The Commentary on the Water Classic (), or Commentaries on the Water Classic, commonly known as Shui Jing Zhu, is a work on the Chinese geography in ancient times, describing the traditional understanding of its waterways and ancient canals, compiled by Li Daoyuan during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). The book is divided into sections by river, each described with its source, course, and major tributaries, including cultural and historical notes.
The work is much expanded from its source text, the older (and now lost) Water Classic (Shuijing ). The original text described 137 different rivers in China and was traditionally credited to Eastern Han scholar and geographer Sang Qin () during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). Qing dynasty scholars gave it a later date (during the Three Kingdoms period) because of the names of the counties and commanderies. Its authorship was then attributed to Jin dynasty scholar Guo Pu. Li Daoyuan's 40-volume, 300,000-character version includes 1252 rivers.
Together with the commentaries Wen Xuan zhu (by Li Shan), Pei Songzhi's Sanguozhi zhu, and Liu Xiaobiao's Shishuo Xinyu zhu, Li Daoyuan's work is regarded as one of the “Four Great Classical Commentaries” of China.guoxue.com: Si da ming zhu ...
Although very thorough for its time, it did repeat the earlier mistake of the "Tribute of Yu" in viewing the Min river of Sichuan as the headwaters of the Yangtze. It was not until the Ming dynasty that Xu Xiake correctly listed the Jinsha as the principal source.
See also Yang Shoujing and Xiong Huizhen, authors of the 19th-century annotation Shui Jing Zhu Shu ()
References
Further reading Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Strassberg, Richard E.: Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China. University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif. 1994 Cihai, Shanghai cishu chubanshe, Shanghai 2002,
External links
"Chinese Literature: Shuijingzhu "Commentary to the River Classic" " at China Knowledge "Unter dem Himmel"