The ''Taiping Huanyu Ji'' (), or "Universal Geography of the Taiping Era 76–983" is a 10th-century AD geographical treatise by Chinese scholar Yue Shi 樂史 (930–1007), written during the reign of

Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Jiong (20 November 939 – 8 May 997), known as Zhao Guangyi from 960 to 977 and Zhao Kuangyi before 960, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Song, was the second emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 9 ...

in the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

.Endymion Wilkinson, ''Chinese History: A New Manual'', (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), pp. 738, 760. Comprising 200 scrolls (or volumes), it has entries for nearly all areas of China at the time of its publication, complete with place-names and their etymologies. The work generally follows

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

systems of geographical and political designation, dividing China into 13 "Circuits" (), and then subdividing further into the more traditional "prefectures" () and "counties" (). Because it is largely based on Tang works, it constitutes an important source for the study of Tang

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

.Endymion Wilkinson, ''Chinese History: A New Manual'' (2013), p. 738. The ''Taiping Huanyu Ji'' generally records places' populations, notable landmarks and religious or ceremonial structures, customs, and basic historical information, sometimes adding details not found in

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', China's most renowned geographical treatise. It also set the trend for including

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

, literary citations, and other material in Chinese geographical works.

Notes

Chinese history texts Song dynasty literature 10th-century Chinese books {{china-hist-book-stub