Shísān zhōu jì 十三州記
Records of the Thirteen Provinces attributed to 應劭 (Yīng Shào, c. 153–196 CE) — zhuàn 撰
About the work
A fragmentary geographic and administrative record organized around the thirteen provinces (zhōu 州) of the Later Han imperial system, attributed to Yīng Shào 應劭 (c. 153–196 CE), the famous Eastern Han polymath and author of the Fēngsú tōngyì 風俗通義. The attribution is traditional and plausible given Yīng Shào’s extensive administrative writing on Han geography and institutions, though the KRP text preserves only a handful of short passages and the attribution cannot be confirmed independently. This Shísān zhōu jì should be distinguished from the Shísān zhōu zhì 十三州志 by Kǎn Yīn 闞駰 (KR2k0157) and the anonymous Shísān zhōu zhì (KR2k0158).
Abstract
The surviving passages cover a varied range of administrative lexicography, legendary geography, and local customs:
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Etymology of jùn 郡 (commandery): “Jùn means ‘lord’ (jūn 君). [It replaced] the enfeoffment of marquises and lords, but the term ‘lord’ remained because the commandery administrator’s authority was paramount. Writing jùn 郡: the character jūn 君 is on the left and yì 邑 (settlement) is on the right. The lord is the head; the settlement bears the people. Hence the name draws on ‘lord’ — thus ‘jùn’.”
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Etymology of xiàn 縣 (county): “Xiàn means ‘string’ (xuán 絃). A string is upright and true. The subordinate body’s position near the people must not break its oath; its application of law, extending its binding, is undeviating like a string — hence the name.”
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Sub-county ranks — zǐ 子 and nán 男: “Counties of ten thousand households and above appoint a lìng 令 (Magistrate) — equivalent to a zǐ-rank state; one thousand households appoint a zhǎng 長 (Chief) — equivalent to a nán-rank state. People now call a county ‘a hundred lǐ’ because the zǐ and nán territories were originally a hundred square lǐ. Hence the saying: ‘today’s hundred lǐ is the ancient feudal lord’.”
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Gold Ox legend 金牛: The story of how Qin king Huì Wáng tricked the Shu king with a gold ox — placing gold at its tail, claiming it could excrete gold; the Shu king, believing this, sent five giants to drag the ox and build a road to Chengdu; Qin thus learned the Shu road and sent Zhāng Yí 張儀 to attack; the Shu king opened battle, lost, and was killed (wáng 忘 here seems to be a corruption of wáng 亡). A standard account of the Qin conquest of Shu (316 BCE).
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Geese farming 治田 in Shàngyú county 上虞縣: “Shangyü county has geese that farm for the people: in spring they pull out wild grass roots; in autumn they peck away the weeds. Therefore the county office forbids the people to harm these birds at will; those who violate [the prohibition] face punishment without pardon.” A remarkable note on wild geese that were protected for their service as natural agricultural laborers.
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Divine Pearl 神珠: “The country of Sēngqiáng-Diē 僧彊疊 is in the south of Tiānzhú (India). [It has] Buddhist temples in more than thirty places. The land has a divine pearl, not jade or stone; day and night its light within the country is brighter than sunlight. The pearl’s diameter is a foot and five inches; its color is pure blue-green.” A note on an unidentified South Asian kingdom’s famous gemstone.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- ctext.org search: https://ctext.org/search.pl?if=en&search=應劭+十三州