Xu Xiake
Travel literature became popular during the Song dynasty (960–1279) of medieval China. The genre was called 'travel record literature' (遊記文學 yóujì wénxué), and was often written in narrative, prose, essay and diary style. Travel literature authors such as Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Xu Xiake (1587–1641) incorporated a wealth of geographical and topographical information into their writing, while the 'daytrip essay' "Record of Stone Bell Mountain" by the noted poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101) presented a philosophical and moral argument as its central purpose.