," 1958. http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/essay-10-12.html "Women as Cultural Emissaries:  Consider 19th/Early 20th century Travellers," Women in World History Curriculum.  Gertrude Bell (Arab world), Mary Kingsley (West Africa), and Mary Seacole (born in Jamaica travelled to Panama, Crimea) are highlighted along with links to their travel narratives. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/book-review--journey-through-a-watery-paradise-lost-a-reed-shaken-by-the-wind--gavin-maxwell-eland-899-pounds-1438666.html Caroline Moorehead, "Book Review/Journey through a watery paradise lost: 'A Reed Shaken by the Wind' -Gavin Maxwell:  Eland, 8.99 pounds,"The Independent (UK), May 26, 1994.  The 1991 Shia uprising against Saddam Hussein failed and many took refuge in the alluvial plains of southern Iraq reviving interest in these people allowing Eland to re-publish Gavin Maxwell's 1957 People of the Reeds in 2003 as A Reed Shaken by the Wind .  http://www.travelbooks.co.uk/book_detail.asp?id=14   Travel writer Wilfred Thesiger had lived with these "marsh Arabs" for years and Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969) convinced Theisger to take him along on his last journey among the Ma'dan of the Marshes in 1956.  Original travel narrative: Gavin Maxwell, " People of the Reeds ," New York: Pyramid Books, 1957. http://www.pw.org/content/poets_of_protest 25 minute Video/Film.  Is Manal Al Sheikh a travel writer, er, blogger?  Push Pull migration theme also. Manal Al Sheikh says it is dangerous for her to be a writer in her hometown of Nineveh, Iraq, so the exiled poet tries to inspire her readers online from Stavanger, Norway. This short film, directed by Roxana Vilk and aired on Al Jazeera English, explores the Middle East through its contemporary poets as they struggle to lead, to interpret, and to inspire.  Seen in USA Africa dialogue list serve posted by Chidi Anthony Opara Feb/March 2013. http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/moving-lives Sidonie Smith, " Moving Lives-Twentieth-Century Women Travel Writers ," University of Minnesota Press, 2001. Smith has interesting focus on women and their use of 20th century transportation technologies used to narrate their global travel. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/women-of-national-geographic/ "Women of National Geographic," National Geographic 125 Year Celebration, 2013.  Note photos of women scientists, botanists, explorers, all travel writers also.  Click on photo or name to see their travels and work.

North America: http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit01/authors-5.html "Native Voices, Black Elk (1863-1950) and John Neidhardt (1881-1973)," American Passages: A Literary Survey, Annenberg Learner site. John Neidhardt, travel poet of the west, documented Black Elk's life and mysticism. http://www.roadjunky.com/article/964/hunter-thompson-gonzo-journalist "Hunter Thompson Gonzo Journalist," Road Junky website, June 18, 2011. Hunter Thompson as travel writer. http://www.3news.co.nz/Travel-writer-Bob-Bone---full-interview/tabid/420/articleID/232452/Default.aspx "Travel Writer Bob Bone-full interview on Hunter S. Thompson," 3News (New Zealand), November 11, 2011. Video and transcript. http://www.themillions.com/2005/05/travel-writing-by-train-by-andrew.html Andrew Saikali, "Travel Writing by Train," MM The Millions website, May 4, 2005. Saikali focuses on Paul Theroux and Bill Bryson's train narratives. http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Rails-Adventures-Best-Loved-Writers/dp/1579122051 Edward C. Goodman, ed., " Writing the Rails: Train Adventures by the World's Best-Loved Writers," New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishing, 2001. 101 Train Travel Stories. See four "customer" reviews. https://www.createspace.com/3420103;jsessionid=0A8FF11AF37D997564ACD356773C167B.b0f2e0625dec7176eadfd7c795c82976 Steve McCarthy, " Road Trippin':  A Guide to the Best West Coast Trips-Ever!" CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010.  See four reviews in:  http://www.amazon.com/Road-Trippin-Guide-coast-Trips-Ever/dp/1449982808 http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/balayogiv-1545189-nasa-astronaut-douglas-wheelock-photos-space-ship/ "NASA Astronaut Douglas Wheelock Photos from Space Ship," Author Stream. See 27 slide powerpoint and transcript from Wheelock's twitter photos and travel narrative from space. http://leiffrenzel.de/papers/timetravel-narrative.pdf Leif Frenzel, "Narrative Patterns in Time Travel Fiction," paper, 2008. For more information on author see: http://leiffrenzel.de http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/3132/1/Feminismos_4_04.pdf Ozlem Ezer (York University, Canada), "A Challenge to Travel Literature and Stereotypes by Two Turkish Women: Zayneb Hanoum and Selma Ekrem," Feminisme/s, 4, diciembre 2004, pp. 61-68.  Seen in Rua_ Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Alicante.  Early 20th century perspective of the West by two Turkish women travel writers. http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/travel/25istanbul.html?_r=0 Rick Lyman, "A City of Many Pasts Embraces the Future," NY Times Travel, September 25, 2005.  Travel writer Rick Lyman features a travelogue of Istanbul as it enters the 21st century.

Asia/SE ASIA: http://www.asianreviewofbooks.com/new/?ID=1404 #! Kerry Brown, Asian Review of Books, March 16, 2013 review of John Everard, " Only Beautiful Please: A British Diplomat in North Korea ," Asia-Pacific Research Network, June 2012. British ambassador to Pyongyang recounts his 2006-2008 diplomatic assignment in North Korea. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/information/writers/travel_writing_contest.shtml Travel Writing Contest, Transitions Abroad. See 2006-2013 Travel writing place winning narratives. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-patrick-leigh-fermor-soldier-scholar-and-celebrated-travel-writer-hailed-as-the-best-of-his-time-2296162.html Artemis Cooper, "Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor: Soldier, Scholar and Celebrated Travel Writer Hailed as Best of his Time," Independent, June 11, 2011. http://www.nybooks.com/books/authors/patrick-leigh-fermor/ "Patrick Leigh Fermor," (1915-2011), New York Review of Books. NYRB reviews all of Fermor's travel narratives. To read those reviews click on image of book covers on left of page. Fermor's " The Traveller's Tree" highlighted his late 1940's journey throughout the Caribbean islands. http://patrickleighfermor.wordpress.com/ Justin Marozzi, "The Longest Journey Will Always Lie Ahead," Patrick Leigh Fermor wordpress blog, March 3, 2013, first published in StandPoint July-August 2011. Blog posts honoring Patrick Leigh Fermor. http://eprints.utas.edu.au/11717/1/dorgelo-thesis.pdf Rebecca Dorgelo, "Travelling into History: The Travel Writing and Narrative History of William Dalrymple," paper submitted for Doctor of Philosophy degree, University of Tasmania, July 2011, 298 pp. pdf. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/research_publications_series/research_publications_online/sir_aurel_stein_study_day.aspx "Sir Aurel Stein-proceedings of the British Museum study day, March 2002," British Museum Research publication. Sir Aurel Stein was a British archaeologist active in the first half of the 20th century. See links to download full publication in pdf format. http://www.monkeytree.org/silkroad/stein.html "An Archeologist Follows His Dreams to Asia," monkey tree.org. Aurel Stein's travels to the Silk Road and narratives of those missions. Stein felt central Asia and the Silk Road was critical in understanding world history. See Teacher section. http://www.bdcconline.net/en/ "Stories of Chinese Christians," Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, @2005-2012. Missionary travel writers share their faith converting Chinese. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-124641518.html Stephen L. Keck, "Picturesque Burma:  British Travel Writing, 1890-1914," Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, October 1, 2004, seen in High Beam Research. http://www.nhpborneo.com/book/b077 Owen Rutter, " British North Borneo: An Account of Its History, Resources and Native Tribes," Opus Publishing, 2008 seen in Natural History Publications. Originally published in 1922 Rutter's North Borneo travel account along with his 1929 " The Pagans of North Borneo" were the best until K. G. Tregonning's " Under Chartered Company Rule:  North Borneo, 1886-1946" Singapore:  University of Malaya Press, 1958. Rutter has written travel narratives of the legends of Sabah (one of the 13 easternmost states of Malaysia-North Borneo), Taiwan and the court martial of the "MS Bounty."  See interesting comparative of Western plantation system and Sabah (N. Borneo) traditional farming legalities by Amity Doolittle, "Colliding Discourses:  Western Land Laws and Native Customary Rights in Northern Borneo, 1881-1918," Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 34 (I), pp. 97-126, February 2003.  Printed in the United Kingdom. @2003 The National University of Singapore. http://www.metaglyfix.com/aad/pdfpubs/DoolittleSoutheastAsianStudies.pdf http://thebamboosea.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/ai-wu-journey-to-the-south-nanxing-ji/ "Ai Wu Journey to the South," The Bamboo Sea blog, April 28, 2011.  Ai Wu, Chinese born 1904, travels through- out Southeast Asia and leaves his travel narrative, Journey to the South, as his experiences. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/andrew-x-pham/catfish-and-mandala/ Andrew X. Pham, " Catfish and Mandala:  A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam," Picador, 2000.  Pham, a Vietnamese-American, travels by bicycle around the Pacific rim back to Vietnam. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,436029,00.html Jamie James, "He Shall Bear Witness," Time Magazine, March 23, 2003 review of " The Gate," memoirs of Francois Bizot, a French scholar of Cambodian Buddhism who may be the only Westerner released from a Khmer Rouge Prison camp. His book tells his point of view as to horrible genocide 1975-1978 of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. See more as to Cambodian Literature:  http://www.heritagecruise.net/cambodia/cambodia-facts/cambodia-literature.html "Cambodian Literature," Heritage Cruise website. Note Early Cambodian Literature to Present with comments on Khmer travel accounts/survivor accounts from France and US. http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0726/What-to-read-about-the-Khmer-Rouge Marjorie Kehe, "What to Read about the Khmer Rouge," Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2010.  Note travel narratives and survivor accounts.  See Chanrithy Him, " When Broken Glass Floats," Norton, 2001 and travel writing author who went to Cambodia and found the Khmer Rouge chief executioner, Duch. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-764486.html "Khmer Survivor, part 1," Travel Blog, published January 31, 2013.  Travel account of Phnom Penh, December 31-January 7, 2013 and descriptions of Cambodia and specifically the Khmer Rouge prison camps.  See part 2: http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-769004.html http://beforeitsnews.com/china/2012/09/a-travel-narrative-that-tried-to-be-more-2443424.html "Before It's News" website reviews travel writer Tony Parfitt's " Why China Will Never Rule the World: Travels in the Two Chinas," Western Hemisphere Press, 2011, 424 pp., September 14, 2012.

