Sān Qín jì 三秦記
Records of the Three Qin by 辛氏 (Xīn Shì, surname Xin, given name unknown; fl. late Eastern Han–early Wei) — zhuàn 撰
About the work
A fragmentary geographic text about the “Three Qin” 三秦 region (the Guanzhong area, so called from the three kingdoms of Yōng 雍, Sāi 塞, and Dí 翟 into which Xiàng Yǔ 項羽 divided the former Qin heartland in 206 BCE). Only a single very short passage survives in the Kanripo text. The Sān Qín jì is cited as “辛氏三秦記” in Six Dynasties sources including the Shuǐjīng zhù 水經注, Sān fǔ huángtú 三輔黃圖, and Liú Zhāo’s 劉昭 commentary on the Hòu Hàn shū, establishing its circulation before the Northern Wei. The author’s personal name is unknown; only the surname Xīn 辛 is preserved, associated with the powerful Lǒngdōng 隴東 Xīn clan active in late Han times.
Abstract
The sole surviving passage in this edition provides an etymological note on imperial tomb terminology: “The Qin designated the Son of Heaven’s tomb as ‘Cháng Shān’ 長山 (Long Mountain); the Han called it ‘líng’ 陵 (Mausoleum) — hence the combined term ‘shān líng’ 山陵 for an imperial mausoleum became standard.” This brief note represents a genre of administrative and cultural lexicographic explanation that was common in Wei-Jin geographic records. The surviving Sān Qín jì fragments in other sources (Shuijing zhu, etc.) are more extensive, covering legendary geography and historic sites of the Guanzhong region including the Wei River, the imperial hunting parks, and the Qin-Han capitals.
The Sān Qín jì is listed in Qīng reconstructions as a significant early geographic source for the Chang’an area. An older Qīng reconstruction by Bì Yuǎn 畢沅 is preserved in the Cóngshū jíchéng.
Translations and research
- Zhāng Shù 張澍 (Qīng). Sān Qín jì jízhù 三秦記輯注. Reconstruction with commentary from Shuǐjīng zhù, Chūxué jì, Běitáng shūchāo, Tàipíng yùlǎn, and Tàipíng huányǔ jì. Published in the Cháng’ān shǐjī cóngkān 長安史跡叢刊 series.
- Wáng Mó 王謨. Hán Táng dìlǐ shūchāo 漢唐地理書鈔. [Contains a reconstruction]
Links
- ctext.org search: https://ctext.org/search.pl?if=en&search=三秦記