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Xiyoulu 西游錄

Mar 18, 2012 © Ulrich Theobald

Xiyoulu 西游錄 "A journey to the West" is a travel report compiled by the late Jin-period 金 (1115-1234) politician and historian Yelü Chucai 耶律楚材 (1190-1244), a Jurchen noble at the court of the Mongol ruler Činggis Qaɣan (r. 1206-1227).

Yelü participated in the Khan's western expedition of 1218 and began compiling his travel account after his return. The first part explains the geography of the regions the troops passed, the local products and the customs of the inhabitants. The second part is written in a question-and-answer style providing information about religion, especially Daoism. This part of the book was planned as a kind of counterpart to the book Changchun zhenren xiyou ji 長春真人西遊記 that narrates the travels of the Daoist master Qiu Chuji 丘處機 (1148-1227) who had visited the court of the Khan shortly before.

There is a commentary, Xiyoulu zhu 西游錄注 written by the Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Li Wentian 李文田 (jinshi degree 1859). Li compares the statements in Yelü Chucai's book with those in contemporary writings, especially concerning geography.

The Xiyoulu is included in the series Shuzhai laoxue congtan 庶齋老學從談 and Liujingkan congshu 六經堪叢書. A modern annotated edition was published in 1981 by the Zhonghua Book Company 中華書局.

Sources:
Cheng Jia 程佳, Lu Binling 盧濱玲 (2008). "Yidai mingchen Yelü Chucai ji qi zuopin Xiyoulu 一代名臣耶律楚材及其作品《西游錄》", Bianjiang jingji yu wenhua 邊疆經濟與文化, 2008 (9).
Fan Baoliang 樊保良 (1985). "Yelü Chucia ji qi Xiyoulu zayi 耶律楚材及其《西游錄》雜議", Xinjiang shehui kexue 新疆社會科學, 1985 (12).
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰, ed. (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 1, 1092, 1104.
Song Siaonian 宋曉念 (2015). "Xiyoulu zhong Yelü Chucai de sanjiao sixiang bianxi 《西游錄》中耶律楚材的三教思想辨析", Dalian Minzu Xueyuan xuebao 大連民族學院學報, 2015 (7).
Xu Quansheng 許全勝 (2009). "Xiyoulu yu Heida shilüe de banben ji yanjiu: Jian lun Zhong-Ri dianji jiaoliu ji qinxian Shen Zengzhi jianzhu ben 《西游錄》與《黑韃事略》的版本及研究——兼論中日典籍交流及新見沈曾植箋注本", Fudan xuebao (Shehui kexue ban) 復旦學報(社會科學版), 2009 (3).