Africa: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/narrative_travel_writing/travel-through-libya-ancient-wonders-desert-hallucinations.shtml Victor Paul Borg, "Travels Through Libya:  Ancient Wonders," Transitions Abroad, 2009 Narrative Travel Writing Contest Winner, Victor Borg, excerpt on his travels through Libya. http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=TRADE PAPER:NEW:9781108010726:42.50#synopses_and_reviews John Roscoe, " The Northern Bantu: An Account of Some African Tribes of the Uganda Protectorate ," (Cambridge Library Collection-Travel and Exploration), Cambridge University Press, 2010. John Roscoe (1861-1932) was an ordained Christian minister elected a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society in 1912 for his ethnographic writings of Uganda. http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/journeys-from-scandinavia Elisabeth Oxfeldt, " Journeys from Scandinavia: Scandanavian Travel Writing in Africa, Asia, and South America-1840-2000 , " University of Minnesota Press, 2010. Oxfeldt focuses on Danish and Norwegian travelogues and how they perceive and portray encounters with the non-European other. http://www.countercurrents.org/marrouchi210108.htm Mustapha B. Marrouchi, "Horrors," Countercurrents.org, January 21, 2008. Marrouchi discusses European travel writing and it's depiction of "Africa and Africans as savages" with details from Bryan Mealer's The River is the Road ," 2007, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and others. http://www.ralphmag.org/DM/kapuscinski1.html Ignacio Schwartz two part review of Ryszard Kapuscinski, " Another Day of Life," Harcourt Brace Javanovich in Ralph Magazine (The Review of Arts, Literature, Philosophy and the Humanities).  Polish born travel writer Kapuscinski's narrative of rebellion in Portuguese Anglo in 1975. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/25/pressandpublishing.booksobituaries Victoria Brittain, "Ryszard Kapuscinski-obituaries," Guardian (UK).  Born in Pinsk, what is now Belarus, Kapuscinski became a legend writing for the Polish News Agency, died 1975. http://www.peripatus.gen.nz/Books/FreLesAfr.html Peripatus (New Zealand) review of Peter B. Biddlecombe, " French Lessons in Africa, Travels With My Briefcase Through French Africa," 1993, 2002.  Peripatus finds the 1993 thick paperback the best of Peter Biddlecombe's travel writing in that he writes eloquently of what he sees and doesn't try to be comedic as he is in later travel narratives. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7975475/The-Masque-of-Africa-by-VS-Naipaul-review.html Ed O'Loughlin review (The Telegraph, September 5, 2010) of V.S. Naipaul, "The Masque of Africa:  Glimpses of African Belief,"  Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.  Naipaul (Nobel Prize in Literature 2001) retraces the footsteps of a number of Euro-American explorers who, in a way, paved the way for colonization of Africans and examines African spirituality.  Beginning in Uganda in 2008 Naipaul sees Christianity and Islam as alien religions and treats African indigenous spirituality with respect.  See also Eliza Griswold NY Times Sunday Book review (November 5, 2010), "The Nobelist and the Pygmies:"  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/books/review/Griswold-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 See more point of view as to V.S. Naipaul: http://www.ligali.org/article.php?id=2118 Toyin Agbetu review of interview in London Evening Standard with journalist Geordie Greig and Trinidad's V.S Naipaul about Naipaul's travelogue, The Masque of Africa:  Glimpses of African Belief, seen in ligali a human right and natural justice website.  Agbetu claims The Evening Standard, Greig and V.S. Naipaul are racist and Africa haters. http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/WOR-TOP-the-congo-diary-why-we-love-to-hate-vs-naipaul-4017056-NOR.html Girish Karnad, "The Congo Diary:  Why we love to hate V. S. Naipaul," Daily Bhaskar (India), November 6, 2012. Karnad agrees with Toyin Agbetu's argument that V.S. Naipaul is a racist and anti-Islam. http://books.google.com/books/about/Escape_from_slavery.html?id=u_81GYuQtkQC Francis Bok with Edward Tivan, " Escape From Slavery: My Ten Years of Slavery and Escape to America ," Macmillan, 2003. In 1986 a 7 yr. old Dinka boy in southern Sudan goes to market and is captured and taken north to work as a slave for ten years on a Sudanese farm plantation. His escape and travel to America is told in this travel narrative. See Google Book: http://books.google.com/books/about/Escape_from_Slavery.html?id=E1k9VOCC94sC See more on Francis Bok's modern day slave account:  http://media.us.macmillan.com/teachersguides/9780312306243TG.pdf Francis Bok, " Escape From Slavery," St.Martins' Griffin Study Guide for teachers by Scott Pitcock. And more on "Africa South of the Sahara Slavery" from Stanford University: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/history/hislavery.html Stanford's "Africa south of the Sahara" website. See links to Africa Diaspora.  http://books.google.com/books/about/War_Child.html?id=B9xbGFk8V1AC (Google eBook) Emmanuel Jal and Megan Lloyd Davies, " War Child: A Child Soldier's Story ," Macmillian 2009. Sudan child soldier Emmanuel Jal memoir/travel account of his 2 civil wars in southern Sudan and success as an international rap star. http://www.fullbooks.com/In-Morocco1.html Edith Wharton, " In Morocco," Pt. 1-4 seen in Fullbooks.com. Wharton (1862-1937) classified her travel narrative of French Morocco (1918) as Morocco's first guide book. Wharton, an advocate of French imperialism, also traveled to the WW I front lines and wrote an account of that experience, " Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikbal_Ali_Shah "Ikbal Ali Shah," Wikipedia.org. Indian/Afghan author, diplomat and travel writer, born in 1894. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/books/review/19goodheart.html Adam Goodheart, "Home of the Brave," NY Times book review, 3/19/2006. Goodheart reviews Ikbal Ali Shah's British travel writing grandson, Tahir Shah's book, The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca, Bantam Books, February 2006, which is set in Morocco. http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/05/alhassen.author.malcolmx/index.html Maytha Alhassen, "The Biographer who Shattered Malcolm X myths," CNN Opinion, April 5, 2011. Alhassen reviews Dr. Manning Marable's " Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention," which includes detailed accounts of Malcolm's three trips to the Middle East and Africa. http://africasacountry.com/2011/06/27/malcolm-x-in-africa/ Sean Jacobs, "Malcolm X in Africa," Africa Is A Country website, June 27, 2011. http://www.africaresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=268:malcolm-x-travels-to-africa-and-gain-new-insights&Itemid=346 "Malcolm X Travels to Africa to Gain New Insights," AfricaResource, May 5, 2007. Bernice Bass interview with Malcolm X after his trips to Middle East and Africa transcript (5 pp.). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_God%27s_Children_Need_Traveling_Shoes " All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes ," Wikipedia. Maya Angelou, " All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes," Random House, 1986 is Angelou's travel narrative of her three years living in Accra, Ghana (1962-65).

Oceania: http://katehamilton.net.au/category/travel-writing/ Australian Kate Hamilton website with 2004-2013 examples of her travel narratives. http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/index/founder_and_teachers/mau.html Mau Pius Pialug, Micronesian double canoe skilled sailor re-introduced Oceanic/Hawaiian navigation by stars and seas to modern Oceania. Pialug navigated 2,400 miles from Hawai'i to Tahiti in 1976. See videos and travel accounts: http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/holokai/1976/ben_finney.html Ben Finney, "1976 Hawaii to Tahiti and Back," Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions, 1976. In 1980 native Hawaiians made the round trip from Hawaii to Tahiti. He passed on his skills to others before his death as seen in this article by Brian Handwerk, "Pacific Islander Use Stars to Sail Canoes From New Zealand to California," National Geographic New Watch, August 31, 2011: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/31/pacific-islanders-use-stars-to-sail-canoes-from-new-zealand-to-california/ http://www.wright.edu/~martin.kich/BookBox/Travel.htm Martin Kich (Professor of English, Wright State U.-Lake Campus), "Some Notes on the Travel Narrative, with Special Emphasis on Tony Horowitz's " One for the Road:  Hitchhiking Through the Australian Outback," nd. Martin Kich begins this essay explaining the difference between travel narratives and travel guides. http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/island-paradise-or-bad-apple-20130313-2g0oy.html Peter Pierce review ("Island Paradise or Bad Apple?") of Julianne Schultz and Natasha Cica, eds., " Tasmania The Tipping Point ?" Griffith Review39 A Quarterly  of New Writing and Ideas seen in The Age (Australia), March 16, 2013.  Tasmania The Tipping Point? includes an anthology of essays written by travel writers and others examining Tasmanian culture, landscape, and history. This is a series of works, lectures and studies of Tasmania done in conjunction with The Griffith Review39 and University of Australia, Sydney.  Listen to 1 hour and 18 minute audio podcast highlighting this series: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/tasmania_tipping_point.shtml http://www.reportsfrombeyond.com/aboutthebook.php Patrick Richardson, "Reports from beyond-A Journey through life to remote places,"  Ultima Thule Press 2008.  Cook Islands travel. See other Cook Island travel writers: The Cook islands have produced many writers. One of the earliest was Stephen Savage, a New Zealander who arrived in Rarotonga in 1894. A public servant, Savage compiled a dictionary late in the 19th century. The first manuscript was destroyed by fire but he began work again and the Maori to English dictionary was published long after his death. The task of completing the full dictionary awaits some scholar. Samoa had Robert Louis Stevenson and Tahiti had Paul Gauguin. The Cook Islands had Robert Dean Frisbie, a Californian writer who, in the late 1920s, sought refuge from the hectic world of post-war America and made his home on Pukapuka . Eventually, loneliness, alcohol and disease overcame Frisbie but not before he had written sensitively of the islands in numerous magazine articles and books. His grave is in the CICC churchyard in Avarua, Rarotonga. His eldest daughter, Johnny, now living on Rarotonga, is also a writer and has produced a biography of her family titled "The Frisbies of the South Seas". Another fugitive from the metropolis of London was Ronald Syme, founder of the pineapple canning enterprise on Mangaia and author of "Isles of the Frigate Bird" and "The Lagoon is Lonely Now". In similar vein, an English expatriate who lived on Mauke , Julian Dashwood, wrote "South Seas Paradise" under the pseudonym, Julian Hillas. Sir Tom Davis (deceased), an ex-Prime Minister and renowned ocean sailor, knew his island history and had an exhaustive knowledge of ancient Polynesian navigational techniques. His autobiography, "Island Boy", details his career. As well as being president of the Cook Islands Oceangoing Vaka Association, he wrote an historical novel "Vaka" which is the story of a Polynesian ocean voyage.

Latin America/Caribbean: http://library.brown.edu/cds/travelogues/waliszewski.html Mia Waliszewski, "The Role of Travel Writing in Reconstructing History of Latin America," Center for Latin America and Caribbean Studies, Brown University. http://www.academia.edu/1052235/Ernesto_Che_Guevara_Reminiscences_of_the_Cuban_Revolutionary_War_and_the_Politics_of_Guerrilla_Travel_Writing JP Spicer-Escalante (Utah State University), "Ernesto 'Che Guevara, Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, and the Politics of Guerrilla Travel Writing," Studies in Travel Writing, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2011, pp. 393-405 seen in academia.edu. http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780415991216 Claire Lindsay, "Contemporary Travel Writers of Latin America," Routledge 2009. Summary seen in Powell Books ad. Ms. Lindsay examines domestic journey narratives that have been produced by travellers from the continent itself and largely in Spanish. She focuses on travel writers who have been to Patagonia, the Andes, Mexico, and the Mexican-US border. http://www.acampbell.org.uk/bookreviews/r/fleming .  Anthony Campbell, "Peter Fleming " Brazilian Adventure," Anthony Campbell Book Reviews blogsite (UK), November 4, 2008.  Campbell analyzes Peter Flemings travel adventure in 1932 Brazil in this short review. http://www.travelerstales.com/catalog/brazil/ Annette Haddad and Scott Doggetti, editors, " True Stories of Life on the Road," June 2004 seen in Traveler's Tales catalog site.  Los Angeles Times journalists put together travel writer's perspectives of 20th century Brazil. http://udadisi.blogspot.com/2013/03/being-black-in-latin-america.html (Book review) Chambi Chachage, "Being Black in Latin America," UDADISI blog, March 14, 2013. Chambi Chachage reviews Henry Louis Gates Jr. travelogue, "Black in Latin America," NY University Press, 2011. Dr. Gates travels to six Latin American countries (Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba) beginning in February 2010 for research and filming for PBS April 19, 2011 TV program "Blacks in Latin America" series. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/ Gates' thesis might be to analyze "the many ways in which race and racism are configured differently in Latin America than they have been in the US." http://www.thehemingwayproject.com/809/ Allie Baker, "An Interview With Travel Writer David Lansing: Following the Hemingway Trail," The Hemingway Project, February 17, 2010. David Lansing, himself a travel writer, has followed Hemingway's travel route world-wide and discusses those trips. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/oldman/section1.rhtml " The Old Man and the Sea," Spark Notes lesson plan to help teach Hemingway's classic tale set in Cuba. http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20121207-the-worlds-last-great-wilderness Karen Bowerman, "The World's Last Great Wilderness," BBC slideshow, December 7, 2012. AntarcticaTravel writing. Who is Karen Bowerman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Bowerman http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/oct/19/tintin-adventure-jordan-petra Georgia Brown, "Blistering Barnacles, Tintin, it's the rose-red city!" Guardian (UK), October 19, 2010.  Belgian graphic (cartoonist) artist Herge develops comic hero Tintin after Carter's archaeological digs in Egypt (1922) and French author Jules Verne.  Cartoonist as travel writer of guidebooks? http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/28/world/europe/tintin-archaeological-escapades/ Laura Allsop, "Comic Book Hero Tintin archaeological escapades," CNN World/Europe, October 28, 2011. Tintin II seen in Stephen Spielberg movie http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/travel-writer-paul-theroux/ Tavis Smiley video podcast interview with Travel Writer Paul Theroux, PBS, May 26, 2011. (13 min. 13 sec.)

