In the Tang dynasty there lived an “unlucky scholar” named Tang Ao. He seemed certain to pass the imperial examinations, but just before the palace examination someone uncovered an old connection: in his youth he had sworn brotherhood with Xu Jingye and Luo Binwang, who later raised a rebellion.

When Wu Zetian learned of it, she did not execute Tang Ao, but decreed that he would never receive an appointment. After failing the examination, he planned to travel south. His brother-in-law Lin Zhiyang happened to be setting sail on a trading voyage, so Tang Ao joined him. What a voyage it became! Their ship departed from the region of the Mountains of Ji and Wei in the Classic of Mountains: Southern Mountains, crossed diagonally through the territories described in the Eastern Regions Beyond the Seas and Eastern Regions Within the Seas, and drifted into the vast ocean of the Great Wilderness: East. It then turned north and visited countries in the Northern, Western, and Southern Regions Beyond the Seas, taking in every manner of marvel along the way.

The ship finally reached Lesser Penglai. While everyone slept, Tang Ao quietly went ashore and remained there as a recluse. Their route crossed more than thirty overseas countries and regions, called the “Thirty-Six Countries Beyond the Seas” in the Huainanzi. Our story officially begins here.

 

00:04:30 The “minor poet” Song Zhiwen’s strange encounter at Lingyin Temple

00:07:51 Tang Ao fails the examination because of his sworn brotherhood with Xu Jingye and Luo Binwang

00:16:23 Tang Ao’s first stop across the ocean

00:27:39 What was the black bird that struck Tang Ao on the head with a stone?

00:44:11 The Land of Gentlemen, where everyone is said to be noble

00:55:00 Do people with large ears really enjoy good fortune?

00:57:02 The terrifying Land of the Gutless People