Wading Barefoot through a Mountain Stream: The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake

by James M. Hargett (Editor)

678 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Ring Chime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I definitely liked most of all the writing about Xu Xiake's travels to the more distant locations over the sections devoted strictly to particular mountains. I must sadly admit that a large part of that is due to the interaction with other people in those sections, there's villains and protagonists in those sections later on, with Xu having to try and keep his dead friend's personal belongings while he carries them to Mount Chickenfoot with his friend's bones. The work Xu did on caves was certainly more interesting for me to read than that about the mountains as well, although I know that his mountain writing is held in high regard. I didn't and still do not know Buddhist writing and literature well enough even with the footnotes to completely grasp the Buddhist poems that Xu wrote.