Travel and cultural dissemination of ancient people

The word "tourism" has been around since ancient times. For example, Shen Yue of the Southern Dynasty's "Sad Journey" said: "Tourism charms the spring, and the spring charms tourists."

About my country Typical records of travel include the "wanderings" of Laozi and Confucius. I once worked as a small official in charge of the history books. Because I admired nature and yearned for a secluded life without competing with the world, I resigned. He wandered westward, and after arriving in Guanzhong, he made friends with Yin Xi, a local Zhou doctor. He built a platform in Zhouzhi Southeast Mountain in the west of Guanzhong, Shaanxi to give lectures and wrote the Tao Te Ching. Later, I continued my journey to the west without knowing where I ended up.

Confucius’ wanderings were an integral part of his political career. In order to realize his political ambitions, Confucius led his disciples to travel to various countries after resigning from the official position of Sikou in the State of Lu, and lived a roaming life for thirteen years. When he passed by Surabaya, he looked at the surging river and sighed, "The dead are like a man, and they don't give up day and night." Such sighs are undoubtedly inspired by the natural landscape and comprehend the philosophy of life.

In ancient times, like Laozi and Confucius, not many people had the opportunity to roam, because traditional Chinese society was an agricultural society, which determined that the lifestyle of the ordinary people was to "work at sunrise, "Rest after sunset", there is no spare time to travel. In addition, due to the influence of Confucius’ “Don’t travel far away while your parents are alive”, coupled with backward productivity and limited economic conditions, tourism activities cannot be carried out among the general public. Therefore, traditional Chinese tourists are either royal nobles, literati or religious monks.

For the ancients, tourism was the pursuit of a lifestyle of "people on the road". In the process of wandering, find the purpose and meaning of life. Xie Lingyun, a poet in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, regarded landscapes as aesthetic objects, from which he could comprehend the philosophy of life, relieve anger, dispel impetuousness, so as to gain psychological comfort and spiritual sustenance.

Xie Gong’s love for visiting mountains and rivers is quite similar to Li Bai’s, who “never traveled far to find immortals in the Five Mountains, and enjoyed traveling to famous mountains all his life.” However, judging from their life trajectories, Li Bai’s vision is broader , richer experience. After Li Bai came of age, except for his brief official life, it seemed that most of his time was spent traveling, and he left his footprints in famous mountains and rivers everywhere.

Zhang Chao, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said: "Articles are the landscape on the desk, and landscapes are the articles on the ground." Touring the landscape is also reading articles. The ancients usually roamed for a long time at a time and generally looked for learning opportunities during the journey. In order to "collect the world and let go of the lost news" and make up for the lack of reading and study, the historian Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty went to famous mountains, rivers and historical holy places for actual inspections to obtain first-hand reliable historical information. "Historical Records" was written by Sima Qian after his grand tour.

Our country has a vast territory. Since ancient times, various terrains have been intricately arranged, including plains, hills, lakes and mountains. In ancient times, traveling far away meant climbing over mountains and crossing rivers. "Traveling is difficult" is not just a word. explain. Li Bai lamented in "The Road to Shu is Difficult": "The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky." The transportation used by the ancients reflects economic status and class level: ordinary people mostly walk on foot, while scholar-bureaucrats and literati like to ride horses. The carriage is a symbol of authority and wealth.

Ancient literati were keen to roam famous mountains and rivers, pay homage to historical relics, wander among mountains and rivers, revel in pastoral scenery, and seek spiritual solace and spiritual sustenance. Geographer Xu Xiake spent 39 years covering most of China. He kept writing a diary every day, describing his personal experiences and travel experiences in fresh and concise language. His diary was compiled into "Xu Xiake's Travels" by later generations. Because this book is vivid in writing, detailed in description, and has strong artistic appeal, it not only has geographical value, but also has high literary value.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Italian Marco Polo traveled to China for 17 years and wrote "Marco Polo's Travels", which recorded in detail what he saw and heard in China, which had a profound impact on the development process of Europe. had an important impact.

In addition, tourism is also an opportunity for cultural dissemination.

Zhang Qian's trip to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty opened up a channel for cultural exchanges along the Silk Road and became a messenger of cultural dissemination. The richness and diversity of ancient regional culture made travel an important way to understand nature and society, and made travel and sightseeing the main channels for cultural dissemination and cultural exchange and integration.

(Author’s unit: Graduate School of National Defense University)