Two Extant Copies of Reminiscences of Western Travels
There are only two extant copies of Reminiscences of Western Travels (西海紀遊草 Xi hai ji you cao), written by an early Chinese traveler to the United States in 1849. One is in private hands in China; it was discovered by Yang Guo Zhen* in 1980. The other is housed in the New York Public Library. There are significant differences between the two. The former was the source of the 1985 revised edition, published in China. My eBook, however, is based on the latter.
一位早期遠赴美國遊歷的華人，於1849年著述的《西海紀遊草》[Reminiscences of Western Travels]， 現今碩果僅存兩個珍本。其中一本 (左圖 ←)，為中國私人收藏, 於1980年被楊國楨*發現；另一本 (右圖→)，是紐約公共圖書館的藏書。兩書之間，有顯著 差別。中國岳麓書社於1985年出版的校訂本，是跟據前者編撰，而我的電子書內容則以 後者為藍本編寫。
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*楊國楨, "我国早期的一篇美国游历记——谈林鍼的《西海纪游草》", 文物 (1980年11期), 87-90.
