Kuodi Zhi

Kuodi Zhi
AuthorLi Tai
Original title括地志
LanguageClassical Chinese
SubjectGeography and administrative divisions of Tang China
Publication date
641/642
Publication placeTang China

Kuodi Zhi (Chinese: 括地志), usually translated as Comprehensive Gazetteer[1] or Description Encompassing the Earth,[2] is an early Tang dynasty survey of Tang China's geography and administrative divisions. It was compiled by Li Tai, Prince of Wei, a son of Emperor Taizong, with the help of imperial scholars including Xiao Deyan (萧德言). It was completed in 641/642 AD.[3][4][5]

The original work comprised 555 volumes, with 550 volumes of text and 5 volumes of preface, [6] but most have been lost.[3] During the Qing dynasty, scholar Sun Xingyan (孙星衍) published the 8-volume book Kuodi Zhi jiben (括地志辑本), a collection of the surviving fragments. In 1974, Wang Hui (王恢) published a revised and expanded version of Sun's work entitled Kuodi Zhi xinji (括地志新辑). In 1980, He Cijun (贺次君) published Kuodi Zhi jijiao (括地志辑校).[5]

  1. ^ Benjamin A. Elman; Chao-Hui Jenny Liu (10 January 2017). The 'Global' and the 'Local' in Early Modern and Modern East Asia. Brill Publishers. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-90-04-33812-8.
  2. ^ Harvard-Yenching Library (2003). Treasures of the Yenching: Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library : Exhibition Catalogue. Chinese University Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-962-996-102-2.
  3. ^ a b Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2009). Historical Dictionary of Medieval China. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-8108-6053-7.
  4. ^ Ward, Julian (2013). Xu Xiake (1586-1641): The Art of Travel Writing. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-136-84041-8.
  5. ^ a b "Kuodizhi". Chinaknowledge.de. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  6. ^ Hu Shi; Department of Information Management at Peking University (2009). Mr. Hu Shi and Wang Zhongmin Letters Collection. National Library of China Publishing House. pp. 56–. ISBN 9787501337880.