Europe: https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/ESC/article/viewFile/308/285 Douglas Ivison (Lakehead University, Alberta, Canada), "Travel Writing at the End of Empire:  A Pom Named Bruce and the Mad White Giant."  Ivison focuses on "two white male British travel writers, Bruce Chatwin and Benedict Allen in light of decline of British empire."  Dr. Ivison begins his essay by stating that, "The practice of travel writing, and that of reading travel books, was inextricably intertwined with the creation and maintenance of European imperialism." http://www.yourlifeisatrip.com/home/honoring-americas-fallen-soldiers-in-normandy-1.html Roy Stevenson, "Honoring America's Fallen Soldiers in Normandy," yourlifeisatrip website, nd. Travel writer Roy Stevenson's tribute to fallen Americans at Normandy in WW II. http://www.roy-stevenson.com/ Roy Stevenson travel writing website. http://everythingworldwar2.com/world_war_2_special_topics/POW_Prisoner_of_War_World_War2.html "Prisoner of War accounts WW II," Everything World War website.  http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/flashbks/west/west1.htm Rebecca West, " Black Lambs and Grey Falcon:  A Journey Through Yugoslavia , Pt. 1" The Atlantic Monthly, January 1941.  Rebecca West's travel book about her travels in Yugoslavia seen in five installments.  Ms. West was eager to explore the Balkans due to WW I and how it had affected her generation.  Her 1150 pages is a travelogue based on her travels from 1936-1938 and a vivid account of the violent history of the Balkans.  She became an admirer of the Serbs.   See more:  http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/09/10/specials/west.html "Featured Author:  Rebecca West," NY Times on the Web, 1999.  Reviews of all Rebecca West books. http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1538544 Ruth Pierce, "Trapped in 'Black Russia': Letters June-November 1915," Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co./Riverside Press Cambridge, 1918. Seen in Gutenberg Project, release date: April 3, 2008. Read Chapter three of Pierce's letters, after her arrest by Czarist officials: http://www.readcentral.com/chapters/Ruth-Pierce/Trapped-in-Black-Russia-Letters-June-November-1915/004 Read Central.com http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=k62eaN9-TLY&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dk62eaN9-TLY John Reed's " 10 days that shook the world" is basically a story of his travel to Russia. Here is Eisenstein movie of the account. Classic early soviet cinema. Youtube. http://www.bijusukumaran.com/tag/spies/ Biju Sukumaran, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier....Travel Writer?" The Lone Writer blog, January 21, 2013. Sukumaran posts this article on Hungarian Eugene Fodor, talented guide book author, hired by the OSS as a spy. Fodor might be one who encouraged travelers to experience people, food and drink as opposed to slogging from ancient monument to ancient monument.  See more:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700120680/Eugene-Fodor-feted-as-the-spy-who-loved-travel.html?s_cid=rss-5 Leanne Italie, "Eugene Fodor feted as the spy who loved travel," Desert News, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 22, 2011. http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk_based_author_bill_bryson_fears_britain_is_becoming_greedy_1_481222 Sarah Hall, "Norfolk-based author Bill Bryson Fears Britain is Becoming Greedy," EDP24, UK, May 31 2010. This is not an Onion article, but a comment on travel writer Bill Bryson's change over time analysis of England 1970's  to 2010. http://metro.co.uk/2011/11/07/pj-orourke-politics-in-the-us-is-bland-compared-to-europe-211526/ "PJ O'Rourke:  Politics in the US is bland compared to Europe," Metro (UK), November 7, 2011.  Metro interview with American travel writer P. J. O'Rourke.  O'Rourke's " Holidays in Hell " is humorous travel book. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/12/p-j-o-rourke-picks-his-favorite-travel-books.html "PJ O'Rourke Picks His Favorite Travel Books," The Daily Beast, November 12, 2011.    http://hermetic.com/crowley/  "Aleister Crowley," Hermetic.  Satanist, occultist....and travel writer.  Who was Aleister Crowley? (d. 1947).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley And why was he considered a bad boy? http://www.jesus-issavior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/aleister_crowley.htm http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-travel-narratives-essays/contemporary-travel-narratives Criticism of contemporary travel narratives to 2003, Contemporary Literary Criticism, @ 2005 Gale Cengage seen in enotes.com. Examples from this short essay: "Stephen Kohl believes travel writing is autobiographical revealing the author's personality. Patrick Holland and Graham Huggan warns of travel writing's spread of ethnocentrism and cultural superiority yet is good to introduce the middle class to the world. Scholar Paul Fussell claims that travel writing is "haven for second-rate [literary] talents."' http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/e-series/volumes/volume_1/001_10_doloughan.pdf Fiona J. Doloughan (University of Surrey), "Narrative of Travel and the Travelling Concept of of Narrative: Genre Blending and the Art of Transformation,"  seen in Collegium, Matti Hyvarinen, Anu Korhonen & Juri Mykkanen (eds.) The Travel Concept of Narrative.  Studies across Disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences/.  Helsinki:  Helsinki Collegium for Advanced  Studies, 2006, 134-144. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernard-starr/wandering-jews-of-the-diaspora-where-are-they_b_2595402.html Bernard Starr, "Wandering Jews of the Diaspora:  Where Are They?" Huffington Post Religion Blog, February 12, 2013.  Travel writer Bernard Starr began a journey to 89 Jewish diaspora sites beginning in 1964. http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york-news/jewish-week-travel-writer-gabe-levenson-98 Robert Goldblum, Obit. "Jewish Week Travel Writer Gabe Levenson, 98," The New York Jewish Week, September 11, 2012. Magazines/Websites: Laphams' Quarterly -2009 Travel edition http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/magazine/travel.php Sample Primary sources:  Oregon Trail 1846 http://www.thefastertimes.com/slowtravel/2009/11/02/travels-with-laphams-quarterly-starvation-on-the-oregon-trail-1846/ Tomis 1st century http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/exile.php http://fodors.com/ Fodors Travel Guide on-line originated in Hungary by Eugene Fodor in the 1930's.  Fodor encouraged meeting the people, experiencing the food and drink of the land visited  as opposed to hiking from ancient ruin to ancient ruin.  Fodor's reputation has been enhanced by his work as an OSS and CIA spy.  See articles on the Travel Guide spy in the 1900-Present section above. http://alittleadrift.com/best-travel-books/ "Best Travel Books, Films and Music," A Little Adrift.  Note tabs and links for countries or regions. http://steppemagazine.com/backissues/ Steppe Magazine, a subsidiary of The Christian Science Monitor, has wonderful articles by travel writers, photographers describing far regions of the world. http://www.geographia.com/grandtour/index.htm Grand Tour magazine for travel writing produced on-line by Georgraphia. http://blacktravelwriters.wordpress.com/ Black Travel Writers Association.  See on-line journal:  http://www.africandiasporatourism.com/ http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/required-reading-steppe-magazine/ Nathan Lump, "Required Reading/Steppe Magazine," T magazine blog, NY Times Travel, July 28, 2009.  Mr. Lump briefly reviews Steppe Magazine. http://www.ralphmag.org/ RALPH Magazine website, editor Lolita Lark, The Review of Arts, Literature, Philosophy and the Humanities.  Many travel accounts within this site's articles. https://resantiq.wordpress.com/about-res-antiquitatis/ "RES ANTIQUITATIS," Journal of Ancient History, ed. Francisco Carmelo. Website for this journal and note emphasis on cultural otherness, example, Orientalism. Note reference to Travel accounts. http://www.worldhum.com/ World Hum, Internet journal on modern travel writers and travel narratives.  See example of interview with travel writer Pico Iyer: http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-interviews/pico_iyer_travel_writing_20061104/ Matthew Davis, "Pico Iyer:  On Travel and Travel Writing," WorldHum-The Best Travel Stories on the Internet, November 4, 2006. http://www.travel-studies.com/travel-narratives-spring-2013 Professor Steve Hutkins "Travel Studies" website, 2013, including syllabus, assignments, research, travel narratives for his New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study course.  Who is Professor Hutkins? http://www.gallatin.nyu.edu/academics/faculty/ssh1.html http://www.h-net.org/~travel/ H-Travel, online Network of the History of Travel, Transport, and Tourism, H-Net Michigan State University. http://www.satw.org/ Society of American Travel Writers website. http://www.freelancewriting.com/guidelines/pages/Travel/ "Travel Writers Guidelines," Fee Lance Writing, last updated February 16, 2013.  See an exhaustive listing of Travel magazines and their websites. http://traveloutward.com/archives/category/articles "Articles in the Travel Category," Travel Outward website.  Note these travel articles from Travel Outward site are stories from all over the globe from 2000-2007. http://paperbacktraveler.com/ "Travel Literature Reviews and Recommendations," {paperback travelers] website @ 2008-2009.  Note many travel writers and their books/travel narratives. http://asiabookroom.com/index.cfm Asia Book Room website with annotated links to Asian books including many travel narratives and accounts. http://travelwriters.blogspot.com/2005/11/travel-quiz.html Carl Parkes Travel Writers blogspot, 2005...at first one could find this site not impressive, but clicking on past "issues" on the right can be  fruitful as to  travel writing resources. http://www.travelwritersjourney.webs.com/ Travel Writer's Journey website. http://www.adventurecollection.com/the-adventurous-traveler-blog , Don George, ed., "The Adventurous Traveler Blog."  See four part "Into Africa" accounts by Don George. http://www.writers.net/writers/topic/112/130 "Travel Writers," Writers Net website/list serve for writers, Editors, Agents, Publishers. http://suite101.com/article/two-types-of-travel-writing-a60178 Adam Williams, "Two Types of Travel Writing," suite101.com, July 12, 2008.  Mr. Williams breaks down travel writing into two categories, narratives and guide books and supplies examples of each in this short article. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/links.htm Travel Writers Tales website.  See Canadian travel writing links. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/travel_writing/index.shtml "Transitions Abroad" website with many links on travel writing. http://www.oldworldwandering.com/2012/08/12/angkor-temples/ Iain Manley and Claire vd. Heever "old world wandering" Travel Abroad website. http://www.silk-road.com/toc/index.html Silk Road Foundation Home page.  See Travel resources tabs on left side of page.  Tabs for Trade routes, Travel routes, Maps for Marco Polo, Rubruck, Fa-hsien, and Xuanzang. Bibliography: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/IHSP-travelers.html Paul Halsall, editor, "Traveler's Accounts," Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University Library, page created February 24, 2001, updated March 20, 2007.  Contents include links to Ancient Travelers, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern European, Jewish, Muslim, Chinese, Japanese, Printed Primary Sources, and Secondary Literature. http://science.jrank.org/pages/8129/Travel-from-Europe-Middle-East.html "Travel from Europe and the Middle East-Ancient and Medieval Travel:  Epic Heroes, Pilgrims, and Merchants, Renaissance Travel:  Exploration and Empire," science.jrank.org.  Bibliography of sources. http://www.horizonbook.com/asia.html "Rare, antiquarian, used & out-of-print books on Asia, & Asia travel including China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Siberia, Russia, Middle East, Arabia, Persia, Himalaya, Mountaineering for sale at Horizon Books." nd. See "How to Order" link at bottom of this extensive list. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/ "A Vision of Britain Through Time: Travel Writing," University of Portsmouth and others, 2009. This may be the largest collection of British travel writers on the web beginning with Gerald of Wales 1188 and 1190's narratives of Gerald's travels through Wales. http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/a-brief-history-of-travel-writing-2886257.html "A Brief History of Travel Writing," articlesbase.com. Euro-centric slim essay on history and travel writing, Petrarch to Robert Louis Stevenson's " Travels with a Donkey," a satirical look at travel writing. http://www.tutorgigpedia.com/ed/Travel_literature "Travel Literature," Tutorgigpedia.com.  Excellent bibliography of travel literature over time. http://cw.routledge.com/ref/travellit/azentriesj2.html Jennifer Speake, ed., "Literature of Travel and Exploration-An Encyclopedia," 3 Vols., Routledge, 2003.  List of all entries in alphabetical order.  See introduction:  http://cw.routledge.com/ref/travellit/introduction.pdf See Jesuit travel narratives:  http://cw.routledge.com/ref/travellit/azentriesj2.html#jesuit Jennifer Speake, ed., "Literature of Travel and Exploration-An Encyclopedia," 3 Vols. Routledge, 2003.  Jesuit narratives. http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/content.php?pid=62444&sid=460666 "Native American Studies Research Guide," Michigan State Library resources, last update April 26, 2013.  See travel narratives/accounts. http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/travel_lit/travel_lit_resources.htm "Travel Literature Resources," Special Collection and Archives at James B. Duke Library, Furman University, Greenville, S.C..  Mostly early modern/modern travel writer resources links listed by country and period. http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/southasia/lach.html Donald F. Lach, "Asia In the Eyes of Europe Sixteenth-Eighteenth Centuries," University of Chicago Library 1991. 1000 catalogues for this University of Chicago Exhibition were produced including a Preface, Introduction, and Bibliography of sources. http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=1001075 "Travel Literature," Indiana University, Bloomington Library bibliography of 19th century British travel literature. Scroll down to see short list of Anthologies which include 19th century British travel literature. See 172 pp. of annotated bibliography for Travel Accounts 1700-1900 CE, Indiana University Library, updated 9/29/2007 below: [ DOC ]

