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''Zhōngshān chuán xìn lù'' (J: ''chûzan denshin roku'') is an account of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] history, politics, topography, language, and customs written by [[Chinese investiture envoys|Chinese investiture envoy]] [[Xu Baoguang]], based on his journey to Ryûkyû in [[1719]]. The volume was republished numerous times in Japan, and became one of the most widely read, and widely regarded, sources on the Ryûkyû Kingdom; numerous Chinese and Japanese works draw extensively on Xu's book.

''Zhōngshān chuán xìn lù'' (J: ''chûzan denshin roku'') is an account of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] history, politics, topography, language, and customs written by [[Chinese investiture envoys|Chinese investiture envoy]] [[Xu Baoguang]], based on his journey to Ryûkyû in [[1719]]. The volume was republished numerous times in Japan, and became one of the most widely read, and widely regarded, sources on the Ryûkyû Kingdom; numerous Chinese and Japanese works draw extensively on Xu's book.

Along with the history, topography, governmental structures, customs, and language of Ryûkyû, the text also describes the Chinese envoys' journey to the island kingdom, and a variety of formal receptions and banquets enjoyed by the envoys, along with official rituals and ceremonies, including the investiture ceremony itself. The volume's diagrams of the maritime distances between [[Fuzhou]] and [[Naha]], and between Naha and various other locations in the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]], may be the earliest extant such record.<ref>Katrien Hendrick, ''The Origins of Banana-Fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus'', Japan, Leuven University Press (2007), 54.</ref>

Along with the history, topography, governmental structures, customs, and language of Ryûkyû, the text also describes the Chinese envoys' journey to the island kingdom, and a variety of formal receptions and banquets enjoyed by the envoys, along with official rituals and ceremonies, including the [[investiture]] ceremony itself. The volume's diagrams of the maritime distances between [[Fuzhou]] and [[Naha]], and between Naha and various other locations in the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]], may be the earliest extant such record.<ref>Katrien Hendrick, ''The Origins of Banana-Fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus'', Japan, Leuven University Press (2007), 54.</ref>

Following his return to China in [[1720]], Xu organized the text to be formally presented to the [[Kangxi Emperor]]. It was then published for wider consumption in China in [[1721]], by a publisher called Èr'yǒuzhāi (二友斎, lit. "Two Friends Studio"). It is unclear precisely when the text first made its way to Japan, but it is mentioned in documents from 1740 and 1759;<ref>Yokoyama, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'', 226.</ref> it was then republished in [[Edo]] and [[Kyoto]] beginning in [[1765]], including a version published in Kyoto in [[1766]] which included ''kundoku'' marks aiding the Japanese reader to read the [[kanbun|classical Chinese]].<ref>William Fleming, “The World Beyond the Walls: Morishima Chūryō (1756-1810) and the Development of Late Edo Fiction,” PhD dissertation, Harvard University (2011), 89.</ref> The Kyoto publishers were [[Hayashi Ihei]] (Bunshidô)<!--林伊兵衛・文錦堂--> and [[Zeniya Zenbei]] (Nishiyama-bô)<!--銭屋善兵衛・西山房-->. Some of these editions bore a preface by Confucian scholar [[Hattori Somon]]. The text was later re-published in a variety of different forms, some more loyal to the original than others. [[Morishima Churyo|Morishima Chûryô's]] ''[[Ryukyu-dan|Ryûkyû-dan]]'', published in [[1790]], draws extensively on the ''Chûzan denshin roku'', as do the ''[[Ryukyu nendaiki|Ryûkyû nendaiki]]'' and ''[[Ryukyu kitan|Ryûkyû kitan]]''<!--琉球奇譚-->, both published in [[1832]].

Following his return to China in [[1720]], Xu organized the text to be formally presented to the [[Kangxi Emperor]]. It was then published for wider consumption in China in [[1721]], by a publisher called Èr'yǒuzhāi (二友斎, lit. "Two Friends Studio"). It is unclear precisely when the text first made its way to Japan, but it is mentioned in documents from 1740 and 1759;<ref>Yokoyama, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'', 226.</ref> it was then republished in [[Edo]] and [[Kyoto]] beginning in [[1765]], including a version published in Kyoto in [[1766]] which included ''kundoku'' marks aiding the Japanese reader to read the [[kanbun|classical Chinese]].<ref>William Fleming, “The World Beyond the Walls: Morishima Chūryō (1756-1810) and the Development of Late Edo Fiction,” PhD dissertation, Harvard University (2011), 89.</ref> The Kyoto publishers were [[Hayashi Ihei]] (Bunshidô)<!--林伊兵衛・文錦堂--> and [[Zeniya Zenbei]] (Nishiyama-bô)<!--銭屋善兵衛・西山房-->. Some of these editions bore a preface by Confucian scholar [[Hattori Somon]]. The text was later re-published in a variety of different forms, some more loyal to the original than others. [[Morishima Churyo|Morishima Chûryô's]] ''[[Ryukyu-dan|Ryûkyû-dan]]'', published in [[1790]], draws extensively on the ''Chûzan denshin roku'', as do the ''[[Ryukyu nendaiki|Ryûkyû nendaiki]]'' and ''[[Ryukyu kitan|Ryûkyû kitan]]''<!--琉球奇譚-->, both published in [[1832]].