中国古代的遊歴，与新创造的英语单词experoutination：人类新知探索与异地体验的共同行为及其文化价值

一、

古代中国的“遊歴”：起源与稳定的词义

在中文语言体系中，“遊歴”一词可以追溯到三千年前。早在战国时期，我们就已经发现了系统性的“游记体”文献——《穆天子传》。这部作品虽然带有浓厚的神话色彩，但核心是讲述周穆王巡游天下的经历。书中记录的山川、部族、礼俗，反映出一种超越单纯行旅的探索精神。

到了西汉，司马迁在《史记》中以“实录”方式书写个人游历，将“遊歴”与知识探求、人生阅历、社会观察紧密结合。从此，“遊歴”逐渐形成稳定的词义，即在旅途中与目的地进行新知探索和异地体验。

之后的中国历史上，出现了众多杰出的游历家：

• 法显（4世纪），远赴天竺求取佛经，开创了佛教文化的中印交流；

• 玄奘（7世纪），其《大唐西域记》成为世界地理与宗教研究的宝库；

• 郑和（15世纪），七下西洋，将中国文化与印度洋沿岸诸国交流；

• 徐霞客（16—17世纪），以游历日记形式记述自然、地理、社会，被誉为“游记文学巅峰”。

这些人共同表明，中国古代的“遊歴”不仅是行动上的迁徙，更是知识获取、文化交流与文明互鉴的重要方式。

二、

西方的游历传统与中西对照时间轴

与中国类似，西方也形成了以知识和经验探索为目的的游历传统。

• 希罗多德（公元前5世纪），通过观察与记述形成了《历史》，西方首部系统性的地理民族志；

• 马可·波罗（13世纪），通过在元代的长期生活，将中国与欧洲互相介绍；

• 哥伦布（15世纪末），跨越大西洋，开启了“地理大发现”；

• 歌德（18世纪），其《意大利游记》将个人文化体验与审美感悟结合；

• 洪堡（18—19世纪），将科学考察与自然美学结合，提出自然地理学的整体观；

• 达尔文（19世纪），通过“小猎犬号”航行，完成了进化论的启蒙。

在早期近代欧洲，“大旅行”（Grand Tour）成为贵族与知识青年完成教育的重要环节。他们往往通过多年欧洲大陆的旅行，学习语言、历史、艺术与政治。与中国的“遊歴”一脉相通，Grand Tour也是“在途中与目的地的学习与体验”。

Grand Tour – 历史地图，显示了从英格兰经法国穿过阿尔卑斯山并向下进入意大利的可能路线（以红色标记）， 来源：WIKI

如果把中西游历家放在同一时间轴上（如穆天子—希罗多德—法显—玄奘—马可·波罗—郑和—徐霞客—歌德—洪堡—达尔文），就会发现这是一种跨越文明、持续不断的人类共同行为。

三、

当代的学术重构与新词创造

2022年，北京大学地理学教授、游历图书馆创始人吴必虎，在《旅游学刊》（Tourism Tribune）发表论文，首次系统地提出“遊歴”的发展阶段、类型与影响，建立了研究框架。

同时，吴必虎教授创造了一个英语新词：

experoutination =

exploration/experience + route + destination

它意在突破“travel”过于中性的移动含义，以及“tourism”过于休闲化的意义，从而提出一个能够涵盖“在途中与目的地探索与体验”的全球性学术术语。

四、

英文学术条目的表达方式

以词典格式，可表述为：

experoutination (n.)

• 定义：在途中与目的地进行知识探索和文化体验的行为；区别于单纯移动的“travel”，以及休闲取向的“tourism”。

• 词源：由 exploration/experience + route + destination 组合而成。

• 提出者：北京大学地理学教授吴必虎，游历图书馆创始人，首次提出于2022年《Tourism Tribune》。

• 经典案例：欧洲的Grand Tour，中国的徐霞客游历，西方的Herodotus、Goethe、Humboldt、Darwin 等人的旅行。

五、

文化价值：人类的共同遗产

无论是《穆天子传》还是《大旅行》，无论是徐霞客还是达尔文，experoutination/遊歴都体现了人类通过流动实现知识积累与文明互鉴的共同精神。它是教育的一部分，是科学的推动力，也是文化的桥梁。

新词 experoutination 的提出，使这一跨越时空的文化现象第一次获得了全球化的学术表述，为未来的跨文化研究提供了共同语言。

English Version:

Ancient Chinese "Youli" and the Newly Coined English Term Experoutination: Humanity’s Shared Practice of Knowledge Exploration and Cross-Cultural Experience and Its Cultural Value

1. The Origin and Stable Meaning of Youli in Ancient China

In the Chinese linguistic tradition, the term “遊歴” (youli) can be traced back more than three thousand years. As early as the Warring States period, we already find systematic travel records, such as the Classic of Mu, Son of Heaven (Mutianzi Zhuan). Although infused with myth, this text narrates the journeys of King Mu of Zhou across the land, describing landscapes, tribes, and rituals. Its essence is not mere travel but a spirit of exploration.

