粵西‧風土‧紀遊（二）：以董傳策、魏濬、徐霞客為考察核心

This year’s study has produced one journal article along with three international conference papers. Besides digging deep into the neglected biji by Jun Wei and the essay compilation of Chuan-ce Dong, this study also delves into Xu Xiake’s Travel Notes. Previous studies in this respect as our point of departure, this study goes on to scrutinize the aforementioned texts, with special focus on xinan and any forms of cultural contacts taking place therein. In the course of study, we take account of the characteristics of different literary genres, including biji, travel notes and poetry; apart from that we also draw attention to the cultural landscape wherein contacts were made between Han people and local aborigines in different dialects and to the aborigines’ renovation movement upon Han people’s arrival. Faced with Han people’s narration of the aboriginal life, a researcher should be fully aware that only after s/he seriously identifies the interaction between both sides should s/he go on to assess the significance of their contacts. Finally, there are plenty of issues that could be pursued in the wake of this project. These issues include but are not limited to, for example, the spreading of the xinan database, which has been argued for in this study through our descriptions of ‘objects’, how the idea of xinan was constructed in relation to the idea of the empire, and how writing of such a peripheral place was achieved. All these questions can, however, be transformed into questions pertaining to our connections with this modern world.