Xiangqian Cheng
@humboldtnote.bsky.social
I'm a retired research professor. For decades, my work was in information management and information systems — teaching students how knowledge is organized, stored, and retrieved, and thinking about the structures that make complex information navigable.
Chapter 17: Maipures Rapids: Swarms, Storms, and the Faint Echoes of Civilization
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-17...
The resilient Father Zea, later became the prototype for “Padre Nicanor Reyna” in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-17...
The resilient Father Zea, later became the prototype for “Padre Nicanor Reyna” in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Chapter 17: Maipures Rapids: Swarms, Storms, and the Faint Echoes of Civilization
April 17–24, 1800
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
August 27, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Chapter 17: Maipures Rapids: Swarms, Storms, and the Faint Echoes of Civilization
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-17...
The resilient Father Zea, later became the prototype for “Padre Nicanor Reyna” in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-17...
The resilient Father Zea, later became the prototype for “Padre Nicanor Reyna” in Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Chapter 16 The Atures Mission: Waterfalls, Dead Languages, and the Insect Inferno
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-16...
The Orinoco River flows from south to north, intersected by a transverse granite mountain range.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-16...
The Orinoco River flows from south to north, intersected by a transverse granite mountain range.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 16 The Atures Mission: Waterfalls, Dead Languages, and the Insect Inferno
April 15–16, 1800
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
August 25, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Chapter 16 The Atures Mission: Waterfalls, Dead Languages, and the Insect Inferno
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-16...
The Orinoco River flows from south to north, intersected by a transverse granite mountain range.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-16...
The Orinoco River flows from south to north, intersected by a transverse granite mountain range.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 14: San Fernando de Apure: The Gateway to the River Systems
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-14...
Some accidents in life defy rational control. I was seized with terror, yet managed to restrain myself.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-14...
Some accidents in life defy rational control. I was seized with terror, yet managed to restrain myself.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 14: San Fernando de Apure: The Gateway to the River Systems
March 28–April 4, 1800
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
August 18, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Chapter 14: San Fernando de Apure: The Gateway to the River Systems
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-14...
Some accidents in life defy rational control. I was seized with terror, yet managed to restrain myself.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-14...
Some accidents in life defy rational control. I was seized with terror, yet managed to restrain myself.
——Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 13: The Great Transition: From Highlands to the Llanos Grasslands
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-13...
The Llanos (Spanish for “plains”) cover approximately 570,000 square kilometers—slightly larger than metropolitan France—mostly below 300 meters in elevation.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-13...
The Llanos (Spanish for “plains”) cover approximately 570,000 square kilometers—slightly larger than metropolitan France—mostly below 300 meters in elevation.
Chapter 13: The Great Transition: From Highlands to the Llanos Grasslands
March 6–27, 1800
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
August 13, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Chapter 13: The Great Transition: From Highlands to the Llanos Grasslands
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-13...
The Llanos (Spanish for “plains”) cover approximately 570,000 square kilometers—slightly larger than metropolitan France—mostly below 300 meters in elevation.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-13...
The Llanos (Spanish for “plains”) cover approximately 570,000 square kilometers—slightly larger than metropolitan France—mostly below 300 meters in elevation.
Chapter 12: Lake Tacarigua: An Elegy of Hydrology, Ecology, and Humanity
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-12...
This watercolor landscape was created in 1882 in Leipzig by Christian Anton Goering—the renowned nineteenth‑century German naturalist, explorer, and artist.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-12...
This watercolor landscape was created in 1882 in Leipzig by Christian Anton Goering—the renowned nineteenth‑century German naturalist, explorer, and artist.
Chapter 12: Lake Tacarigua: An Elegy of Hydrology, Ecology, and Humanity
Vanished Shorelines: The Geologic Past of the Aragua Basin
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
August 11, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Chapter 12: Lake Tacarigua: An Elegy of Hydrology, Ecology, and Humanity
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-12...
This watercolor landscape was created in 1882 in Leipzig by Christian Anton Goering—the renowned nineteenth‑century German naturalist, explorer, and artist.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-12...
This watercolor landscape was created in 1882 in Leipzig by Christian Anton Goering—the renowned nineteenth‑century German naturalist, explorer, and artist.
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
“This uniformity led me to expect that the cave at Caripé would merely replicate scenes I had already witnessed. Yet reality surpassed my expectations.”
