Geographic Records Compilation

Author: Li Tai of the Tang Dynasty / Edited and by He Cijun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The "Guo Di Zhi" (Book of Regional Records) comprises 550 volumes, a massive geographical work compiled by Li Tai, Prince of Wei, in the early Tang Dynasty. It incorporates the characteristics of the "Geographic Records" in the "Book of Han" and the "Guo Li Wang and Di Zhi" two books, establishing a new genre of geographical works and paving the way for later works like the "Yuan He Jun Ti Zhi" and the "Taiping Huanyu Ji." The collection we have now includes dozens more entries than Sun's compilation, but it still falls far short of the original 550 volumes and 5 supplementary volumes of prefaces. Moreover, they are all fragmented and excerpted, losing their original form. Although these are mere fragments of the "Guo Di Zhi," they include explanations of place names from the entire "Records of the Grand Historian," making them still valuable references for studying the "Records of the Grand Historian" and historical geography. We have annotated the sources of the prefaces and appendices, added punctuation, and made some textual corrections. Some debates among Chinese scholars on historical geography exist, but the pros and cons of the original work are left for readers to judge. As for improper arrangements and textual errors in the collation, they are due to limited scholarship, and we kindly ask readers to point them out for correction. The "Commentary on the Records of the Grand Historian" and the excerpts from the "Records of the Grand Historian" are based on the annotated edition of the "Records of the Grand Historian" published by Zhonghua Book Company's Twenty-Four Histories series. This commentary is relatively complete. The ancient texts that cite the "Guo Di Zhi" are sometimes referred to as the "Kun Yuan Lu of Prince Wei Tai," the "Zhengguan Di Ji," the "Di Ji of Prince Wei," or the "Guo Di Xiang." Although the names differ, their contents are identical. The titles collected here follow the original citations without alteration.