Xu Xiake was born in 1587. （he）parents were rich landowners. Yet he gave up a （comfort）life, and decided to explore the mountains and rivers on foot.
China has more famous explorers. There was: Zhang Qian, who traveled into Central Asia during the second century BC, opening a trade road that became is known as the Silk Road. Or Zheng He, the sailor who in the 15th century sailed as far away as Africa. Yet these explorations （support）by governments. Xu was totally different.
"On the surface, Xu's travels can neither be classified as great affairs of state great adventures that changed the course of history, " writes cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai. "Xu travelled to satisfy his own （curious）. "
Scholar Julian Ward agrees, describing the lonely Chinese wanderer like the Middle Kingdom's version of John Muir: "Deep in love with nature and eager to find freedom worldly concerns, Xu was a man addicted to （see）and describing the landscape. "
"The few coins （slip）from a hole in my pocket while I was climbing a mountain in Yunnan. When I finally managed to the town, I sold all my clothes, bought myself a bottle of wine and a good dinner （celebrate）my survival, " the dreamy explorer wrote in his diaries, which mix details of geology, geography and botany with such personal travel experiences.
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