In the Han dynasty, Sima Qian established the model of “travel writing” in his Records of the Grand Historian, combining personal journeys with empirical observation, life reflection, and social critique. From then on, youli acquired a stable meaning: the pursuit of new knowledge and cross-cultural experiences both en route and at destinations.

Throughout Chinese history, numerous outstanding youli figures emerged:

• Faxian (4th c.), who journeyed to India for Buddhist scriptures, opening the earliest cultural exchange between China and South Asia;

• Xuanzang (7th c.), whose Great Tang Records on the Western Regions became a treasure for geography and religious studies;

• Zheng He (15th c.), who led seven great voyages across the Indian Ocean, promoting Sino-foreign exchanges;

• Xu Xiake (16th–17th c.), whose Travel Diaries represent the pinnacle of travel literature and geographical observation.

Thus, in China, youli was never just about movement; it was a vehicle for learning, cultural encounter, and civilizational dialogue.

2. The Western Tradition of Travel and the Sino-Western Timeline

Parallel to China, the West developed its own tradition of purposeful travel:

• Herodotus (5th c. BCE), often called the “Father of History,” who traveled widely and compiled ethnographic-geographical accounts in Histories;

• Marco Polo (13th c.), whose residence in Yuan China bridged East and West;

• Christopher Columbus (late 15th c.), who crossed the Atlantic, initiating the “Age of Discovery”;

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (18th c.), whose Italian Journey blended cultural insight and personal aesthetics;

• Alexander von Humboldt (18th–19th c.), who combined scientific observation with natural aesthetics, laying the foundations of modern geography;

• Charles Darwin (19th c.), whose Beagle Voyage inspired the theory of evolution.

In early modern Europe, the Grand Tour became institutionalized among the elite as an educational rite of passage. Young nobles and intellectuals were expected to tour the continent to acquire languages, history, art, and political understanding. Like youli, the Grand Tour embodied learning and experiencing through travel.

Placed together on a timeline—from the Mutianzi Zhuan to Herodotus, from Faxian and Xuanzang to Marco Polo, Zheng He, Xu Xiake, Goethe, Humboldt, and Darwin—we see experoutination as a continuous cross-civilizational practice.

3. Contemporary Reconstruction and the Coining of a New Term

In 2022, Professor Wu Bihu, geographer at Peking University and founder of the Experoutination Library, published a landmark paper in Tourism Tribune (游历发展分期、型式与影响：一个研究框架的建构). This work systematically proposed the developmental stages, typologies, and impacts of youli, offering a conceptual framework for research.

At the same time, Professor Wu coined a new English word:

experoutination =

exploration/experience + route + destination

Unlike the neutral connotation of travel (mere movement) or the leisure-oriented meaning of tourism, experoutination is intended as a global academic term to capture the exploration of new knowledge and experience en route and at destinations.

4. Dictionary-Style Entry for Experoutination

experoutination(n.)

• • Definition: The act of seeking knowledge and experience both along the route and at destinations; distinguished from mere mobility (travel) or leisure-oriented activity (tourism).
• • Etymology: Formed from exploration/experience + route + destination.
• • Originator:Coined by Wu Bihu, Professor of Geography at Peking University and founder of the Experoutination Library; first proposed in 2022 in Tourism Tribune.
• • Classic Examples: The European Grand Tour; Xu Xiake’s travels in Ming China; journeys of Herodotus, Goethe, Humboldt, Darwin, etc.

5. Cultural Value: A Shared Heritage of Humanity

From the Mutianzi Zhuan to the Grand Tour, from Xu Xiake to Darwin, experoutination/ youli embodies the universal human aspiration to learn through movement. It is not merely a personal pastime—it has been part of education, a driver of science, and a bridge between civilizations.

By proposing the term experoutination, Professor Wu provides a global vocabulary to express this timeless human practice, offering both scholarly precision and cultural resonance.

作者 | 吴必虎 ChatGPT

编辑 | 周晴