Xiāngzhōu jì 湘州記
Records of Xiangzhou by 郭仲產 (Guō Zhòngchǎn, fl. Liu Song dynasty, 5th century CE) — zhuàn 撰
About the work
A fragmentary geographic record of Xiāngzhōu 湘州 (modern Hunan), by Guō Zhòngchǎn 郭仲產 of the Liu Song dynasty. The same author also compiled a Qínzhōu jì 秦州記 (KR2k0169). This Xiāngzhōu jì should be distinguished from the one by Yú Zhōngyōng 庾仲雍 (KR2k0180) and from the one by Zhēn Liè 甄烈 (KR2k0179). The two surviving fragments are preserved in Tàipíng yùlǎn 太平御覽 and Tàipíng huányǔ jì 太平寰宇記.
Abstract
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Líng Lake 酃湖 (Tàipíng yùlǎn, juàn 845): “Héng Yáng county 衡陽縣 has Ling Lake to its southeast; local people draw water from this lake to brew wine. The taste is excellent and mellow — this is the so-called Ling Wine 酃酒, which was regularly presented as tribute annually. When [the Western] Jin pacified Wú [in 280 CE], Ling Wine was offered at the imperial ancestral temple for the first time.” An important early record of the famous Ling-district wine presented at the Jin court.
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Wood-Spirits 木客 (Tàipíng huányǔ jì, juàn 163): “Pínglè county 平樂縣’s Yíng Mountain 縈山 has abundant twisted bamboo. There are Wood-Spirits (mù kè 木客) [on the mountain]: in appearance like small children, they sing, weep, walk, and sit; their clothing is no different from humans’, but they can make themselves invisible, living on cliffs and sleeping in gorges. They are extremely skilled craftsmen; from time to time they come down to market to exchange goods, while people go to meet them to swap things — both sides keep their word; the Wood-Spirits speak in a language that can be understood; they make fine wooden vessels with beautiful grain.” A remarkable early ethnographic account of the “Wood-Spirits,” a legendary (or perhaps actual minority people) of the Guangxi mountains, characterized by their craft skill and shy but trustworthy commercial behavior.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- ctext.org search: https://ctext.org/search.pl?if=en&search=郭仲產