Qínzhōu jì 秦州記
Records of Qinzhou by 郭仲產 (Guō Zhòngchǎn, fl. Liu Song dynasty, 5th century CE) — zhuàn 撰
About the work
A tiny fragment of a local geographic record of Qínzhōu 秦州, the administrative zone in the upper Wei River valley (modern Gansu, centered on modern Tianshui). Only a single passage survives in this KRP text. The work is cited in the Tàipíng yùlǎn and other Tang-Song encyclopedias.
Abstract
The sole surviving passage records the founding of Jīnchéng Commandery 金城郡: “Jīnchéng Commandery was established in the sixth year of Hàn Yuánshǐ 漢元始六年 [sic; actually 元始 only runs to five years; this should probably read 漢元鼎年間 or similar].” The passage cites the commentator Yìng Shào 應劭’s 應劭’s etymological explanation: “When building the city, gold was found — hence it was named Gold City.” This standard etymology is also recorded in the Hànshū · Dìlǐ zhì 漢書·地理志 and in Yán Shīgǔ’s 顏師古 commentary.
Jīnchéng Commandery 金城郡 was the westernmost Han commandery in the upper Yellow River basin (modern Lanzhou, Gansu), established in 81 BCE (Yuánfèng 元封 6th year according to Hànshū) — the date given in the Qínzhōu jì fragment (“Yuánshǐ 6th year” = 6 CE) may represent a later reorganization of the commandery’s administration, or a textual corruption in the transmission.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- ctext.org search: https://ctext.org/search.pl?if=en&search=秦州記