 Xu collected information on the West both from missionary literature in Chinese and from his direct contact with Westerners in his official business.This information was the basis of his "A Short Account of the Maritime Circuit" ("Yinghuan zhilüe", 瀛環志略) in 1849.Although this work is lesser known than the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms published in 1843 by his contemporary Wei Yuan, "A Short Account" was more systematic in its description of Western geography.