Ming Qing Yanjiu 21 (2017) 1–43 brill.com/mqyj Identifying the Country of Meilugudun and the Significant Value of Zhou Qufei’s Lingwai daida Victoria Almonte Tuscia University [email protected] Abstract During the last century, considerable interest arose regarding Chinese knowledge of western territories, with a long list of works being published on the topic. Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilisation in China (1959) states that Arab thinking had clearly influenced the Chinese conception of geography over the centuries. Zhang Xinglang analyses the relationship between the Chinese empire and countries overseas, focus- ing on Islamic countries and particularly those in the north of Africa. Feng Chengjun’s western territories toponyms and Gudai nanhai diming huishi have provided two pow- erful and even fundamental tools for the research presented here. The first gathers together a large collection of toponyms from various literary works; these are written in western language with their relative transcription or translation in Chinese. The second, the Gudai nanhai diming huishi, is divided in two volumes analysing many Chinese toponyms and their use in several geographical works. Li Qingxin’s Haishang Sichou zhilu, focuses on the development of the Maritime Silk Road and its economic-political consequences for China’s empire. Gabriele Foccardi’s research focuses instead on the motives for Chinese travellers and their expeditions, highlighting the historical and social differences between the different dynasties. Friedrich Hirth and William Rockhill provide a crucial literary resource with their translation of Zhao Rukuo’s work, Zhufanzhi (1966), as does J.V.G. Mills with his annotated translation of Ma Huan’s Yingya shenglan, a journey work of the fifteenth century. Yang Wuquan’s research into Zhou Qufei’s work, published in 1999, identifies several toponyms used by Zhou and compares several foreign geographical works. Zhou Qufei and Zhao Rukuo were both imperial officials during the Southern Song dynasty. They spent many years in the border territories of China: Zhou Qufei in Qinzhou, Guangxi province, and Zhao Rukuo in Quanzhou, Fujian province. Their works mention several toponyms never used before in Chinese texts: ‘Meilugudun’, or ‘Meilugu’ (as written by Zhao Rukuo), is one of these. The identification of this © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/24684791-12340012Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 07:52:51AM via free access 2 Almonte toponym has not been determined until now. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine which kingdom was identified with the ‘Meilugudun’ toponym during the Song Dynasty. Two different questions are here discussed and resolved. First, can the land of Meilugudun be identified with the city of Merv in Turkmenistan? Second, do Zhou’s ‘Meilugudun’ and Zhao’s ‘Meilugu’ both stand for the same place? This paper can be divided into four sections. The first section focuses on Zhou Qufei, the second on Zhao Rukuo. The third analyses and compares previous scholars’ studies. The fourth proposes the new identification of the Meilugudun kingdom. Keywords Song dynasty – Chinese geographical texts – Zhou Qufei – Zhao Rukuo – Meilugudun Introduction This work belongs to the large field of studies of Chinese geographical works from the Song dynasty. Two Song works are analysed here: Lingwai daida (Notes from the Land Beyond the Passes1 or Various Replies from Beyond the Passes)2 written by Zhou Qufei in 1178, and Zhufanzhi (Description of the Foreign Lands or Description of Barbarous Peoples)3 written by Zhao Rukuo in 1225. Scholars can read and study these types of work only because of Ming and Qing dynasty copyists. Zhou Qufei’s Lingwai daida wasn’t printed until the twentieth century, but it was copied by Qing scholars and included in the en- cyclopedic work Siku quanshu 四庫全書, with an abstract dated 1781 (or the forty-sixth year of the Qianlong emperor). Lingwai daida is placed in histori- cal section number 11 (Shibu shiyi 史部十一), geographical category number 8 (Dili shuba 地理類八), miscellaneous (Zaji 雜記). This paper takes that version as its point of departure.4 As you will read in the abstract below, Qing copyists 1 As has been translated by Hyunhee Park. Please see Park 2012: 46. 2 Henceforth Daida. 3 As translated by Hirth and Rockhill in 1911. See Hirth and Rockhill 1966: preface. 4 The author has analysed in detail the electronic version of Siku quanshu, distributed by Chinese University Press with Digital Heritage Publishing, Hong Kong, 1998. But the most reliable version of Lingwai daida is also the newest, that annotated by Yang Wuquan 杨武泉 and published in 1999. He not only analysed Zhou’s work, but also compared it with other geographical works, trying to identify place names. Please see Yang Wuquan 杨武泉, Lingwai daida jiaozhu 岭外代答校注, Zhonghua Shuju 中华书局, 1999. It is volume sixteen of the series Zhongwai jiaotongshi shuji congkan 中外交通史书籍丛刊. Ming QingDownloaded Yanjiu from Brill.com09/30/2021 21 (2017) 1–43 07:52:51AM via free access Identifying the Country of Meilugudun 3 duplicated Zhou’s work from Yongle dadian 永樂大典. In that Ming dynasty version, Daida was divided into only two volumes; according to Qing scholars, Song dynasty bibliographical treatises were divided into ten volumes, as the original work seems to have been. Siku quanshu’s preface reads as follows: 嶺外代答十巻宋周去非撰。