Riding the River Home

Record of a Boat Trip to Wu (Wuchuan lu) is a travel journal written by Fan Chengda, the famous government official and writer of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). In it, Fan recounts his boat journey from Chengdu (Sichuan) to his home near Suzhou (Jiangsu) in the summer and fall of 1177. His trip covered a distance of approximately 1,700 miles and took 122 days to complete, and his journal provides a richly detailed, often fascinating account of the scenic and historic sites he visited during the trip, including the history, literature, art, and religion of the Song dynasty (960-1279). This translation is annotated.