Gazetteer of Xin'an

罗愿Jun 2024

4.3

Word count: 112K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

The intellectual heritage of traditional Chinese culture has a long history, characterized by high originality, inventiveness, and literary quality. Early forms of thought are highly distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and gazetteers—all are vast and profound in content. This series, "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," preserves the original appearance of the books and focuses on conserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Xin'an Zhi is a famous local gazetteer compiled by Luo Yuan of the Song dynasty. This edition is presented in the "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts" series, preserving the original appearance of the book and focusing on conserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture. Its value lies not only in its gazetteer format but also in integrating the geographical evolution, mountains and rivers, customs, notable figures and allusions, and documentary records of a region into a single work; reading it reveals both the annals of a locality and the methods and vision of the ancients in organizing local documents. For readers who want to understand traditional gazetteer writing, regional history, and folk culture, this book provides a relatively primary source of materials; for readers accustomed to modern general historical narratives, they will need to adapt to its itemized, data-oriented arrangement. It is best read as a reference book and a slow read, with annotations, reference works, and maps; first master the structure, then select and read closely the categories relevant to you.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and general readers interested in Song dynasty local gazetteers and regional history
Users of reference materials needing to find old records of customs, people, mountains, and rivers in the Xin'an region
Enthusiasts of Chinese classics who prefer original texts and are willing to read classical Chinese gazetteers slowly

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers expecting modern vernacular rewrites or popular story-style narratives
Specialist researchers needing a complete modern annotated edition for scholarly citation

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and prefaces first to understand the structure and categories of the whole book, then choose relevant volumes according to interest.
Keep a map and a reference work on historical place names at hand to check the evolution of mountains and rivers and the backgrounds of people as you read.
If classical Chinese is an obstacle, first read for the general meaning, then return to verify key words and sentences; there is no need to struggle over every character.

版权信息
新安志序〔赵不悔〕
新安志序〔罗愿〕
新安志卷第一
新安志卷第二
新安志卷第三
新安志卷第四
新安志卷第五
新安志卷第六
新安志卷第七
新安志卷第八
新安志卷第九
新安志卷第十

FAQ

What does Xin'an Zhi mainly record?

It is a traditional local gazetteer centered on the Xin'an region, covering categories such as geographical evolution, mountains and rivers, customs, notable figures and allusions, and documentary records. This edition preserves the original appearance of the book and focuses on conserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture; it is suitable as primary material for understanding ancient gazetteer writing.

Can I read this book without a foundation in classical Chinese?

You can try, but you will need reference works and annotations. This edition preserves the original appearance of the book and is not a vernacular rewrite, so readers who find classical Chinese difficult should first read the prefaces and table of contents, use a dictionary of historical place names and a dictionary of ancient Chinese, and gradually work their way in. If you only want to learn local stories casually, you may find it demanding.

Is this book suitable for reading from cover to cover?

Reading straight through is not highly recommended. Local gazetteers are rather data-oriented in structure, with clearly divided categories, and are better read selectively after mastering the structure. You can first read the general overview volumes, then jump to topics of interest such as people, customs, and mountains and rivers, and take simple notes for future reference.

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About the author

罗愿 Author

Luo Yuan is an author whose biographical details, official career, and native place are poorly documented in publicly available sources. All that is known from the current records is that one work is preserved under this name, Xin'an Zhi (A Gazetteer of Xin'an), commonly classified under literary appreciation. On the evidence available, Luo Yuan is chiefly known to readers through this work. The title points to Xin'an as its subject, indicating a local gazetteer devoted to a particular region; such works typically combine geographical history, mountains and rivers, local customs, notable figures and anecdotes, and documentary records, and thus possess both historical value and considerable readability as prose. Its descriptions of local scenery and its accounts of people and events often carry literary flavor, so later readers may also treat it as material for literary appreciation. Because information on the author's life is insufficient, his associations, intellectual lineage, and official career cannot be described in detail; readers are advised to approach the text of Xin'an Zhi itself and appreciate its care and style in recording local affairs and preserving regional documents.