去非字直夫，永嘉人，隆興癸未進士。淳熙中官 桂林通判。是書即作於桂林代歸之後自序謂。本范成大桂海虞衡志而益以耳 目所見聞。録存二百九十四條。盖因有問嶺外事者倦於應酬。書此示之，故 曰代答。原本分二十門。今有標題者凡十九門，一門存其子目而佚。其總綱 所言則軍制戸籍之事也。[。。。] 書録解題及宋史藝文志並作十巻。永樂大 典所載併為二巻。蓋非其舊今從原目仍析為十巻云。 乾隆四十六年九月恭校上總纂官臣紀昀、臣陸錫熊、臣孫士毅。總校官臣 陸費墀。 Lingwai daida written by Zhou Qufei during the Song dynasty. Qufei’s patronymic name was Zhifu and he was from Yongjia; during the 20th year of Longxing he passed the imperial examination. During Chunxi pe- riod, he was an official in Guilin, as an assistant prefectural magistrate. As you will read in the preface, Lingwai daida was written after he returned from Guilin. He was influenced by Fan Chengda’s work, Guihai yuheng zhi, and his memories were taken from what he saw and heard during his work. Lingwai daida is composed of 294 sections. Dealing with people and answering their questions about the Lingwai territories were wearing him out. As this book represents Qufei’s attempt to answer people’s ques- tions, it was named daida. The original copy was divided into 20 chapters, but now there are only 19, as one was lost—it probably dealt with the military system. […] Shulu jieti,5 and other Song dynasty bibliographical treatises state it was divided into 10 volumes. However, Yongle dadian was divided into only two volumes. In order to respect the original composi- tion, it is divided here into 10 volumes. The ninth month of the 46th year of Qianlong, edited by officials Ji Yun, Lu Xixiong, Sun Shiyi. Checked by official Lu Feichi. The author has conducted below an analysis that takes the Qing version into consideration and focuses on Zhou’s geographical chapters. 5 Zhizhai Shulu jieti was a bibliographical work written by Chen Zhensun during the Song dynasty. Ming Qing Yanjiu 21 (2017) 1–43 Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 07:52:51AM via free access 4 Almonte In the last century there arose considerable interest in Chinese knowledge of the western territories, with several works pertinent to the topic being pub- lished. Joseph Needham’s chief work, Science and Civilisation in China (1959), includes a volume entitled Mathematics and the Science of Heavens and the Earth. In this work he describes several geographical discoveries and expedi- tions accomplished by Chinese travellers during the previous centuries. He states that China’s geographical concept was clearly influenced by the thinking then prevalent in the Arab world.6 Zhang Xinglang analysed the relationship between China’s empire and overseas countries, focusing on Islamic countries and particularly those in the north of Africa. In his work Zhongxi jiaotong shi- liao huibian, he analysed each Chinese dynasty and its respective commercial itineraries, with particular attention to the linguistic, geographical, histori- cal, and political aspects of several foreign places, including Iran and lands in Central Asia. The high value of his work lies in the deep analysis of many toponyms developed during different centuries. His work is divided into four volumes, and the third volume focuses on ancient Chinese contacts with Arab countries. He first analysed different Chinese geographical works, then con- sidered Arabic sources. For example, he collected every section in which the toponym Dashi (indicating Arab countries) appeared, highlighting parallels and differences; this was in such Chinese works as dynastic histories, Jia Dan’s writing, Du Huan’s work, Lingwai daida and Zhufanzhi. Then he closely studied Arab geographical works—such as those by Sulaiman, Al Masudi, Al Biruni, Idrisi, and Abulfeda—and how they described China’s empire.7 Feng Chengjun’s Xiyu diming and Chen Jiarong’s Gudai Nanhai diming huishi could be considered two influential and fundamental tools for present research. The first contains a large collection of toponyms drawn from vari- ous literary works; the toponyms are all written in western characters and are accompanied by a transcription or translation in Chinese. In this work it is re- markable to see the evolution of geographical lexical terms and the signs of po- tential influence from foreign languages. For example, in treating the toponym ‘Simhala’ (which originated in Sanskrit and indicates Sri Lanka), he considers many Chinese sources that used different toponyms, all of them linked to the Sanskrit name or (as Feng suggests) the Arabic transcription, ‘Silan’.8 Chen’s Gudai Nanhai diming huishi is divided into two volumes, where many Chinese 6 Needham 1959: 512. 7 Zhang Xinglang 2003, 3: 677–948. 8 See Feng Chengjun 1980: 85–86. Ming QingDownloaded Yanjiu from Brill.com09/30/2021 21 (2017) 1–43 07:52:51AM via free access Identifying the Country of Meilugudun 5 toponyms and their use in several geographical works are analysed.