Both Serials Databases - Indiana University Presents an English translation of portions of the travel account of ... that is printed here in translation. www. indiana.edu /~kdhist/J400-2007A-web/ travel -accounts-articles.doc   And more:   keyword "travel literature" 1700H OR 1800H AHL/HA * 9 ... www.indiana.edu/~kdhist/J400-2007A-web/travel-literature-articles.doc DOC file http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/travel_lit/travel_lit_china.htm "Travel Literature China," Special Collection and Archives at James B. Duke Library, Furman Univeristy, Greenville, S.C.  Europeans to China 18th-21st centuries. http://www.understandingchina.org/Early_Western_Resources_on_China.html Western Travel Accounts of China prior to 1912. Large number of sources. "Understanding China website." http://dlxs.library.cornell.edu/s/sea/ "Southeast Asia Visions," John M. Echols Collection, Cornell University Library. A collection of 350 travel narratives of Southeast Asia. http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml "Silk Road Travelers," Silk-Road.com.  See bibliography: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelbib.html Silk-Road.com, Bibliography for Ancient Silk Road Travelers. http://www.transafrica.biz/en/books_to_read.php "Books to Read Before Traveling to Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin," Transafrica.  Many of the books listed with annotations are travel narratives. http://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/default/files/travel_writing_bibliography.pdf "Biblio-Pilot Series-Travel Writing:  A Selective Bibliography," The Mariners' Museum Library, compiled by Lisa DuVernay, February 2004. http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelbibliography.html "Travel Narrative Resources Annotated Bibliography," World History Sources, Unpacking Primary Sources, George Mason University. http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelonline.php "Travel Accounts Resources-Travel  Narratives on-line," World History Sources, Unpacking Primary Sources, George Mason University. http://www.st-charles.lib.il.us/arl/booklists/travnarr.htm Travel Narratives book list (bibliography) from St. Charles, Illinois public Library. http://library.brown.edu/cds/travelogues/index.html Studying Latin America through Travelogues Home site for Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Brown University, Dr. James N. Green lead instructor for site.  Note Bibliography link on left of page developed by Mia Waliszewski:   http://library.brown.edu/cds/travelogues/waliszewski_bibliography.html http://www.transitionsabroad.com/tazine/1006/index.shtml "Narrative Travel Writers Contest Winners and Latin American Volunteering, Travel, Study, Work and Living," Transitions Abroad website-TAzine the Transitions Abroad Webzine.  2011 Winners travel narratives from around the globe on left side of website with Latin American examples on right side of site. http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/LS2-210/bibliography.htm . Jordana Dyn, Bibliography for course, "Travel Writers and Travel Liars in Latin America: 1500-1900." Skidmore College, 2002. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/travel_writing/index.shtml Tim Leffel, "The Travel Writer's Guide," Transitions Abroad website.   See resources, lists of best travel books, interviews with travel writers (American and European). http://www.transitionsabroad.com/tazine/0811/best-travel-narrative-books.shtml Volke Poeizl, "Top 8 Travel Narratives," Transitions Abroad Webzine, November 2008. (no link) Robert R. Hubach and John C. Dann, "Early Midwestern Travel Narratives:  An Annotated Bibliography, 1634-1850 , first published in 1961, hardcover Wayne State University Press, 1998 Early Midwestern Travel Narratives records and describes first-person records of journeys in the frontier and early settlement periods which survive in both manuscript and print. Geographically, it deals with the states once part of the Old Northwest Territory -- Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota -- and with Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Robert Hubach arranged the narratives in chronological order and makes the distinction among diaries (private records, with contemporaneously dated entries), journals (non-private records with contemporaneously dated entries), and "accounts", which are of more literary, descriptive nature. Early Midwestern Travel Narratives remains to this day a unique comprehensive work that fills a long existing need for a bibliography, summary, and interpretation of these early Midwestern travel narratives. http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-1953autumn/ishs-1953autumn-283.pdf Robert R. Hubach, "They Saw the Early Midwest/A Bibliography of Travel Narratives, 1722-1850," Digital Library Northern Illinois Unversity, 1953 pdf (7 pp.). http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awgc1/travel.html "Travel Accounts American Women," The Library of Congress.  Women travel accounts short bibliography and links to travel on the American frontier. http://www.americanjourneys.org/selection_process.html "American Journeys--Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement:  A Digital Library and Learning Center," Wisconisn History Society.  Click on tabs at the top to see bibliography of sources. http://www.members.shaw.ca/CanoeBC/heritage/biblio.htm "Fur Trade Bibliography," Primary Sources reproduced with permission of Dr. Gerhard J. Ens (PhD, Alberta, Canada). Many travel writers and travel narratives within these North American fur trade primary sources. http://www.billbuxton.com/furtrade.html#PacificNWLit Bill Buxton, "Books on the Early History of Canada, First Nations, the Fur Traders, and the Canoe," Bill Buxton website, last updated March 24, 2013.  Many travel writers and narratives included.  See also Central Asia tabs for bibliographies on climbing and travel to that region. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+bibliography+of+North-American+dissertations+on+travel+(1995-2002).-a0182338093 Martha A. Kallstrom, "A bibliography of North American dissertations on travel (1995-2002)," The Free Library, January 1, 2003.  Kallstrom continues the biblographic work of Risa K. Nystrom who compiled bibliographies of North American dissertations from 1961-1995.  These dissertations are from US and Canadian universities. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=clcweblibrary&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fus.yhs4.search. yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fhspart %3Davg%26hsimp%3Dyhs-ifm1%26p%3Drisa%2Bk.%2Bnystrom%2Bbibliography%2B 1961-1995%2Btravel%2Bdissertations%26type%3DAVG%26param1%3DcmFuZD0wLjkwMj Y4Njk3NjcyNTc5MTEmcD1yVk JOVDhRZ0VQMDE1VVlEQTRYdGdZTnVkNDJKTVV aWFBVT0JidU51dDBLM2NmLTkwMDMwN0VGQzRNM1htNW5 YOXQ0VTJyR2JTalM4VVpSTGtGU3FUVVZySmRZV WFpRWJWc0dXYVZsb1Q3emhRZ0d yaFFhR2hfaHNidDd1eU1FT25Ra0RPU0liS0IyaWN1QjBiS1gyd2pIbmZLMDBSOEpWRFo0R0hXdHdMbmpyYkFWYVcyN HJwbVFyWkdnZDU0eHJDYnl0SWhtUkxkc1l1ck5 Obm96SnhFUnlaemlaRFpjbGxLemtaSDFPS1F6VGstM0M2X09EMlVfV FdBaGJRTVI3dk9SZ1U3c3Y3ZHlWN2VtSXJoSHp NdjRfZ1R4LUZTSzJ2Uy1FTDZEU3QzOFNBaE9i QXRUeFd2WnYteUxqb2lOU2hnR3h6NGhRWElSalFoalQ0bHdhTWk0b0F3b3JIQVFOaFFzRDRNTVlac3lZOGFQT1Vuc WQ4VmRGOU9TbHd4TEtGcVh5UG8tSVB4R2xQc U53N3FQRVo3amtLUzJLT2RlN1EzX3FraDMzRnpSeEswNTVYVm VJcDJUbmNFRGctNXhEbXV6VW40Wk1Ya0thUT dwdnpPNFc2TzV4UjktM0d5YV9BUTImU1A9eWhz JmNobmw9YnJvd3Nlcl9pZSxvc193aW43LHNhcF9kc3AscHJvZF9mcmVlLHNhcF9kc3BfYnJvd3Nlcl9pZSxBVkcsZHNfY XZnLEFWR19VUywxNF8yXzAsMTRfMl8wX1VT LG5vX3NzbCxub19zc2xfVVM%253D%26param2%3Dbrowser_search _provider%26param3%3DAVG#search=%22risa% 20k.%20nystrom%20bibliography%201961-1995%20tra vel%20dissertations%22 Carlo Salzani and Steven Totosy de Zepetrek, "Bibliographies for Work in Travel Studies," Purdue University Press, November 25, 2012.  Salzani and de Zepetrek have researched three decades (1980-2012) of bibliographies of bibliographies.  Also seen at Academia.edu: http://www.academia.edu/1141217/Bibliography_for_Work_in_Travel_Studies http://english.cla.umn.edu/travelconf/cs.html University of Minnesota English Department Conference on American and British Travel Writing, 1997.  Click on "day" to see links to summaries of speaker's topics.  Introductory page:  http://english.cla.umn.edu/travelconf/home.html See example:  http://english.cla.umn.edu/TravelConf/abstracts/vandeBilt.html   Edward van de Bilt (Leiden University), "Subversive Transference:  Mark Twain and the end of Orientalism." http://dutch.berkeley.edu/2011/09/29/dutch-studies-conference-on-colonial-and-post-colonial-connections-in-dutch-literature/ Berkeley Conference-Dutch Studies on Colonial and Post colonial connections in Dutch literature....This itinerary for the September 2011 conference at U. of California, Berkeley is included in Bibliography section due to the many annotated resources/books (with abstracts) included at the end of this conference schedule. Some travel writers and travel narratives cited. http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/11357/pc/Favorites/mcms.html "86 Greatest Travel Books of all Time," Longtitude, September 2007. http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/2922/pc/Central%20&%20East%20Asia/printable/1 "Afghanistan," Reading and Travel Guide, Longitutde, nd. List of books one should read before traveling to Afghanistan, some being travel narratives. http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-ten-travel-narratives.html "Top Ten Travel Narratives," Reader Buzz blog, January 24, 2012. http://listverse.com/2008/05/12/top-10-great-travel-novels/ Shane Dayton, "Top 10 Great Travel Narratives," Listverse Ultimate Top Ten Lists, May 12, 2008. Focused on American travel writers. Annotated Bibliography of the History and Culture of Eastern ... http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num1/6_turkistan.php Nathan Light (Miami U., Oxford, Ohio), "Annotated Bibliography of the History and Culture of E. Turkistan, Jungharia/Zungaria/Dzungaria, Chinese Central Asia, and Sinkiang/Xinjiang (for the 16th-20th centuries CE, excluding most travel narratives)" Silk Road Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1.  Note that travel accounts related to formal expeditions are included. www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num1/6_turkistan.php http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num1/8_khataynameh.php "Last document of the Silk Road by Khataynammeh," Silk Road Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1. http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml Daniel Waugh (U. of Washington) and Adela Lee (Silk Road Foundation), Travelers on the Silk Road, Silk Road Foundation @ 1997-2000.  An annotated list of all important travelers on the Silk Road with links to further readings and bibliography. http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/travel.html "Travel Classics and Guidebooks on the Himalayas, Nepal, Tibet, India and Central Asia," Pilgrim Publishing, Varanasi, India and Pilgrim Books House, Kathmandu, Nepal.  Annotated list of travel classics and guidebooks. http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/mhfisher/FisherCV.htm Dr. Michael H. Fisher, Oberlin College History faculty CV. Note publications and reviews by Dr. Fisher many travel accounts of India and Indian perspectives of the world. http://webdoc.gwdg.de/edoc/ia/eese/artic99/stamm/1_99.html Katie Stammwitz (TU Chemnitz), "'Telescope in the Other Direction: Four Interviews with Post Colonial Travel Writers. Pico Iyer, Frank Delaney, Dan Jacobson, and Dervla Murphy," EESE, January 1999. See travel books mentioned for each travel writer interviewed. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=author%3A%22Simon+Digby%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=2001&as_ylo=&as_vis=0 Bibliography of British Mughal India and Sufi historian Simon Digby which includes many travel accounts, Scholar google search. http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/guides/hist/travelnarratives.html "Travel and Exploration Narratives and Guide Books," Penn Library @ University of Pennsylvania, last updated March 31, 2010.  See more on University of Pennsylvania Online Books database: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Voyages%20and%20travels%20%2d%2d%2018th%20century&c=x and more University of Penn resources: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book//browse?type=lcsubc&key=Voyages%20and%20travels%20--%201700-1800&c=x "18th century Voyages and Travels" bibliography,Online Library, University of Pennsylvania. See Jules Verne and Rudyard Kipling travel books, etc. al. One may use this browser to search for any topic. Home page: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu http://cooper.library.uiuc.edu/spx/class/Biography/Russianbio/rmrbio.htm "Russian Memoirs/Travel Resources," annotated bibliography, University of Illinois Library. http://xerxesbooks.com/catalog/RUSSIA%20-TRAVEL "Russia-Travel," Xerxes Books bibliography of Russian travel narratives. http://nomadankara.blogspot.com/ "Narratives of Travel Writers and Architectural History," Nomad Seminar Ankara 2012 held at Middle East Technological University-Ankara.  Abstracts of papers presented at this seminar posted on nomadankara blog Jan. 14, 2013.  Modern travel writers 19th-20th century and their descriptions of architecture mostly in Middle East. http://what-when-how.com/writers/travel-narrative-travel-log-writer/ "travel narrative (travel log) (Writers)," what-when-how.org In Depth Tutorials and Information, nd.  Short list of travel narratives and writers with links to other world historical writers and poets. http://www.philipharland.com/travel/TravelReligionClassifiedBibliography.pdf Philip Harland, Angela Brkich, etc.al (Concordia University), "Travel and Religion in Antiquity:  A Preliminary Classified Bibliography," June 10, 2005, 30 pp. pdf.  See at the end of this bibliography Christian Liberature and archaeology- Travel, geography and Travel motifs and Travel Writers and cultural encounters. http://bachlab.balbach.net/coolread4.html#silkroad Stephen Balbach, "Cool Reading 2007," A reading journal with annotated reviews and links to books, many travel accounts.   See links to 2004-2013 reviews. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_literature "Travel Literature," Wikipedia.org.  See listing of travel literature over time.  Also here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_literature#Notable_travel_writers_and_travel_literature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_travel_writers "Chinese Travel Writers," Wikipedia.  See names of Chinese travel writers over time as tabs to brief biographies and their travel accounts. http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/the-importance-of-connecting-with-travel-writing-throughout-history/ Josh Y. Washington, "The Importance of Connecting With Travel Writing Throughout History," madtadore network, November 11, 2009.  Writing website which has a short euro-centric travel writing list at the end of their short article except for Ibn Battuta, Che Guevarra, and Matsuo Basho. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/19/travel-writing-writers-future William Dalrymple, "Home Truths on Abroad," The Guardian, September 18, 2009.  Dalyrmple's delicious analysis of past and present euro-centric travel writing discusses what is to become of travel writing now that the world is smaller.  Who are the successors to Bruce Chatwin, Norman Lewis and Wilfred Thesiger?  He names a new generation of travel writers who have less to do with heroic adventures and posturing than an intimate knowledge of people and places even in the face of the "flattening" processes of globalization.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/sep/16/travel-writers-favourite-books "My favourite travel book, by the World's greatest travel writers," Guardian, September 16, 2011. http://www.powells.com/subjects/travel/travel-writing/ Powells' books travel writing narratives. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/peter-whitfield-talks-about-the-history-of-travel-literature/ John Williams, "Peter Whitfield Talks About the History of Travel Literature," NY Times Arts Beat, March 14, 2012. Williams interviews Peter Whitfield who discusses his book " Travel:  A Literary History," and other travel writers, mainly modern. http://www.rolfpotts.com/books.html Rolf Potts, Vagabonding blogsite.  Travel writer, Rolf Potts, shows an anthology of edited books which include his modern day travel narrative articles and essays. http://literature.britishcouncil.org/colin-thubron Bibliography of British travel writer Colin Thubron's (b. 1939 London) travel narratives and fiction, British Council of Literature newsletter, "Literature Matters," 2013.  Thubron travel narratives chronicle Siberia, Russia, Syria, China, Jerusalem, and Lebanon ( The Hills of Adonis:  A Quest in Lebanon , 1968). http://dannyreviews.com/s/travel.html "Travel," Danny Yee's Book Reviews, nd.  See list of travel narratives linked to a book review of that book. http://alittleadrift.com/best-travel-books/ "Best Travel Books, Films and Music," A Little Adrift.  Note tabs and links for books, etc. for individual countries or Region. http://www.indiana.edu/~jofr/review.php?id1319 "Journal of Folklore Research," last updated 2010.  Large list of Folklore, music, fairy tales some being travel accounts. http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Writing-Companions-Literature/dp/0521786525 #_ Peter Hulme and Tim Youngs, ed., " The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing," 2002.  Hulme and Youngs include English language travel narratives from 1500 to the Present.  See also a review and bibliography, actually, examples of many othe Travel writing and travel narratives as one scrolls down the Amazon page. http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/modernity/travel.html "Origins of Modernity-Travel Literature," University of Sydney Library (Australia), 1540-1800 online exhibition from Rare Book Library at University of Sydney. This section on travel literature. http://www.amazon.com/In-Oceania-Visions-Artifacts-Histories/dp/0822319985 #_ Nicholas Thomas, "In Oceania:  Visions, Artifacts, Histories ," Duke University Press, 1997.  Nicholas Thomas displays explorers, missionaries, fiction and travel writers, and Peoples of the Pacific to illustrate and examine Oceanic identities over time. http://guides.library.yale.edu/content.php?pid=66696&sid=521897   17th-18th Centuries African American Studies Primary Sources, Yale University Library.  Includes Slavery and Slave Trade, slave narratives.   http://guides.library.yale.edu/africanprimary "African History Primary Sources Guide," Yale University Library.  See especially on right side of page primary sources, travel accounts, diaries, journals of British soldiers serving in the Boer War, South Africa. http://www.powells.com/biblio/65-9780321077103-1   Bibliography of primary sources, travel narratives on the Atlantic World--African, Western European, and the Americas. Powells' Books. http://www.bill88.com/science_fiction_writers/t/paul_theroux.html Paul Theroux travel books listed with notes on each one from bill88.com. http://www.escapeartist.com/unique_lifestyles/train_books.html "Riding the Rails-Books on Unique Train Rides Worldwide," Escape Artists website, @1999-2013. http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/travel/ "Poems About:  Travel," Poem Hunter website.   See hundreds of poems with Travel as their theme. http://www.pw.org/search/query?type=archive&keywords=travel%20narratives&start=1980&end=2013&op=Search "Poets and Writers" website search for Travel narratives.  See annotated list which includes travel writing narratives. http://www.travelerstales.com/news/biblio2.html "Travelers' Tales Guide to the Best Adventure Travel Books,"  Travelers' Tales bibliography.  http://www.classictravelbooks.com/ "Classic Travel Books," A Division of the Long Rider's Guild Press. See also The Classic "John Murray" Travel Collection after you click to enter site on left of page. http://www.theworldride.org/diplomacy.htm Equistarian Travel Writers sources, the worldwide.org. http://www.historicalnovels.info/ Historical novels website with 5000 novels and 500 book reviews, many with travels as a theme.  See tabs on left of page for time periods. Sources included in "The Orient Express," Wikipedia: In popular cultureThe glamour and rich history of the Orient Express has frequently lent itself to the plot of books and films and as the subject of television documentaries. Literature:

  • Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker : whilst Dracula escapes from England to Varna by sea, the cabal sworn to destroy him travels to Paris and takes the Orient Express, arriving in Varna ahead of him.
  • Murder on the Orient Express (1934) by Agatha Christie is one of the best known stories related to the Orient Express. It takes place on the Simplon Orient Express.
  • Oriënt-Express (1934) a novel by A. den Doolaard : it takes place in Macedonia .
  • The short story " Have You Got Everything You Want? " (1933), by Agatha Christie
  • The short story "On the Orient, North" by Ray Bradbury
  • Stamboul Train by Graham Greene
  • Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene
  • Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald Fraser : Sir Harry Paget Flashman travels on the train's first journey as a guest of the journalist Henri Blowitz .
  • From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming
  • The Orient Express appeared in the 2004 novel Lionboy and its sequel Lionboy: The Case by Zizou Corder. Charlie Ashanti was stowing away on the train on his way to Venice when he meet King Boris of Bulgaria.
  • Paul Theroux devotes a chapter of The Great Railway Bazaar to his journey from Paris to Istanbul on the Direct-Orient Express.
  • The Orient Express appeared as a technologically advanced (for its time) train in the book Behemoth , by Scott Westerfeld .

The following sources are replies from H-World listserve (February 16-17, 2012) answering my plea for assistance as to non-Western travel writers/travel literature.  Thank you to all the professors and professionals who helped.  John Maunu To: [email protected]

From: Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox Western Connecticut State University [email protected]   I've always enjoyed Niccolao Manucci's firsthand account of Agra in the age of Shah Jahan, among many other topics.   If " History of the Mogul Dynasty in India," his main work, is too dense, you can also enjoy the abridged version, "A Pepys of Mogul India." The longer version is out of copyright and available as a free google ebook.

From: Kevin C. Young [email protected] Although this is a western source (British journalist accompanying military expedition to Tibet in 1904), it is a primary source and really interesting: although written "in the long afternoon of Empire," this work is noteworthy not least because the author freely admits the "profound ignorance" of the English with regard to Tibet and China, despite the fact that the journalist author was "entirely at home in Asia." It is also an early and  clear apology for the politics of empire. This is not your ordinary travel journal.   Edmund Candler, " The Unveiling of Lhasa" (Berkeley CA: Snow Lion Graphics, 1987).

Originally published by Edward Arnold, London in 1905, re-issued 1931.

From: Kevin C. Young  (February 21, 2012) [email protected]   The earliest written records of travel, or evidence of it, that I have found are contained in "Enki and Ninhursaja" ETCSL Translation t.1.1.1. (Oxford, UK: The ETCSL Project, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, 2006). The Uruk tablets, dated to ca. 3100-2900 BCE provide solid evidence of cultural interaction from the Mediterranean, across southern Anatolia to the Caspian Sea region, south throughout the Tigris-Euphrates basin,  various sites along the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, and as far as Aratta, possibly Harappa in the Indus region. The royal city Dilmun was at the heart of riverine and sea-based trade that received tribute and traded in commodities, the descriptions of which provide clues as to their far-flung origins. Travel records dating to the third and fourth millennia BCE, while not classed as travel journals, are easily deduced from these and other important sources, including Egyptian records and the Hebrew Bible. In "Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta" verses 69-104 (ETCSL Translation t.1.8.2.3),  we see parallels to the early Columbian "exploration" attested to by de las Casas and what motivated them: economic gain. This is not intended to denigrate the bravery of Mediterranean or Iberian explorers, rather to suggest that the motivation of traders, merchants, and the wealthy who funded such missions were also seeking economic gain. This concept was not European in origin, but abounds in Middle Eastern and Asian records. Compare Enmerkar to Ferdinand and Isabela: Enmerkar's broad goal was to unite five kingdoms and their various principalities "so the speech of mankind is truly one." An urban king demanded tribute in the form of luxury goods and human labor; the alternative to voluntary subordination was warfare, threatened destruction, and enslavement. Enmerkar sought to expand his power and influence, and justified his conquest by his claim of divinely decreed superior ideology and culture. If this was not political exploitation for economic gain, and the imposition of cultural homogeneity for assimilation of other groups, then what? I can see no difference between what Enmerkar or Charles V were doing apart from cultural contexts. From: Daniel

Hershenzon European University Institute, Italy [email protected] We can add to the list Al-Hajari's account (1637) in which he describes his embassy on behalf of the Moroccan sultan to France and the Netherlands: Ibn Qasim Al-Hajari, Ahmad, The Supporter of Religion against the Infidel, P S. Van Koningsveld, Q. al-Samarrai, and G. A. Wiegers, Translation and edition, Madrid, CSIC, 1997. And the collection of texts assembled by Nabil Matar: Europe through Arab Eyes , 1578-1727 (Columbia UP, 20 2/17/12

From: Pete Burkholder Fairleigh Dickinson Univ [email protected] One source I haven't seen mentioned yet is that of Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish Jew who traveled throughout the Mediterranean in the central Middle Ages.

