Liao Shi Di Li Zhi Hui Shi

Author: Zhang Xiugui, Lai Qingshou (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-09-01
Features: Liao Shi·Dili Zhi (hereinafter referred to as Liao Zhi) is one of the sixteen geographical records in the official histories. The current Liao Shi was compiled by Tuo Te and others during the reign of the Yuan Emperor Shundi, comprising one hundred and sixteen volumes (including one volume of Guoyu Jie), with Dili Zhi accounting for five volumes. The foundation of the Yuan-era Liao Shi was the Shilu by Liao Yanshan and the Liao Shi by Chen Da Ren of the Jin dynasty, supplemented by documents from previous dynasties and records of the Song and Jin periods. After the completion of the Yuan-era Liao Shi, Liao Yanshan's Shilu and Chen Da Ren's Liao Shi were lost, making it the only comprehensive historical record for later studies on the Liao dynasty. Previous scholars had low overall evaluations of the Yuan-era Liao Shi. The Qing scholar Zhao Yi remarked, "Liao Shi is too brief" and "Liao Shi is too brief" (Er Shi Er Shi Zhai Ji, Volume 27). Feng Jia Sheng, after comparing the official histories of various dynasties, pointed out: "The shortcomings of Liao Shi are twofold: first, omissions; second, errors. Among the twenty-four official histories, there are some brief like The Three Kingdoms, The Book of Zhou, The Book of Northern Qi, and The New History of the Five Dynasties, and some erroneous like The Book of Wei, The History of Song, and The History of Yuan. However, none are as flawed as Liao Shi." (Preface to the Initial Revision of Liao Shi). Luo Jizhu also believed that the book was "full of flaws and omissions" (Preface to the Collation of Liao Shi). The reasons why the Liao Shi nearly became a "filthy history" mainly include two factors: first, it was hastily compiled. The Liao Shi was begun in April 1343 during the Yuan dynasty and completed the following March, taking less than a year. The compilation coincided with the decline of the Yuan dynasty, leading to a hasty and simplistic approach to fulfill the responsibility. Since the Liao Shi was compiled in a rush, there was insufficient preparation, and the sources for the history were not widely collected. When writing, there was no time to compare and observe to determine what to include or exclude. The text was hastily compiled by multiple authors, with no time for a collation and thorough review, resulting in numerous repetitions, contradictions, omissions, errors, gaps, and inaccuracies." (Zhao Tiehan, Examination of the Geographical Records of Liao Shi in Terms of Direction and Position). Second, there was a lack of previous literature. The Qing scholar Li Shenru pointed out that the Liao dynasty "lacked classical texts and cultural relics compared to ancient times" and that "the Liao dynasty had regulations prohibiting the export of its native script, leading to the neglect and loss of its own records. It is clear that compiling the history of a dynasty must be based on its own records, and the quality of the records determines the quality of the history." (Preface to the Examination of the Geographical Records of Liao Shi). The entire Liao Shi suffers from this, and its Dili Zhi is inevitably flawed, being particularly prominent among the geographical records of the sixteen official histories. Li Shenru, after comparing the Dili Zhi of the Liao and Jin dynasties, sighed: "The Jin Zhi is meticulous and accurate, with few flaws; The Liao Zhi, however, has about one-tenth to one-twelfth of its geographical descriptions incorrect, and about half to five-sixths of its references to ancient texts are flawed." ( aforementioned). Feng Jia Sheng also noted: "The Liao Zhi provides detailed accounts of historical changes but often contains errors; The Jin Zhi provides concise accounts but captures the essentials. The Liao Zhi traces its history back to the Qin and Han dynasties, while The Jin Zhi only covers the Liao dynasty, occasionally mentioning the Five Dynasties.