---Alexander.von.Humboldt
“This uniformity led me to expect that the cave at Caripé would merely replicate scenes I had already witnessed. Yet reality surpassed my expectations.”
---Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 7: The Caripé convent and the Guácharo Cave
September 14–18, 1799
open.substack.com
July 23, 2026 at 6:23 PM
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
“This uniformity led me to expect that the cave at Caripé would merely replicate scenes I had already witnessed. Yet reality surpassed my expectations.”
---Alexander.von.Humboldt
“This uniformity led me to expect that the cave at Caripé would merely replicate scenes I had already witnessed. Yet reality surpassed my expectations.”
---Alexander.von.Humboldt
Chapter 3 Sailing to South America · A Voyage Altered by Fever
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
Alexander von Humboldt’s great expedition to the Americas began entirely with a series of accidents and coincidences.
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
Alexander von Humboldt’s great expedition to the Americas began entirely with a series of accidents and coincidences.
Chapter 3 Sailing to South America · A Voyage Altered by Fever
On the evening of June 25th, the Pizaro weighed anchor at Santa Cruz, setting her course for South America.
open.substack.com
July 10, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Chapter 3 Sailing to South America · A Voyage Altered by Fever
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
Alexander von Humboldt’s great expedition to the Americas began entirely with a series of accidents and coincidences.
open.substack.com/pub/humboldt...
Alexander von Humboldt’s great expedition to the Americas began entirely with a series of accidents and coincidences.
"Two years prior, Admiral Nelson had lost his right arm to a cannonball during a landing operation here. At this moment, the British fleet had withdrawn from the bay—only days before, they had chased the packet-boat Araucana, which..."
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-2-...
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-2-...
Chapter 2 Tenerife and the Ascent of Mount Teide
After leaving the islet of Graciosa, a thin mist shrouded the sea all day.
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
July 5, 2026 at 9:27 PM
"Two years prior, Admiral Nelson had lost his right arm to a cannonball during a landing operation here. At this moment, the British fleet had withdrawn from the bay—only days before, they had chased the packet-boat Araucana, which..."
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-2-...
humboldtnote2006.substack.com/p/chapter-2-...
“It was an impulse capable of defining a lifetime: the world unfurling before me into a boundless horizon; compared to the security of daily routine, the fierce stirrings of the mind and the tangible perils of the unknown held a far greater allure.”
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Chapter 1 Preparations and Departure
From early childhood, my heart was set on distant lands—those countries where European footprints were rare always held my deepest longing.
substack.com
July 5, 2026 at 9:22 PM
“It was an impulse capable of defining a lifetime: the world unfurling before me into a boundless horizon; compared to the security of daily routine, the fierce stirrings of the mind and the tangible perils of the unknown held a far greater allure.”
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a Prussian aristocrat who spent five years walking through the Americas, measured more mountains than seemed humanly possible, and invented modern geography.
Then people forgot him.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Then people forgot him.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Who Was Humboldt? (And Why You Should Care)
The Short Version
substack.com
July 5, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a Prussian aristocrat who spent five years walking through the Americas, measured more mountains than seemed humanly possible, and invented modern geography.
Then people forgot him.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Then people forgot him.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
I started a Substack where I publish chapter-by-chapter annotations humboldtnote2006.substack.com. I want to hear what strikes you, what confuses you, what connects to your own background — whether you're a scholar, a student, a hiker who loves maps, or someone who just stumbled here.
Xiangqian Cheng | Substack
Humboldt walked the Americas so you could read about them properly. Annotated editions of Personal Narrative for readers who care where science and empire collide. Click to read Xiangqian Cheng on Sub...
humboldtnote2006.substack.com
July 5, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I started a Substack where I publish chapter-by-chapter annotations humboldtnote2006.substack.com. I want to hear what strikes you, what confuses you, what connects to your own background — whether you're a scholar, a student, a hiker who loves maps, or someone who just stumbled here.
An Annotated Edition of Humboldt’s Personal Narrative: Cross-Cultural Annotation as a Methodological Experiment in the Framework of Science History Reading
July 5, 2026 at 8:46 PM
An Annotated Edition of Humboldt’s Personal Narrative: Cross-Cultural Annotation as a Methodological Experiment in the Framework of Science History Reading