Guangzhiyi 廣志繹

Guangzhiyi 廣志繹 "Elaborations on extensive records" is a miscellaneous work on geography written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Wang Shixing 王士性 (1546–1598), courtesy name Hengshu 恆叔, style Taichu 太初, from Linhai 臨海, Zhejiang. In 1573, he passed the provincial juren examination, and in 1577 obtained the jinshi degree. He was first appointed as the district magistrate of Queshan 确山, and later served as a Supervising Secretary in the Ministry of Rites (like jishizhong 禮科給事中) and, after a mourning phase for his mother, Supervising Secretary in the Ministry of Personnel (吏科給事中). He subsequently served in several posts, including Administrative Vice Commissioner (canyi 參議) in Sichuan, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Shandong. He rose to the position of Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial (Honglushi zhengqing 鴻臚寺正卿) in Nanjing. He also founded the Baixiang Academy 白象書院 at Xiangbi Rock 象鼻岩 in Zhangjiadu 張家渡, Zhejiang. Wang Shixing also wrote the books Wuyue youcao 五嶽旅草 and Guangyouzhi 廣遊志. His collected writings are called Yuxian ji 玉峴集.

The book is composed of five juan. A sixth fascicle is lost.

After travelling through Beijing, Nanjing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Shandong, he completed this book in 1597. It is organised into seven sections: "General survey of the realm" (Fangyu yanlüe 分方輿巖略), "The Two Capitals" (Liangdu 兩都), "The four provinces north of the Yangtze (Jiangbei si sheng 江北四省), "The provinces south of the Yangtze" (Jiangnan zhu sheng 江南諸省), "The southwestern provinces" (Xinan zhu sheng 西南諸省), "Accounts of foreign peoples" (Siyi ji 四夷輯), and "Miscellaneous records" (Zazhi 雜志). The book describes the mountains, rivers, and famous scenic sites of various regions, as well as strategic passes and fortifications, local products and customs, and contemporary conditions such as taxation and corvée labour, the grain-transport system, peasant uprisings, and the situation of ethnic minorities in the southwest. Matters both large and small are recorded, and the author occasionally adds his own commentary. Wang's observations are important for the study of historical population distribution and migration in China. The sources are considered reliable and the content quite rich, making the book an important monograph on historical geography.

Existing editions include a woodblock printing from 1644 and the edition in the series Taizhou congshu 臺州叢書 from 1817. A modern, movable-type edition was published by the Zhonghua Book Company (Zhonghua Shuju 中華書局) in 1981.