Du shi fangyu jiyao 讀史方輿紀要

Du shi fangyu jiyao 讀史方輿紀要 "Important notes on reading the geography treatises in the histories" is a comment on books on geography written by the Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Gu Zuyu 顧祖禹 (1631-1692). The original title of the book was Ershiyishi fangyu jiyao 二十一史方輿紀要 "Important notes on the treatises of geography in the twenty-one official dynastic histories". It is 130-juan long and includes 36 maps and 35 tables.

In the first part of the book Gu Zuyu gives a general overview of the territorial extent of the empires through history and an insight into the local administration.

The largest part (10-123), with a length of 114 juan, deals with the geographical history of the Ming empire 明 (1368-1644), the precursor of the Qing. For the two capitals (Nanjing 南京, Beijing 北京) and the 13 regional administration zones, the later provinces, Gu gives a detailed account on physical geography, administration, borders, garrisons, touristic spots, fords and passes, and historical events. Each part is introduced by an overview on administrative geography (fengyu 封域) and topography　(shanchuan xianyao 山川險要, rivers and passes).

In a 6 juan-long part on "Differences and similiarities in rivers and canals" (124-129 Chuandu yitong 川瀆異同) Gu Zuyu deals with the course of important rivers and canals through history, as well as with the Grand Canal and tribute grain transport over the sea (haiyun 海運). Gu takes a historical perspective and goes back to the chapter Yugong 禹貢, where various rivers of China and their use as means of transport are described.

The last fascicle (130 Fenye 分野 "Divisions of the wilderness") deals with the starry sky as seen from differnt parts of the empire.

An appendix of 4 juan called Yutu yaolan 輿圖要覽 "Important overview of the geography" provides maps to the provinces, borderlands, the Yellow River and the maritime transport route from the lower Yangtze area to Beijing, the Grand Canal, as well as foreign countries like Korea, Annam, Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries.

Geographically, the book focuses on critical spots interesting for defence and attack, like mountains, fords and valleys. Topography is an important issue for warfare and has always been pointed out by military writers. Gu Zuyu tries to combine theory with the practical conditions of topography. He uses examples from history to show the importance of defence, like, for example, the location of the Ming capital Beijing in the north, which is exposed to attacks from the Mongols and the Jurchens (the later Manchus). Therefore Beijing was proteced of several circles of defence, like the three garrisons of the capital (jinji sanfu 近畿三輔), the three passes in the north (neisanguan 內三關), three prefectural garrisons near the metropolis, nine border garrisons in the north, three outpost garrisons (sanwei 三衛) and three eastern garrisons in Shandong (sanqi 三齊).

The book describes the military system of whole China through the ages, indications the positions of garrisons and fortifications and the various possibilities of the local troops to attack and withdraw, with many examples from history. Of great importance is also the economic situation of the region. Provinces producing a lot of grain are also better able to provide the troops with rice during military campaigns.

The Fangyu jiyao was finished during the early Qing period when information about the Ming period geography was not yet systematically gathered. The first draft therefore had to be revised thoroughly. Extant versions of the draft and of the final product differ considerably. A copy of the draft is preserved in the Shanghai Library, as well as a manuscript. The oldest preserved print dates from 1811 and was made in Long Wanyu's 龍萬育 Fuwen Studio 敷文閣. The Zhonghua Book Company 中華書局 has published a modern edition in the series Wanyou wenku 萬有文庫.