Library

This book is Lattimore's travelogue from the northern part of the country to the Western Regions in 1926. He was like a Chinese businessman who spoke fluent Chinese and organized a caravan of nine camels. He started from Zhangjiakou and followed the trade routes formed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, passing through famous coordinates such as Hohhot, Daqingshan, Bailing Temple, Alxa, Ejina River, and Black Gobi, and arrived at the ancient city of Xinjiang. He not only described the beauty of the scenery along the way and the dangers of the trade route, but also focused on those who would not have "left a voice" in history: camel drivers, traders, homeless people, residents along the way... It was this trip that became an opportunity for him to embark on the academic path.

This book is Lattimore's travelogue through Xinjiang from north to south in 1927. After meeting his newlywed wife in Tacheng, he passed through famous landmarks such as Urumqi, Manas, Turpan, Ili, Aksu, Kashgar, and Yarkand, and crossed famous mountain ranges such as the Tianshan Mountains and the Karakoram Mountains. Unlike other foreign travelers with political, commercial and other motives since the 19th century, Lattimore truly went deep into the people and recorded the customs and culture along the way. And his connection with the historical geography of the Asian hinterland also allows us to see the tests this land has endured in turbulent times.