"Yuanfeng Jiuyu Zhi (Full Two Volumes)"

Author: Wang Cun (Song Dynasty), Wang Wenchu, Wei Songshan (eds.)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Yuanfeng Jiuyu Zhi is a comprehensive geographical general treatise of the Northern Song Dynasty during Emperor Shenzong's Yuanfeng era, primarily focusing on territorial divisions and administrative regions. The book is divided into ten volumes, starting with the four capitals, followed by twenty-three circuits, and concluding with the abolished prefectures, military commands, and frontier states. It records the subordinate prefectures, states, military commands, and inspections under each circuit, including their distances from the capital, cardinal directions, and distances to surrounding regions, as well as the number of principal and common households, local tributes, number of counties under jurisdiction, and their names. Under each county, it provides detailed information on distances from the prefecture or state in terms of direction and distance, the number of towns under its jurisdiction, and the names of towns, fortresses, and garrisons, as well as famous mountains and rivers. All prefectures, states, and counties are classified by rank. The text is concise yet comprehensive, well-organized. The book primarily records the historical evolution of prefectures and states before the Yuanfeng era, with brief mentions of the Tang and Five Dynasties periods. Although the text is succinct, it is rich in content and unique in style. In addition to documenting the territorial divisions of the time, it also records the population of various regions, the amount of local tribute in the third year of the Yuanfeng era (1080), and the distribution of cities, towns, fortresses, garrisons, mountains, and rivers. Statistics show that there were over 1,880 towns, and more than 1,000 mountains and rivers. This is a valuable source for studying historical economic geography and historical natural geography. The recorded amounts of local tribute are far more detailed than those in any previous historical texts or geographical general treatises, and the listed town names are unique to other Northern Song Dynasty geographical treatises. Yuanfeng Jiuyu Zhi was jointly compiled by Wang Cun, Zeng Zhao, and Li Degu of the Northern Song Dynasty.