Zhu fan zhi

File:諸蕃志（四庫）.jpg

A page from Zhu fan zhi, with description of Jiaozhi

Zhu fan zhi (simplified Chinese: 诸蕃志; traditional Chinese: 諸蕃志; pinyin: Zhū fān zhì; Wade–Giles: Chu-fan-chi), variously translated as A Description of Barbarian Nations, Records of Foreign People, or other similar titles, is a Song Dynasty work by Zhao Rugua. The work is a collection of descriptions of countries and various products from outside China, and is a source of information on the people, customs and traded commodities of many countries around the world during the Song Dynasty.

Background

The author Zhao Rugua (1170-1231) was a member of the Song Dynasty imperial clan. He was posted to Fujian as a supervisor of the maritime trade in Quanzhou. While working in Fujian, he had the opportunity to meet merchants from various countries from whom he gathered information on various countries around the world. He also took note of the various products traded, studied the maps of the period, and together with the information he had learnt he wrote the book which he finished around 1225 CE. Zhao wrote: "Assigned to this post recently, I spend all day reading various maps... I listed names of these countries and their customs... I removed hearsay and kept facts. I thus name this book Zhu fan zhi."

Many entries of Zhu fan zhi take information from other an older works, such as Zhu Yu's Pingzhou Ketan (萍洲可談) from 1116, Duan Chengshi's 9th century Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, and other works. In particular it borrowed heavily from the 1178 work Lingwai Daida (Chinese: 嶺外代答; pinyin: Lĭngwài Dàidā; Wade–Giles: Lingwai Taita) by another geographer, Zhou Qufei (Chinese: 周去非; pinyin: Zhōu Qùfēi; Wade–Giles: Chou Ch'ü-fei). However, a significant part of the book came from information he gathered from foreign and Chinese traders. As he himself had not travelled overseas, the information he collected are necessarily secondhand, unlike other works such as Daoyi Zhilüe written by Wang Dayuan of the Yuan Dynasty who had travelled overseas to observe other countries at firsthand. Nevertheless, the book contains valuable information on various countries and traded products of the 13th century to modern scholars.

The original book was lost, extracts however were found in other compilations and annals, and its content was incorporated into the 15th century Yongle Encyclopedia. It was then extracted from the Yongle Encyclopedia by Li Diaoyuan (李調元) and recompiled for inclusion in his collection known as Han Hai (函海) in 1781.

Content

The book is divided into two volumes. The first volume gives a description of various countries and the customs of the local people, the second volume provides information on trade goods available from those countries. Some of the information given in the book are fanciful tales, for example the description of the giant bird in Madagascar as being so big that it can swallow a camel whole, and he may have incorporated inaccurate information from other Chinese written sources, but much of his own sources appear to be generally accurate.

Volume 1

In volume 1, 58 countries and regions are given.

The countries recorded include kingdoms in South East Asia, such as Jiaozhi (交趾, northern Vietnam), Champa (占城), Zhenla (眞臘, Cambodia), Langkasuka (凌牙斯加), Sanfoqi (三佛齊, Srivijaya), Java (闍婆), Bagan (蒲甘, Burma), and Mayi (麻逸, Mindoro, the Philippines). Countries in the Indian subcontinent such as Huchala (胡茶辣, Gujarat) and Zhunian (注輦, Chola) are also mentioned. It also gives more information than previously available in Chinese sources on the Islamic world, referred to as the country of Dashi (大食, the Arabs), such as on Baida (白達, Baghdad) and Majia (麻嘉, Mecca), and countries and products within its sphere.

The book further listed countries and places in Africa, these include Wusili (勿斯里, Egypt) and its city of Egentuo (遏根陀, Alexandria), Bipaluo (弼琶囉, Berbera), Zhongli (中理, Somalia), Cengba (層拔, Zanzibar), Binouye (Tunisia and the Tripoli region in Libya), and Tuopandi (Damietta in Egypt). In this book, he described places such as the famed Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The furthest western state described is Mulanpi (木蘭皮, Al-Murabitun) which included southern Spain. The Mediterranean island of Sicily (斯加里野, Sijialiye) is also mentioned.

Volume 2

In volume 2, 47 products were listed, 22 of which came from Central Asia and Africa. Zhao gave information on the various traded products of the early 13th century, for example, on the origin of Frankincense (Ruxiang) being traded into China from Arabia (Dashi):

"Ruxiang or xunluxiang comes from the three Dashi countries of Murbat (Maloba), Shihr (Shihe), and Dhofar (Nufa), from the depths of the remotest mountains. The tree which yields this drug may generally be compared to the pine tree. Its trunk is notched with a hatchet, upon which the resin flows out, and, when hardened, turns into incense, which is gathered and made into lumps. It is transported on elephants to the Dashi (on the coast), who then load it upon their ships to exchange it for other commodities in Sanfoqi. This is the reason why it is commonly collected at and known as a product of Sanfoqi."

Translation

A partially annotated and translated English version was first given by Friedrich Hirth and W.W. Rockhill in 1911.

See also

Daoyi Zhilüe

External links

• Translation of Zhu fan zhi