Jiǔjiāng zhì 九江志
Gazetteer of Jiujiang Anonymous — Southern Song dynasty (c. 1189–1224 CE)
About the work
A fragmentary geographic record of Jiǔjiāng 九江 (modern northern Jiangxi, around the mouth of Poyang Lake), of unknown authorship. Despite its placement in the KRP geography catalog among Six Dynasties texts, the sole surviving passage definitively dates the text to the Southern Song dynasty: it mentions Emperor Guāngzōng of Song 宋光宗 (r. 1189–1194 CE) “in the Eastern Palace” — i.e., as Crown Prince before his accession — requesting a calligraphic inscription from a recluse living on Mount Lú (Lushan). The text thus cannot predate 1189 CE, and is most likely composed in the Zhāoxī 紹熙 era (1190–1194) or shortly thereafter.
Abstract
The single surviving passage covers:
Shén Quán 神泉 (Divine Spring) on Lushan’s Jǐnxiù Peak 錦綉峰: “Below Jǐnxiù Peak on Lushan is Divine Spring. In the Sòng Shàoxīng 紹興 period [1131–1162], a man named Huángfǔ Lǚ 皇甫履 lived as a recluse on this mountain. The high lord Gāozōng 高宗 named his dwelling ‘Pure Void Hermitage 清虛菴.’ When Guāngzōng was in the Eastern Palace [as Crown Prince], he asked Lǚ what he lacked. Lǚ replied: ‘Only the water is a bit far.’ Guāngzōng specially wrote the two characters Shén Quán 神泉 (‘Divine Spring’). Lǚ brought the inscription back to the hermitage and dug a small well beside it.” An anecdote connecting two Song emperors (Gaozong and Guangzong) to a Lushan recluse through patronage of calligraphy.
The anachronistic placement of a Southern Song text among the Six Dynasties geographic records suggests a cataloging error in the KRP compilation.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- ctext.org search: https://ctext.org/search.pl?if=en&search=九江志