Help with Chinese culture/words

[Guest DaisyLondon]

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[skylee]

I read recently that the reason so many people from China were travelling abroad now that it was easier was due to the status travel has in Chinese culture. The article said that wisdom and travel were inextricably linked.

So' date=' are there any words I could use which are linked to this. Something that means 'true wisdom from travel'? Or anything similar?[/quote']

I am confused. Do you want words in Chinese or in English?

There is a saying in Chinese that goes "行萬里路，(勝)讀萬卷書", which translates to "travelling ten thousand miles (is better than) reading ten thousand books", which is perhaps the link between travelling and wisdom.

There used to be a travel agency in Hong Kong which was called 見聞會社 (Jianwen Huishe). The name of the firm "Jianwen", literally meaning "what one sees and hears", means "knowledge" -> http://cdict.giga.net.tw/?q=%A8%A3%BBD

Also, Johnny Walker has used Laozi's "千里之行始於足下" (A thousand-mile journey starts with the first step" in its ads in Hong Kong. IIRC, the English version is "Keep Walking".

Just some random thoughts ...

[skylee]

We also like the concept of travel stories. So also are there any words which would link up travel and wisdom and narrating stories? Maybe a long time ago there were people who travelled a lot and narrated stories? What were they called? I suppose they would have mainly been monks.

Perhaps you could try one of the four greatest novels in China -> Journey to the West (西遊記 Xī Yóu Jì)

It was based on a true story of a famous Chinese monk, Xuan Zang (602-664). After years of trials and tribulations, he travelled on foot to what is today India, the birthplace of Buddhism, to seek for the Sutra, the Buddhist holy book. When he returned to China ,or the Great Tang as was called that time, he started to translate the sutras into Chinese, thus making a great contribution to the development of Buddhism in China.

As to what travellers are/were called, you could consider 行者. IIRC, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King in "Journey to the West" also uses the name Sun Xingzhe (孫行者 - traveller named Sun). And the character Skywalker in "Star Wars" can be translated to Tian Xingzhe (天行者 - traveller of the sky).

[Guest DaisyLondon]

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[Cense]

Thanks a lot for your help! :-)

Yes I am looking for words I can use like 'Jianwen'.

Thank you very much for sharing the phrase linking travelling and wisdom/

Look foward to receiving more thoughts :-)

DaisyLondon

p.s. Will read 'Journey to the West' as I have been meaning to do that for a long time anyway!

Hi,If you want words like "jianwen",I recommend "youji". It means an essay written on travelling. For example,"徐霞客游记" has recorded the places Xu has visited and what he think about it. Hope this helps. Cense