The 1907 translation (by Marcus Adler) of his itinerary is readily available via  Google Book

From: Lincoln Paine Maritime Historian [email protected] Some mostly non-western primary sources. Abu Zayd Hasan ibn Yazid al-Sirafi. *Concerning the Voyage to the Indies and China*. In* Ancient Accounts of India and China by Two Mohammedan Travellers, Who Went to those Parts in the 9th Century*. Trans. Eusebius Renaudot. 1733. Reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services, 1995. Agatharchides of Cnidus. *On the Erythraean Sea.* Trans. by Stanley M. Burstein. London: Hakluyt Society, 1989. Avienus, Rufus Festus. *Ora Maritima: or, Description of the Seacoast from Brittany Round to Massilia. *Trans. by J.P. Murphy. Chicago: Ares, 1977.** Bately, Janet. "Text and Translation." In *Ohthere's Voyages: A Late 9th-century Account of Voyages along the Coasts of Norway and Denmark and Its Cultural Context*, edited by Janet Bately and Anton Englert, 40-50. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum, 2007. Bately, Janet. "Wulfstan's Voyage and His Description of *Estland*: The Text and the Language of the Text." In *Wulfstan's Voyage: The Baltic Sea Region in the Early Viking Age as Seen from Shipboard*, ed. by Englert Anton and Athena Trakadas, 14-28. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum, 2009. Benjamin of Tudela. *The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Travels in the Middle Ages.* Intro. Michael A. Signer, M.N. Adler and A. Asher. Malibu: J. Simon, 1983. Buzurg ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz. *The Book of the Wonders of India: Mainland, Sea and Islands*. Trans. G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. London: East-West, 1981. Casson, Lionel, trans. *The Periplus Maris Erythraei* [The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1989. Chang, Chun-shu, and Joan Smythe. *South China in the Twelfth Century: A Translation of Lu Yu's Travel Diaries, July 3-December 6, 1170.* Hong Kong: Chinese Univ. Press, 1981. Chau Ju-kua [Zhao Rugua], edited by Friedrich Hirth and W.W. Rockhill. *Chau Ju-kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries entitled Chu-fan-chi*. Reprint Amsterdam: Oriental Press, 1966. Cosmas Indicopleustes. *The Christian Topography of Cosmas, An Egyptian Monk *. Trans. J.W. McCrindle. London: Hakluyt Society, 1897. Cowell, Edward B., trans. *The Jataka; Or, Stories of the Buddha's Former Births*. 1895-1907. Reprint, London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. In particular the "Suparaga-Jataka," "Samkha-Jataka" and "Mahajana-Jataka." Cunliffe, Barry W. *The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek. *New York: Walker, 2002. Ennin. *Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law*. New York: Ronald Press, 1955. Ibn Battuta. *The Travels of Ibn Battuta, a.d. 1325-1354*. 5 vols. Trans. H.A.R. Gibb. London: Hakluyt Society, 1958-2000. Ibn Jubayr. *The Travels of Ibn Jubayr.* Trans. R.J.C. Broadhurst. London: Jonathan Cape, 1952. Ma Huan. *Ying-yai Sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores [1433]*. Trans. J.V.G. Mills. 1970. Reprint, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1997. al-Muqaddasi. *The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim)*. Reading, Eng.: Garnet, 2001. Nederhof, Mark-Jan, trans. *Punt Expedition of Queen Hatshepsut*. http://www.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~mjn/egyptian/texts/corpus/pdf/HatshepsutPunt.pdf Odoric of Pordenone. *The Travels of Friar Odoric*. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002. Polo, Marco. *The Travels*. Trans. Ronald Latham. New York: Penguin, 1958. Simpson, William Kelly, ed. *The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions and Poetry. *Trans. R.O. Faulkner et al. New ed. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2003. "The Shipwrecked Sailor." "The Report of Wenamun." Sulayman al-Tajir. *Account of India and China. *In *Arabic Classical Accounts of India and China*, trans. S. Maqbul Ahmad*. *Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study in association with Rddhi-India, Calcutta, 1989. Xuanzang. *Si-yu-ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World. *Trans. Samuel Beal. 1884. Reprint, Delhi: Oriental Books, 1969. Faxian, *The Travels of Fa-hian.* Yijing [I-Tsing]. *A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago (A.D. 671-695)*. Trans. Junjiro Takakusu. 1896. Reprint, Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1966

From: Sam Gellens [email protected]    Regarding Mr. Maunu's query and Mr. Fisher's response, the Muqqadimah, which was the introduction to a much larger general history, Kitab al-'Ibar, was authored by Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), the famous Tunisian philosopher who some have compared to Machiavelli.  There is yet debate regarding the truth of some portions of Ibn Battuta's account, e.g. whether or not he really visited China.  Two relevant secondary works, among many: Mary B. Campbell, The Witness and the Other World: Exotic European Travel Writing, 400-1600 (1988) . Dale F. Eickelman and James Piscatori, Editors.  Muslim Travellers: Pilgrimage, Migration, and the

Religious Imagination (1990).

From: Mary Jane Maxwell Green Mountain College [email protected]   For primary sources, a good internet site is http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/IHSP-travelers.html#Ancient For Silk Road primary accounts, see Dan Waugh's website http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/texts.html   For some good recent anthologies, see   Michael H. Fisher (ed), Visions of Mughal India: An Anthology of European Travel Writing (2007)   Peter C. Mancall (ed), Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery.  OUP, 2006   If you'd like a good reader for the world history classroom, see Schlesinger, Blackwell, Meyer, Watrous-Schlesinger (eds), Global Passages: Sources in World History Houghton Mifflin   You can see ALL the Hakluyt titles at the Cambridge University Press website at http://www.hakluyt.com/bibliography/bibliography-second-series-I.htm

From: Alan Fisher Michigan State University [email protected] From the Islamic world, two excellent sources: Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim (eds), *An Ottoman Traveller: Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Celebi*, 2010. Evliya Celebi traveled into every province and district of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-17th century, and wrote a 10-volume travelogue. It was later published in the mid-19th century in Istanbul. These are selections. Ross E. Dunn (ed), *The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century* - a retelling of some of his accounts, published 2004. The full English translation of Ibn Battuta: H. A. R. Gibb, ed and translator: *The Travels of Ibn Battuta: A.D. 1325-1354*, Cambridge Univ Press for the Hakluyt Society in 5 volumes, 1958-2000. Alan Fisher 2/16/12

From: Rajesh Kochhar Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali [email protected]   There is very interesting diary written by Mirza Itesmaddin who went to Britain in the late 1760s  a representative of the titular Mughal King .   Alexander, James Edward (tr.) (1827) Shigruf Namah-I-Velayat. of Itesmaddin (London: Parbury, Allen & Co.).

From: Kaveh Hemmat University of Chicago [email protected] Here's a quick list of travel accounts that involve Asia, all translated into English--some of which I'm sure are familiar: - Ibn Battutah's travelogue, trans. by H.A.R. Gibb - Afanasii Nikitin (or I've seen it spelled Nikitich), available in a digitized book called "India in the fifteenth century: being a collection of narratives..." by the Royal Hakluyt Society, 1857 - Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash, court painter, wrote an account of an embassy from the court of Shahrukh to the Yongle Emperor (this is translated into English) - Babur's Memoir, the Baburnameh, also translated by W.M. Thackston - Muḥammad Rabīʻ ibn Muḥammad Ibrāhīm, The ship of Sulaimān, trans. John O'Kane. - an account of a Persian ambassador to the court of Siam (Thailand), which has a nice combination of ethnographic and political information - The Travels of Ibn Jubayr, which includes some observations of the Crusades (there are a couple of English editions) - Naser-e Khosraw's Book of Travels trans. by W.M. Thackston (he traveled around the Middle East in the 11th c.) I would be remiss if I didn't mention my own article on the most substantial late Medieval description of China, the Khataynameh. The article is "Children of Cain in the Land of Error" in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 30:3, 2010. Unfortunately, this book hasn't been translated into English yet, but I'm told that an English translation will be published in the next couple years. best, Kaveh

Another H-World post on Non-Western authors commenting on Westerners:

From: Adam McKeown List Editor: whitney howarth < [email protected] > Editor's Subject: Non-western authors commenting on westerners Author's Subject: Non-western authors commenting on westerners Date Written: May 17, 2001 Date Posted: Fri, 17 May 2001 18:32:07 -0400

Northeastern University, [email protected]

As far as I know, there are not many accounts in English by Chinese who traveled abroad before the 20th century: Yung Wing. < My Life in China and America >  New York:  Henry Holt and Company, 1909. Yung accompanied the first Chinese educational mission toConnecticut. Originally written in English. Wu Tingfang. < America, Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat > New York:  Frederick A. Stokes, 1914. Wu was born in Singapore, but was the Chinese ambassador to US, Spain/Cuba and Peru for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally written in English. Leo Lee and David Arkush, eds. < Land Without Ghosts >, is an anthology of translated Chinese writings about experiences in the US in the 19th and 20th centuries. Ong Tae-hae, < The Chinaman Abroad >, trans. W. Medhurst, is an account by a Chinese living in the Dutch Indies in the 18c.

