Jingzhou ji
Jingzhou ji (荆州记, Record of Jingzhou) is a lost gazetteer of the province of Jingzhou (荆州) (the middle Yangtze region) compiled in three juan (Chinese book division; a volume or fascicle) by Sheng Hongzhi (盛弘之), a literatus of the Liu Song dynasty who served as a gentleman of the secretariat (侍郎) to Prince Linchuan, Liu Yiqing (刘义庆), while the prince was governor of Jingzhou. The original text disappeared sometime between the Tang and Song periods and survives only in quotations and in Qing-dynasty reconstructions.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Sheng Hongzhi (盛弘之; also written 盛宏之), gentleman of the secretariat to Prince Linchuan3 |
| Date | Compiled around Yuanjia 14 of Emperor Wen of Song2 • 1 |
| Form | Three juan3 • 1 |
| Survival | Lost between Tang and Song; reconstructed from quotations2 • 1 |
| Best-known passage | The Three Gorges description later embedded in Li Daoyuan's Shui jing zhu2 |
Origin: author and date
The Qing scholar Cao Yuanzhong, editing the text in his Jianjingshi series, observed that the Song shu contains no biography of Sheng, so his life cannot be reconstructed from the standard history.3
The date of composition rests on Cao Yuanzhong's argument from internal evidence. Cao fixed on Yuanjia 14 from two clues: the Taiping huanyu ji quotes the work's statement that in Yuanjia 14 Jingzhou administered thirty commanderies, and the Shui jing zhu quotes a passage reading "our present sovereign is in the west," showing that the original called the reigning Emperor Wen "our present sovereign."3 Modern accounts place the writing during Sheng's service with the prince from Yuanjia 9 to Yuanjia 16.1
Contents
Its most famous passage describes the Sanxia (三峡): for seven hundred li the two banks are joined by unbroken ranges, layered cliffs screen the sky, and only at noon or midnight can the sun or moon be seen; the fishermen's song runs, "The Wu Gorge in the Three Gorges of Badong is long; three cries of the gibbons and tears wet your clothes."5
Transmission
The original was lost sometime in the Tang-Song period, but it was quoted extensively by later writers, most fully in the Northern Song Taiping yulan.2 Chen Yunrong's edition, in three juan and about 240,000 characters, is relatively complete.2
Influence
The work's documented influence is literary and geographical rather than political. The celebrated "Three Gorges" chapter of the Shui jing zhu is drawn largely from Sheng's text, and the Jingzhou ji is credited with the earliest use of the place name "Three Gorges" (三峡); its phrases on the linked ranges and the gibbon song passed into the language through Li Daoyuan's quotation.2 Comparison of the two texts shows that part of the Shui jing zhu's material matches the Jingzhou ji and can corroborate or supplement its records.4 The work also stands at the head of a local genre: five Jingzhou ji were written in the Six Dynasties period, by Fan Wang in Eastern Jin, Sheng Hongzhi and two other Song authors, and Liu Chengzhi in Southern Qi.2
References
Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Ancient and historical places › Historical and cultural regions › Historical regions of Asia
Initially written Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026
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