Local History - Chihoushi (English)

Japanese: 地方志 - ちほうし（英語表記）Dì fāng zhì

A comprehensive geographical book of China that focuses on a single region, such as a prefecture or a county. This is the opposite of a geographical book for the whole of China, which is called a general history. From the Late Han period onwards, the "Tujing" (Maps), which were geographical descriptions of counties and countries accompanied by simple maps, were created, and geographical books called "Fuzokuden" (Textures of Customs) and "Fudoki" (Topography) appeared, which described the mountains, rivers, customs, and historical sites of specific regions. Both can be considered the prototypes of local histories. Existing works include "Chenliu Fuzokuden" (Textures of Customs of Chenliu) by Jiang Zheng of the Jin Dynasty and "Yangxian Fudoki" (Topography of Yangxian) by Zhou Chu. In the 4th century, when the Han people were driven out by foreign tribes in the north and moved to the new land of Jiangnan, local histories such as "Sokusokugunzhi" (Records of Various Counties) and "Sokusokuju" (Records of Various Prefectures) that targeted those regions increased.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

州や県など一地域を単位とした中国の総合的地理書。中国全体の地理書を総志と呼ぶのに対する。後漢時代以降，簡単な地図を伴った郡や国の地理的叙述，〈図経（ずけい）〉が作られ，また特定地方の山川，風俗，古跡などを記載した〈風俗伝〉や〈風土記〉と呼ばれる地理書が出現した。いずれも地方志の原型といえる。晋の江徴の《陳留風俗伝》，周処の《陽羨（ようせん）風土記》などが現存する。4世紀，北方の異民族に追われ，漢民族が新天地の江南にうつると，その地方を対象とした《某々郡志》《某々州記》といった地方史が増加する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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