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The ''Commentary on the Water Classic'' (), or ''Commentaries on the Water Classic'', commonly known as ''Shui Jing Zhu'', is a work on the
Chinese geography China has great physical diversity. The eastern plains and southern coasts of the country consist of fertile lowlands and foothills. They are the location of most of China's agricultural output and human population. The southern areas of th ...
in ancient times, describing the traditional understanding of its waterways and
ancient canals Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
, compiled by Li Daoyuan during the
Northern Wei Dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...
(386-534 AD). The book is divided into sections by river, each described with its source, course, and major tributaries, including cultural and historical notes. The work is much expanded from its source text, the older (and now lost) ''Water Classic'' (''Shuijing'' 水經). The original text described 137 different rivers in China and was traditionally credited to Eastern Han
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
and geographer Sang Qin (桑钦) during the
Three Kingdoms Period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the We ...
(220-280 AD).
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
scholars gave it a later date (during the Three Kingdoms Period) because of the names of the counties and commanderies. Its authorship was then attributed to Jin dynasty scholar Guo Pu. Li Daoyuan's 40-volume, 300,000-character version includes 1252 rivers. Although very thorough for its time, it did repeat the earlier mistake of the " Tribute of Yu" in viewing the
Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtr ...
as the headwaters of the
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
. It was not until the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
that Xu Xiake correctly listed the Jinsha as the principal source.


See also

* Yang Shoujing and Xiong Huizhen, authors of the 19th-century annotation ''Shui Jing Zhu Shu'' (水經註疏)


References


Further reading

*Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. *Strassberg, Richard E.: ''Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China.'' University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif. 1994 *'' Cihai'', Shanghai cishu chubanshe, Shanghai 2002,


External links


Chinese Literature: ''Shuijingzhu'' 水經注 "Commentary to the River Classic"
at ''China Knowledge''
Unter dem Himmel
Chinese literature Geographic history of China Chinese geography texts {{China-lit-stub