Syllabus: http://orias.berkeley.edu/2013/WHSG2013.htm "Travel Narratives as Historical Sources," World History Study Group 2012-2013, Drew School in San Francisco.  Sponsored by ORIAS, the Center for Middle East Studies, the Center for SE Asian Studies, the Institute of East Asian Studies, International and Area Studies Teaching Program, U.C. Berkeley.  Co-sponsored by World Savvy. http://www.postcolonialweb.org/courses/srilata1.html Dr. Srilata Ravi, Department of English Language and English Literature, National University of Singapore, syllabus for "Travel Literature Through The Ages," semester 1, 2001-2002 seen on Postcolonial website originally developed by Dr. George Landow (to 2009) and now moderated by Dr. Leon Yew, National University of Singapore. http://www.humanitiesuniversity.org/persianautobiography.pdf Rebecca Gould (assistant professor Yale and Singapore University) syllbus for "Persian Autobiography," Humanities University.  Premodern to contemporary Iran autobiographical writing from first days of Islam, travel literature, and perceptions of "otherness." http://www.csun.edu/~jaa7021/hist641/Hist%20641%20Syllabus.pdf Jeffrey Auerback, "Research Seminar in Modern European History:  Europe from the Periphery," California State University, Northridge, Fall 2010.  http://www.csun.edu/~jaa7021/Hist%20497%20Empire%20Writes%20Back%20Syllabus%202011.pdf Jeffrey Auerback, "Proseminar:  The Empire Writes Back," California State University,  Northridge, Fall 2011. Indians traveling to British Isles in late 19th century and "their" perceptions of England as an "outsider." http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2005/11/travel-writers-india-england-and-us.html "Travel Writers:  India, England and US," Amardeep Singh blogsite, November 22, 2005.  Dr. Singh (Lehigh University) was developing a class, "Travel Writers:  India, England and US," and notes some of the travel narratives he would like to use and asks for narratives from Southeast Asia travelers to the West.  Note sources suggested via replies and lower right of page links to more sources such as Punjabi settlers in California. http://www19.homepage.villanova.edu/karyn.hollis/prof_academic/Courses/2041-Travel/syllabi/2041_syll_05.htm Dr. Karyn Hollis, "Vivid Voyages:  Travel Writing Theory and Practice," Spring 2005.  Syllabus for English 2041 Villanova University. http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jbattenb/TravelLit/syllabus.htm Dr. J. Battenburg (Cal Poly), The American Travel Narrative, English 449, summer 2007 syllabus.  See Books tab on left of page which features Bill Bryson resources. http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/LS2-210/resource.htm Jordana Dyn, "Travel Writers and Travel Liars in Latin America," Skidmore College syllabus, 2002. http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/LS2-210/ Jordana Dyn Introduction Skidmore College 2002 course: "Travel Writers and Travel Liars in Latin America: 1500-1900." http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/LS2-210/Schedule-Printable.htm Jordana Dyn Course schedule, Travel Writers and Travel Liars in Latin America: 1500-1900." http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/Links-Contemporary.htm Jordana Dyn, Student Resources Latin American History, Skidmore college. http://www.skidmore.edu/~jdym/LS2-210/bibliography.htm Bibliography, Jordana Dyn, "Travel Writers and Travel Liars in Latin America: 1500-1900." http://www.academicroom.com/syllabus/literature-and-travel-ger-392 Kit Belgum, "Ger 392: Literature and Travel," syllabus.  University of Texas, Spring 2010. http://www.scribd.com/doc/91849505/Writing-About-Your-Stdy-Abroad-GRS-095-Z1-Course-Syllabus Alisha Laramee (University of Vermont), "Writing About Your Study Abroad a.k.a. Beyond Sightseeing and Journaling: Techniques and Thoughts on Writing about Travel," UVM, 2012. Dr. Laramee includes global resources for her students to read and discuss. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-007-world-literatures-travel-writing-fall-2008/index.htm Professor Mary Fuller, "World Literatures-Travel Writing," MITOPENCOURSEWARE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fall 2008 course syllabus, quizzes, assignments. http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/vassa.html Angelo Costanzo-contributing editor, "Olaudah Equiano," Georgetown University. This course uses Equiano's autobiography (travel narrative) as an introduction to American slave narrative literature and its effect on Black writers from Richard Wright to Toni Morrison. http://web.mnstate.edu/seateaching/Travel_Writing_Early_America_Murray_syllabus.pdf Professor Keat Murray, "American Literature Through a Traveler's Eyes," Eng 057A, Swarthmore College, Spring 2012. See first two weeks readings--first contact narratives. http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/publications/newsletters/newsissue1/jarvis.htm Dr. Robin Jarvis, "Teaching Travel Literature," University of the West of England, May 2001. This is not a syllabus but "advice" from Dr. Jarvis's experiences of teaching Travel Writing modules and courses. He does share some of his preferred readings for his past courses which are euro-centric. http://www.english.hku.hk/courses/engl2045/week9.htm "Travel Writing-week 9," Department of English, The University of Hong Kong.  Descriptions of V.S. Naipaul, " An Area of Darkness" (1964), Caryl Phillips, " The European Tribe," (1987), and Amitav Ghosh, " In An Antique Land " (1992) with study questions at the end.  Caryl Phillips born in St. Kitts and raised in England is an Afro- Caribbean travel writer.

Lessons: http://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v42/v42-81.pdf Rocio Abascal-Mena and Erick Lopez-Ornelas, "Exploring the Narrative Communication:  Representing Visual Information from Digital Travel Stories," World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 42, 2010.  Technology experts explain how to use images, maps, geography to understand travel narratives. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/study.html "The Odyssey," Sparknotes Lesson plans for Homer's classic travel narrative. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning/teaching-methods/3741.html Homer's Odyssey Lesson plan, Teacher Vision. http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/lesson_plans/151/THE%20ILIAD.pdf Carole Richardson, " The Illiad ," Core Know website, 2001. A 6th grade 15-20 Days Module covering seven lessons on Homer's Illiad . 27 pp. pdf. http://www.ndollak.com/GreekLesson2.html Nicholas Dollak, "Create Your Own 'Greek style' Myth," December 2, 2000. For Ancient Greek college course aimed at 6th-8th graders. http://mrwhatis.com/what-reading-level-is-the-odyssey.html Homer's Odyssey Lesson plans geared to middle school to college, Mrwhatis.com. http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/Archives/ED101sp07/barborek/firstemperor.htm Jennifer Barborek, "Ancient China-First Emperor," Boston University, spring 2007.  Ms. Barborek, a sophmore at Boston University in 2007 created this interactive website for a sixth grade class she was observing.  Note tab "First Emperor" -- 221 BCE the first emperor of the Qin dynasty who went on five different expeditions erecting a stone tablet on peaks of mountains.  A comparative to Ashoka's stone pillars?  See more on Prince Zheng in first section "Ancient times to 600 CE" of this article. Lesson Plan + DBQs • Religions along the Silk Roads >> Xuanzang's Pilgrimage to India [PDF] [China Institute] Unit Q from the curriculum guide From Silk to Oil: Cross-cultural Connections along the Silk Roads , which provides a comprehensive view of the Silk Roads from the second century BCE to the contemporary period. In this lesson "students will travel with the pilgrim-monk Xuanzang (c. 596-664) and share some of the hardships of his journey. They will learn about religious pilgrimage from a Buddhist point of view." http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techlp/techlp049.shtml Lorrie Jackson, "A Travel Journal For Homer's Odyssey," Education World.  A Lesson Plan using Homer's Odyssey as a primary source from which students create their own travel journal. http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/242%20Course%20Pack/2.%20Ninth/124c.%20Rabban%20Sauma.pdf "The Travels of Bar Sauma," Activities for students using Bar Sauma (1220-1294) travel narrative primary sources, specifically Sauma's 1287-1288 trip to Europe from Patricia Kellogg, Marco Polo in China @nationalgeographic.com. http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/history/seminar/sauma.htm Posted by Alan J. Singer in his Hofstra coursepack. http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t2prod/marinowq5.html Mrs. M. Marino (JFK High School, New York City), "Social Issues in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and in T he Metro Tales ."  Lesson plan involving building a frame story with travel writer Chaucer as exemplar. Lessons for Coleridge poems as travel narrative, specifically "Kubla Khan" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner:" http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Rime.html "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Cummings Study Guides explains Captain James Cook's voyages ending in 1799 with Cook's death and motivation for"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" first published in 1798. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Coleridge%27s+Kubla+Khan%3a+a+new+historicist+study.-a0302403821 Jalal Uddin Khan, "Coleridge's 'Kubla Khan:'  a new historicism study," The Free Library, January 1, 2012. Excellent analysis of historical context in Coleridges's Romantic era poem, "Kubla Khan." http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/analyzing/narratives/analyzingnarrativesintro.html Travel Narratives Lesson using and analyzing sources, George Mason University. http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelguide.pdf Jerry Bentley, "Unpacking Evidence:  Travel Narratives," George Mason University, 2004.  A wonderful step by step Travel narrative lesson module by the great Jerry Bentley. http://www.asian-studies.org/EAA/watt.htm "John R. Watt, "Qianlong Meets Macartney-Collision of Two World Views," Education About Asia, Vol. 5, No. 3, winter 2000. Background: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/lionanddragon/narrative.html "The Lion and the Dragon-Britain's First Embassy to China," Online Gallery, British Library. In 1792 England sent seasoned diplomat Lord George Macartney to China (Macartney Mission). Note travel narratives and sections describing that history, including Sir George Leonard Staunton's "An Authentic Account of an Embassy, 1797." http://voices.yahoo.com/how-lord-mccartneys-mission-china-resembles-the-407278.html?cat=37 Timothy Sexton, "How Lord McCartney's Mission to China Resembles the Lack of Cultural Awareness of the Bush Administration," Yahoo Voices, June 22, 2007. A comparative exercise-George to George? http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit02/context_activ-2.html "2. Exploring Borderlands: Context Activities-Writing Without Words: A Native American View of Culture and Conquest," Annenberg Learner. Another Collision of Cultures as in "Qianlong Meets Macartney-China." This Annenberg activity compares and contrasts Spanish and Aztec point of view as to "conquest." An Aztec travel account would be the Codex Boturini which narrates the Aztec migration legend. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/fukuzawa_yukichi.pdf Fukuzawa Yukichi primary source documents with questions for students to answer after reading the documents. Asia for Educators, Columbia University website. Yukichi (1835-1901) was a prime ingredient in moving Japan toward the west. See more: http://www.archive.org/stream/lifeofmryukichif00miyaiala/lifeofmryukichif00miyaiala_djvu.txt "Life of Fukuzawa Yukichi," (1835-1901). http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelanalysis.html An example of "unpacking evidence:"  Bernal Diaz, " The True History of the Conquest of New Spain ," 1560's.  Jerry Bentley develops this primary source lesson using Diaz's history seen through his travels in the Americas.  Also see companion lesson by Edward Osowski (University of Northern Iowa), The Conquest of New Spain:  http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/251/whm.html http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lieutenantnun/context.html Catalina de Eranso's Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World," Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. Lessons from Sparknotes.  Ms. de Eranso (1585-1650) was a European nun turned Spanish battle hardened soldier in the Americas even promoted to lieutenant for heroism. http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/analyzing/narratives/narq1.html Tom Ewing, "Travel Narratives-Questions:  "What we can learn from travel narratives," George Mason University. See two minute audio podcast and John Ledyard's Travel Journal as a framework for a primary source module on travel narratives. http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelscholar.html New sources in travel writing scholarship in world history, George Mason University. http://edsitement.neh.gov/subject/art-and-culture Note Edsitement travelers Lessons.  Examples: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/shooting-elephant-george-orwells-essay-his-life-burma "George Orwell's Essay on His Life in Burma:  'Shooting An Elephant,'" Edsitement lesson plan. http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/road-marco-polo-marco-polo-china "Marco Polo on the Road to China," Edsitement lesson plan. Grades 3-5. http://www.sqcc.org/sites/default/files/lesson_plan_pdfs/Indian%20Ocean%20Travelers%20in%20the%20Medieval%20Era.pdf Joan Brodsky Schur, "Indian Ocean Travelers in the Medieval Era:  Networks of Exchange Across the Hemisphere,"  Lesson plan utilizing Susan Douglass's Indian Ocean in World History website  http://www.indianoceanhistory.org/ http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/resources/indian/ Indian Ocean trade simulation to accompany and supplement Joan Brodsky Schur's lesson and Susan Douglass's Indian Ocean website seen above. http://africa.unc.edu/outreach/lesson_plans/contemporary_north_africa.pdf Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler, "Contemporary North Africa:  A Sociological Perspective," Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, Wake County Schools lesson plan with students as travel writers investigating and reporting on contemporary African history.  Seen in University of North Carolina "Learning About Africa" site. http://cnx.org/content/m19517/latest/ Corey Ledoux, "The Experience of the Foreign in 19th Century US Travel Literature," ConneXions website, last edited April 14, 2011.  Mr. Ledoux's lesson module uses George Dunham's travel journey to Brazil (1853) in relation to other 19th century US travel accounts.  See other Travel History lesson modules from the ConneXions website:  http://cnx.org/content/col11315/latest/ http://www.twainquotes.com/sduindex.html Mark Twain, Letters From Hawaii, in Sacramento Union newspaper, 1866. Twainquotes.com. http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-mark-twains-letters-from-hawaii/ Mark Twain, Letters From Hawai'i, (Sandwich Islands) study guide with discussion guide., bookrags.com. http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/lesson_plans/lesson02.htm "Mark Twain and the American West," Lesson Plan 8-12th grades, PBS New Perspectives on THE WEST website and lessons (see more on the left side of this page, especially "Writings of the West") to supplement the PBS documentary The American West. http://www.enotes.com/black-lamb-grey-falcon eNotes lesson plan to assist in teaching Rebecca West, " Black Lamb and Grey Falcon:  A Journey Through Yugoslavia ," 1941.  West's travelogue and Balkan history is 1150 pages narrating her Balkan journey from 1936-1938.  (See more information on this book in 1900 to the Present section above) http://media.us.macmillan.com/teachersguides/9780312306243TG.pdf Francis Bok, " Escape From Slavery," Bedford St.Martins' Study Guide for teachers by Scott Pitcock. (See more information on this book in 1900 to the Present section) http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/use-hemingway-to-improve-your-travel-writing/ N. Chrystine Olson, "Use Hemingway to Improve Your Travel Writing-The Iceberg Model," Matador Network, December 10, 2009.  A short lesson, actually annotated tips, on making one's travel writing lean. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ontheroad/bibliography.html " On the Road," by Jack Kerouac chapter summaries, etc., Sparknotes. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/beyond-what-vacation-exploring-1086.html Drew Schrader (Bloomington, Indiana), "Beyond 'What I Did on Vacation':  Exploring the Genre of Travel Writing," readwritethink.org classroom resource website, @2013.  Lesson Plan involving four 50 minute sessions. A Teaching powerpoint on the Travel Narrative: Dr. Brenda Cornell, Central Texas College for English 2333. [ PPT ]

