ChinaKnowledge.de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History and Literature

Chang'an zhi 長安志

Jul 6, 2010 © Ulrich Theobald

Chang'an zhi 長安志 "Records of Chang'an" is a gazetteer-style description of the old capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi), its palaces, markets and wards, as well as of the districts surrounding Chang'an. It was written during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126) by Song Minqiu 宋敏求 (1019-1079) and is 20-juan long.

Song Minqiu, courtesy name Cidao 次道, hailed from Zhaozhou 趙州 (today's Zhaoxian 趙縣, Hebei) and was a historian who had taken part in the compilation of the veritable records (shilu 實錄) of Emperor Wuzong 唐武宗 (r. 840-846) of the Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907), and the book Tang da zhaoling ji 唐大詔令集, a collection of edicts and memorials from the Tang period. He also took part in the compilation of the Xintangshu 新唐書, the new official dynastic history of the Tang dynasty. Two of his local gazetters, Henanzhi 河南志 in 20 juan, and Dongjingji 東京記 in 3 juan, are lost. The Chang'an zhi is his only surviving book.

Chang'an had been the imperial capital during the Western Han 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE) and the Tang periods but the region had been the core also of the Western Zhou 西周 (11th cent.-770 BC) and the Qin 秦 (221-206 BC) empires. The area was therefore of course of great interest, and the mid-Tang scholar Wei Shu 韋述 (d. 757) had written the Liangjing xinji 兩京新記 "New book of the two capitals [Chang'an and Luoyang 洛陽]", which Song Minqiu used as the main source for his book. Wei's book is only preserved in fragments and was not as detailed as the Chang'an zhi. Song Minqiu also delivered a chronological overview of the capital region, from ancient times to the end of the Tang period.

The Yuan-period 元 (1279-1368) scholar Luo Tianxiang 駱天驤 wrote a supplement to it, describing the region in later times down to his own. His book is called Leibian Chang'an zhi 類編長安志, in 10 juan. During the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) Xu Song 徐松 (1781-1848) wrote a book about the two cities of Chang'an (in his time the city of Chang'an "Everlasting peace" was renamed Xi'an 西安 "Western pacification") and Luoyang, the Tang liang jing chengfang kao 唐兩京城防考, for which he used the Chang'an zhi and its Yuan period supplement.

The original print of the Chang'an zhi from the Song period is lost. The oldest extant prints are from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) when it was printed together with Li Haowen's 李好文 (jinshi degree 1321) Chang'an tuzhi 長安圖志 from the Yuan period. This version includes many errors and some street names are missing, and inspite of a revision the Qing-period scholar Bi Yuan 畢沅 (1730-1797) was not able to create a perfect version. At least some missing information can be reconstructed from Luo Tianxiang's supplement.

Table 1. Contents of the Chang'an zhi 長安志
總序 Summary
分野 Astronomy
土產 Local products
土貢 Local tributes
風俗 Customs and habits
四至 Geography and neighbouring regions
管縣戶口 District administration and households
雜制 Miscellaneous regulations
雍州 The province of Yongzhou
京都 The capital
京兆尹 The metropolitan magistrate
府縣官 Offices for local administration
宮室 Palaces and other buildings
唐皇城 The imperial ["forbidden"] city during the Tang period
唐京城 The capital city during the Tang period
Districts
Sources:
Bian Xiaoxuan 卞孝萱 (2003). "Chang'an zhi 長安志", in Bian Xiaoxuan 卞孝萱, ed. Tangdai wenxue baike cidian 唐代文學百科辭典 (Beijing: Hanyu da cidian chubanshe), 1126.
Huang Daoli 黃道立 (1992). "Chang'an zhi 長安志". Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Vol. Dili 地理學 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), 28.
Huang Yongnian 黃永年 (1992). "Chang'an zhi 長安志", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Part Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), Vol. 1, 76.
Lin Shaoxiong 林少雄 (1996). "Chang'an zhi 長安志", in Zhou Gucheng 周谷城, ed. Zhongguo xueshu mingzhu tiyao 中國學術名著提要, Vol. Yishu 藝術卷 (Shanghai: Fudan daxue chubanshe), 954.
Wan Fang 萬方 (2018). "Zhongguo gudu jisheng dianji: Chang'anzhi 中國古都紀勝典籍——《長安志》", Shuwu 書屋, 2018 (4).
Wang Zhaoming 王兆明, Fu Langyun 傅朗云, ed. (1991). Zhonghua gu wenxian da cidian 中華古文獻大辭典, Vol. Dili 地理卷 (Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe), 53.
Xin Yupu 辛玉璞 (2011). "Chang'anzhi dui Shuijingzhu jiaoshui tiao de gelie yu qujie 《長安志》對《水經注》“交水”條的割裂與曲解", Zhongguo lishi dili luncong 中國歷史地理論叢, 2001 (9).
Yuan Mingren 袁明仁 et al., ed. (1992). Sanqin lishi wenhua cidian 三秦歷史文化辭典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin jiaoyu chubanshe), 103.
Zhang Li 張麗 (2010). "Chang'anzhi kaolüe 《長安志》考略", Jiangxi shehui kexue 江西社會科學, 2010 (6).
Zhang Yonglu 張永祿, ed. (1999). Ming-Qing Xi'an cidian 明清西安詞典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe), 836.
Zhou Weizhou 周偉洲, Ding Jingtai 丁景泰, ed. (2006). Sichou zhi lu da cidian 絲綢之路大辭典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin chubshe), 768.
Zhu Jun 朱軍 (2011). "Chang'anzhi yu Yonglu bijiao yanjiu 《長安志》與《雍錄》比較研究", Shangqiu Shifan Xueyuan xuebao 商丘師範學院學報, 2011 (11).