Xu Xiake

Xu Xiake
Portrait of Xu Xiake
Born	Xu Hongzu 5 January, 1587 Jiangsu, China
Died	8 March, 1641 (aged 54) China
Cause of death	Illness
Occupation	Explorer

Xu Xiake (Chinese: 徐霞客; pinyin: Xú Xiákè; Wade–Giles: Hsü Hsia-k'o, January 5, 1587 – March 8, 1641), born Xu Hongzu (徐弘祖), courtesy name Zhenzhi (振之), was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries Xu Xiake, and his work translated by Ding Wenjiang. Xu's writing falls under the old Chinese literary category of 'travel record literature' ('youji wenxue'“遊記文學”), which used narrative and prose styles of writing to portray one's travel experiences.

The People's Liberation Army Navy barracks ship Xu Xiake was named after him.

With ancestors from Jiangxi province, Xu Xiake was born in what is today Jiangyin (in Jiangsu province) as Xu Hongzu (宏祖), as the second son of Xu Yu'an (徐豫庵, 1545–1694) and Wang Ruren (王孺人, 1545–1625). It was often said his mother encouraged him to travel and this shaped Xu's predilections. His sobriquet is Zhenzhi (振之). Xiake was an alternate sobriquet (別號) given to him by his friend Chen Jiru (陳繼儒, 1558–1639) and it means "one who is in the sunset clouds". His other friend, Huang Daozhou (黃道周, 1585–1646), also gave Xu an alternate sobriquet: Xiayi (霞逸), meaning "untrammelled in the sunset clouds."