宋開寶八年始名崇陽。屬湖北路。通志謂吳改崇陽誤。熙甯五年析通城鎭爲通城縣。紹興五年復倂。十七年復析。元屬武昌路。明改路爲府。屬武昌府。國朝因之。武昌府十屬崇陽中縣簡缺。道光二十二年改題疲䌓難要缺。

I.12 Evolution of Chongyang as an administrative unit

Introductory note

Documents 12-14 are selections from the Chongyang county gazetteer (Chongyang xianzhi 崇陽縣志) edition of 1866. This one is from the section on "boundaries and territories" (jiang-yü 疆域), 1:2a-b.

Gazetteers, sometimes called "local histories," are basic sources for the study of local society. These comprehensive guides to local administrative areas (provinces, prefectures, county-level units, sometimes even important market towns) were compiled periodically, sometimes as often as every few decades. The Chongyang gazetteer, for instance, is listed as having had four editions during the Qing period. Generally, the wealthier the area, the more frequently (and elaborately) gazetteers were compiled. For more on gazetteers, consult "Local gazetteers" in Reference Guides.

Although the main reason for compiling a new edition was to update information, considerable material was always carried over from one edition to another. Thus a gazetteer can generally be regarded as a cut-and-paste job with additions. The advantage of this practice is that the historical evolution of institutions can be followed easily in any single edition.

Download the PDF version of the file.

Glossary

宋開寶八年 - Song Kaibao banian - In the eighth year of the Kaibao reign period of the Song dynasty

屬 - shu - belong to (administratively)

路 - lu - Circuit (an administrative division in Song times)

通志 - tongzhi - the provincial gazetteer (refers to the 1804/5 edition of the Hubei tongzhi) (query: given the fact that this information refers to Song changes, this may be the authoritative 通志 compiled by Zheng Qiao circa. 1161)

謂 - wei - says

吳 - Wu - a Ten Kingdoms state founded by Yang Xingmi; ruled from Guangling (Yangzhou), it was operational from 907 - 937. 

誤 - wu - erroneous (this is the local compiler's no-doubt triumphant correction of a minor error in the provincial gazetteer, proving himself both conscientious and awake; query: it is possible that it was just a well-known fact that Zheng Qiao's comprehensive Song work was wrong at this local level.)

熙甯 - Xining - (1068 - 1077) reign title of Shenzong Emperor, Northern Song

析 - xi - divide, separate

鎮 - zhen - Garrison (Hucker; 121); market town, sometimes the seat of an assistant magistrate

紹興 - Shaoxing - (1131 - 1162) Southern Song reign title

併 - bing - amalgamate

國朝 - guochao - the reigning dynasty (respectfully elevated)

因之 - yinzhi - continued it (the attaching of Chong-yang to Wu-chang prefecture)

十屬 - shishu - ten subordinate jurisdictions (of which Chong-yang was one)

中縣 - zhongxian - a county of medium administrative difficulty

簡缺 - jianque - ordinary jurisdiction (one of three grades of importance)

題 - ti - designate

疲繁難要缺 - pifan'nan yaoque - an important post that was wearisome, troublesome, and difficult. (Zhong Ren-jie can be credited with upgrading Chong-yang from an "ordinary" post with a zero-character profile, to an "important" post with a three-character profile. See Reference Notes 4.6 for details of this complex system.)