Travel Narratives: Literary Characteristics - Central Texas College Microsoft Powerpoint Travel Narratives : Literary Characteristics A Presentation for English 2333 ... Homer's Odyssey (c. 8th cent. BCE) – while other works, ... Note Ryba L. Epstein created DBQ (Documents Based Essay Question) dealing with Travel Narratives and the people they encountered--The OTHER: Ryba L. Epstein 2011. Permission granted for classroom use with acknowledgement. 1 Note to teachers: choose 6-8 of the following documents for a timed essay. All may be used for an out-of-class practice DBQ. (maunu aside: or use all of the docs. YOUR choice) Travel narratives and the "Other" DBQ Instructions to students: This question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that: • Has a relevant thesis that does more than simply restate the question. • Supports the thesis with evidence from the documents. • Uses all of the documents. • Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and explaining the reason for the groups [group implies at least two documents]. Does not simply summarize the documents individually. • Interprets the meaning of the documents correctly. • Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors' points of view. • Notes what additional information or documents would be useful to answer the question and explains why that document would be useful in answering the question. Prompt: Using the documents listed below from the time period of 600 BCE to 1500 CE, analyze the various reactions of travelers and the people whom they encountered to the "other" and speculate on the reasons for these reactions. Be sure to explain what specific additional sources might change your interpretation of the question. Document 1 Hanno, a Carthaginian admiral, on a voyage along the west coast of Africa, around 425 B.C.E., searching for sites for new settlements: "Passing on from there we came to the large river Lixos, flowing from Libya, besides which nomads called Lixitae pastured there flocks. We stayed some time with them and became friends. . . . Inland from there dwelt inhospitable Ethiopians in land ridden with wild beasts and hemmed in by great mountains. . . . [Further along the journey, probably up the Senegal River] . . . we came to the end of the lake, overhung by some very high mountains crowded with savages clad in the skins of wild beasts, who stoned us and beat us off and prevented us from disembarking." Document 2 Priscus, c. 450 C.E., official sent to Attila the Hun by the Eastern Roman Empire: "A lavish meal, served on silver trenchers, was prepared for us and the other barbarians, but Attila just had meat on a wooden platter, for this was one aspect of his self-discipline. For instance, gold or silver cups were presented to the others diners, but his own goblet was made of wood. His clothes, too, were simple, and no trouble was taken except to have them clean." Document 3 Ibn Fadlun, circa 920 C.E., ambassador of the Caliph of Baghdad to the Bulgar Khaganate: "I saw the Rus when they arrived on their trading mission and anchored at the River Atul [Volga]. Never had I seen people of more perfect physique; they are tall as date-palms, and reddish in color. They wear neither coat nor mantle, but each man carries a cape which covers one half of his body, leaving one hand free. Their swords are Frankish in pattern, broad, flat, and fluted. Each man has [tattooed upon him] trees, figures, and the like from the fingernails to the neck. . . . They are the filthiest of God's creatures. They do not wash after discharging their natural functions, neither do they wash their hands after meals. They are as donkeys." Document 4 From Travels of Marco Polo , Venetian merchant and explorer, describing the capital of the Yuan dynasty in China c. 1280-90 C.E.: "The people are idolaters; and since they were conquered by the Great Khan* they use paper money. [Both men and women are fair and comely, and for the most part clothe themselves in silk, so vast is the supply of that material, both from the whole district of Kinsay, and from the imports by traders from other provinces.] And you must know they eat every kind of flesh, even that of dogs and other unclean beasts, which nothing would induce a Christian to eat." *Kublai, grandson of Genghis Khan Document 5 Usama Ibn Munqidh, Syrian Muslim soldier and chronicler, 12th century: "Everyone who is a fresh immigrant from the Frankish lands is ruder in character than those who have been acclimatized and have held long associations with the Muslims. . . . we came to the house of one of the old knights who came with the first expedition. This man had retired from the army and was living on the income of the property he owned in Antioch. He had a fine table brought out, spread with a splendid selection of appetizing food. He saw that I was not eating, and said: 'Don't worry, please; eat what you like, for I don't eat Frankish food. I have Egyptian cooks and only eat what they serve. No pig's flesh ever comes into my house.' So I ate, although cautiously, and then we left." Document 6 Ibn Battuta, from Travels in Asia and Africa, 14th century: ". . . I met the qadi of Mali, Abd al-Rahman, who came to see me: he is a black, has been on the pilgrimage [to Mecca], and is a noble person with good qualities and character. He sent me a cow as his hospitality gift. I met the interpreter Dugha, a noble black and a leader of theirs. He sent me a bull. . . . They performed their duty towards me [as a guest] most perfectly; may God bless and reward them for their good deeds!" Document 7 Bertrandon de La Brocquière, from his book The Journey to Outre-Mer, French pilgrim to the Middle East, around 1433 CE: "They [the Turks] are a tolerably handsome race, with long beards, but of moderate size and strength. I know well that it is a common expression to say 'as strong as a Turk', nevertheless I have seen an infinity of Christians excel them when strength was necessary, . . . They are diligent, willingly rise early, and live on little, being satisfied with bread badly baked, raw meat dried in the sun, milk curdled or not, honey, cheese, grapes, fruit, herbs, and even a handful of flour with which they make a soup sufficient to feed six or eight for a day. . . . Their horses are good, cost little in food, gallop well and for a long time. They keep them on short allowances, never feeding them but at night and then giving them only five or six handfuls of barley with double the quantity of chopped straw, the whole put into a bag which hangs from the horse's ears. . . . I must own that in my various experiences I have always found the Turks frank and loyal, and when it was necessary to show courage, they have never failed . . . " Document 8 Sultan Bayezid II, ruler of the Ottoman empire (1481-1512): "You know very well the unwashed [Christians] and their ways and manners, which certainly are not fine. They are indolent, sleepy, easily shocked, inactive; they like to drink much and to eat much; . . . They keep horses only to ride while hunting with their dogs; if one of them wishes to have a good war-horse, he sends to buy it from us. . . .They let women follow them in the campaigns, and at their dinners give them the upper places; and they always want to have warm dishes. In short, there is no good in them." Document 9 Christopher Columbus, from his log dated October 12, 1492: "I want the natives to develop a friendly attitude toward us because I know that they are a people who can be made free and converted to our Holy Faith more by love than by force. I therefore gave red caps to some and glass beads to others. . . . And they took great pleasure in this and became so friendly that it was a marvel. They traded and gave everything they had in good will, but it seems to me that they have very little and are poor in everything. I warned my men to take nothing from the people without giving something in exchange." Document 10 From Book 12 of " The Florentine Codex ," a history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico written by Friar Bernardino de Sahagún in collaboration with Aztec men who were former students, late 16th century: "They gave [the Spaniards] emblems of gold, banners of quetzal plumes, and golden necklaces. And when they gave them these, the Spaniards' faces grinned; they were delighted, they were overjoyed. They snatched up the gold like monkeys. . . . They were swollen with greed; . . . they hungered for that gold like wild pigs. . . . They babbled in a barbarous language; everything they said was in a savage tongue. . . ."

John Maunu is an AP College Board World History consultant, co-Moderator of the AP College Board World History Teacher community (new list serve), Digital Resources Editor for "World History Connected," AP History mentor for Grosse Ile and Cranbrook/Kingswood schools, Michigan, veteran AP World History workshop leader and Reader/Table Leader.  He can be reached at [email protected]   or [email protected]

1 For the oldest source Maxwell referenced, see http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/harkhuf.htm .

2 See: http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/9.3/maunu.html Digital Resources: The Other in World History, World History Connected, Vol. 9, No. 3, October 2012.

3 See http://voices.yahoo.com/comparison-two-romantic-poems-ode-grecian-1384425.html?cat=38 .

4 See travel writing that slogs from ancient monument to ancient monument, for example: http://www.archive.org/stream/ruinsexcavations00lanc/ruinsexcavations00lanc_djvu.txt versus change over time among people, food and drink as encouraged by Eugene Fodor (page 2 of this article): http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700120680/Eugene-Fodor-feted-as-the-spy-who-loved-travel.html?s_cid=rss-5 .

S744: The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing: Sources for Cross-Cultural Encounters between Ancient China and Ancient India

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Xu Xiake’s Travel Notes : Motion, Records and Genre Change

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This study examines the Late Ming Chinese traveler Xu Hongzu’s (1586–1641) travel notes Xiake Youji against the background of the transformations in Ming (1368–1644) social, economic and literati culture. It suggests that the genre change of which Xu’s text is a forerunner is directly related to the increasing importance of spatial movement and with it changing forms of knowledge as well as roles of the literati-knower at the time. It explores how Xu’s method of recording and structuring movement, observations and knowledge in accounting for his travels not only takes on what might be described as systematic empiricist tendencies but also redefines their limits, thus differing from prevalent travel jottings as occasion for lyrical expression, affective association and intellectual meditation. It argues that in the process Xu made the kind of knowledge making his contemporaries discussed and theorized a life-long practice. He devised ways of writing the process of spatial movement as process of knowing, and the knower as imperturbable explorer in uncompromising motion.

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For an abridged version, see Li Chi ( 1974 , 25).

Riemenschnitter, for instance, has noted Xu’s extraordinary ambition in this; Riemenschnitter ( 2003 , 287).

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Zheng, Y. (2014). Xu Xiake’s Travel Notes : Motion, Records and Genre Change. In: Gal, O., Zheng, Y. (eds) Motion and Knowledge in the Changing Early Modern World. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7383-7_3

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Real Teenagers, Fake Nudes: The Rise of Deepfakes in American Schools

Students are using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of their classmates..

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Natasha Singer

Produced by Sydney Harper and Shannon M. Lin

Edited by Marc Georges

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

Warning: this episode contains strong language, descriptions of explicit content and sexual harassment

A disturbing new problem is sweeping American schools: Students are using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of their classmates and then share them without the person depicted even knowing.

Natasha Singer, who covers technology, business and society for The Times, discusses the rise of deepfake nudes and one girl’s fight to stop them.

On today’s episode

Natasha Singer , a reporter covering technology, business and society for The New York Times.

A girl and her mother stand next to each other wearing black clothing. They are looking into the distance and their hair is blowing in the wind.

Background reading

Using artificial intelligence, middle and high school students have fabricated explicit images of female classmates and shared the doctored pictures.

Spurred by teenage girls, states have moved to ban deepfake nudes .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.

Natasha Singer writes about technology, business and society. She is currently reporting on the far-reaching ways that tech companies and their tools are reshaping public schools, higher education and job opportunities. More about Natasha Singer

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  11. How Did Ancient Chinese People Travel?

    October 5, 2023. Historian Duan Zhiqian explores road dangers and the emergent travel industry in China's Ming and Qing eras. Modern travelers nowadays are lucky to rely on a range of safe, comfortable transportation to reach their desired destination—from high-speed trains to airplanes and everything in between.

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  13. Ancient China: Geography, Economy & Trade

    Ancient China was often connected to the rest of the world through trade, not only along the famous Silk Road but also via merchant ships that sailed the Indian Ocean, connecting East Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Silk, paper, tea, and porcelain were just some of the goods the Chinese exported far and wide.Trade routes, once firmly established, also carried ideas and innovations ...

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  16. Chapter 10 A Study on The Travel Journal and Pictures: Li Danlin's

    Abstract This article studies the hetero-images in premodern Chinese painter Li Danlin's travelogue The Travel Journal and Pictures with regard to Daniel-Henri Pageaux's and Jean-Marc Moura's theories. Li draws pictures of foreign lands and cultures to express his exoticist interest, following the tradition entailed from The Classic of Mountains and Seas. He transforms the reality and ...

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