by Qiu Jiangning 邱江宁
Yelü Chucai 耶律楚材 (Yeh-lü Ch'u-ts'ai) lived at the time of the rise of the Mongols. He accompanied Chinggis Khan on his Western Campaign to Khwarezm. His journey took him approximately 50,000-60,000 li (16,000-20,000 miles), and he remained away from China for six or seven years. He wrote a book about his travels, entitled Xiyou lu 西遊錄 (Bretschneider's Si yu lu), “An Account of a Journey to the West”. He also wrote many poems during and about his travels in Central Asia.
