This work shed light on the importance of the diaries of Xu Xiake (1587-1641), a compulsive traveller who spent a lifetime visiting and writing about China's "beauty spots".

Detailed study of Xu's use of language serves to underline the breadth of achievement of a man who utilised traditional and contemporary Chinese poetic language in order to express an emotional response to the landscape through which he passed. This is reinforced by a complete annotated translation of a deeply personal essay, written towards the end of Xu's life. The book covers a broad spectrum of voguish sinological subjects relating to late Ming China ranging from the huge growth in all forms of geographical writing to the anthropological analysis of the non-Han peoples of southwest China. This book will interest both seasoned sinologists and anyone who has spent time travelling in China or is interested in the art of travel writing.

History of travel writing in China from earliest times to the Ming
outline of Xu Xiake's life
background to the history of the publication of Xu Xiake's diaries and examination of Xu's methodology and literary style
examination of Xu's language, with particular reference to the language of aesthetic appraisal
Xu's journey to South-West China
Xu and caves and mountains and the true motivations for Xu's travels.