Daoist Master Changchun’s Journey to the West: To the Court of Chinggis Qan and Back
By Li Zhichang
Translated by Ruth W. Dunnell, Stephen H. West, Shao-yun Yang
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-766837-5
An account of a three-year trip from China to the Mongol domain in the 13th century, this translation details the travels and experience of religious men as they enter a world very different from their own.
Excerpt:
In a monastery near the coast of Shandong at the beginning of 1220, an aging Daoist master received an unusual guest bearing an invitation. When he accepted the invitation, Qiu Chuji (1148-1227) changed the course of history for the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) sect that he headed, and for the social and religious landscape of north China. The guest, Liu Wen (ca. 1190-1230), called by his byname Zhonglu in the text, was an envoy from Chinggis Qan (1162?-1227), who was then prosecuting a war against his enemies in Central Asia. The imperial invitation directed Qiu to travel to the Qan’s camp and deliver up the secret of long life. Qiu set out with eighteen disciples a few weeks later, lingered in Yanjing (today’s Beijing) and northern Hebei for a year, departed north China in 1221, and returned to northern Hebei in the latter part of 1223.
Who is this book for?
While this is not the first translation of Changchun zhenren xiyouji (Account of the Perfected Eternal’s Spring Journey to the West), it is the only complete one, including a lot of poetry omitted in previous editions. It is a very useful description of central Asia in the 13th century, and will offer much about views of Chinggis Khan and the Mongols.
The Translators
Three leading historians of medieval Asia came together to produce this book. Ruth W. Dunnell is Professor Emerita of History at Kenyon College. Stephen H. West is Professor of Chinese Emeritus at Arizona State University. Shao-yun Yang is Associate Professor of History and director of the East Asian Studies program at Denison University.
Ruth Dunnell explains how the book came into being:
This particular translation was something I had been wanting to do for a long time: I used to teach courses on the Mongol empire, and the existing translations of this valuable primary source were out of print or incomplete, and also badly out-of-date. So producing a new annotated translation became my first retirement project, beginning in the fall of 2019. Shao-yun had already offered his services as a map-maker, and early in 2020 we persuaded Steve West, an experienced translator of medieval Chinese literature, to join us and help improve a very rough draft translation. As you will recall, that was the first pandemic lock-down year, so a collaborative project such as this one seemed a perfect way to pass the time.
Shao-yun Yang adds “I wanted to participate in this project both because I find Changchun’s story fascinating and because it would give me the opportunity to learn how to make an interactive digital map, which is something I’d wanted to do since the early 2000s.” See also his StoryMaps companion The Travels of Master Changchun, a great extra resource for the book.
Daoist Master Changchun’s Journey to the West: To the Court of Chinggis Qan and Back
By Li Zhichang
Translated by Ruth W. Dunnell, Stephen H. West, Shao-yun Yang
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-766837-5
An account of a three-year trip from China to the Mongol domain in the 13th century, this translation details the travels and experience of religious men as they enter a world very different from their own.
Excerpt:
In a monastery near the coast of Shandong at the beginning of 1220, an aging Daoist master received an unusual guest bearing an invitation. When he accepted the invitation, Qiu Chuji (1148-1227) changed the course of history for the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) sect that he headed, and for the social and religious landscape of north China. The guest, Liu Wen (ca. 1190-1230), called by his byname Zhonglu in the text, was an envoy from Chinggis Qan (1162?-1227), who was then prosecuting a war against his enemies in Central Asia. The imperial invitation directed Qiu to travel to the Qan’s camp and deliver up the secret of long life. Qiu set out with eighteen disciples a few weeks later, lingered in Yanjing (today’s Beijing) and northern Hebei for a year, departed north China in 1221, and returned to northern Hebei in the latter part of 1223.
Who is this book for?
While this is not the first translation of Changchun zhenren xiyouji (Account of the Perfected Eternal’s Spring Journey to the West), it is the only complete one, including a lot of poetry omitted in previous editions. It is a very useful description of central Asia in the 13th century, and will offer much about views of Chinggis Khan and the Mongols.
The Translators
Three leading historians of medieval Asia came together to produce this book. Ruth W. Dunnell is Professor Emerita of History at Kenyon College. Stephen H. West is Professor of Chinese Emeritus at Arizona State University. Shao-yun Yang is Associate Professor of History and director of the East Asian Studies program at Denison University.
Ruth Dunnell explains how the book came into being:
This particular translation was something I had been wanting to do for a long time: I used to teach courses on the Mongol empire, and the existing translations of this valuable primary source were out of print or incomplete, and also badly out-of-date. So producing a new annotated translation became my first retirement project, beginning in the fall of 2019. Shao-yun had already offered his services as a map-maker, and early in 2020 we persuaded Steve West, an experienced translator of medieval Chinese literature, to join us and help improve a very rough draft translation. As you will recall, that was the first pandemic lock-down year, so a collaborative project such as this one seemed a perfect way to pass the time.
Shao-yun Yang adds “I wanted to participate in this project both because I find Changchun’s story fascinating and because it would give me the opportunity to learn how to make an interactive digital map, which is something I’d wanted to do since the early 2000s.” See also his StoryMaps companion The Travels of Master Changchun, a great extra resource for the book.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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