From government archives to publications: On the historical significance of the transformation of the local gazetteers during the Song Dynasty

During the early Northern Song dynasty, map records (tujing) continued to be used as they had been used during the previous Sui and Tang dynasties: they were written anonymously by and for government officials, and kept hidden away in government administrative centers. But starting from the middle of the Northern Song at the latest, major changes took place in the nature of tujing. Authors of tujing would clearly identify themselves as such, even when they were not government officials themselves; prefaces were now included as well, explaining the reasons for the compilation of the various works; and hand-written copies were kept privately at home for authors to share with their colleagues and friends. Beginning at around 1080, tujing also began to be published. By 1170, the target reader of this genre had been enlarged significantly: tujing could be read not only by local officials, but by officials and literati throughout the realm, and the name of tujing had gradually changed to local gazetteers. Another change that took place at around 1190 was that officials became highly interested in attaching their names to local gazetteers, for this benefited them in their quest for self-promotion. Indeed, being the author of a local gazetteer enabled an official to appear as a capable administrator, one with impressive literary credentials to boot. These changes in the nature and function of local gazetteers most likely had to do several factors. The number of the literati increased significantly during this period. Personal recommendations became an important means of career advancement, and being the author of a celebrated local gazetteer helped one secure a positive referral. It appears likely that the practice of using local gazetteers as a means of personal advancement reached a peak between 1220 and 1260. The functions of the old tujing were retained: they were still used by officials to understand the districts over which they were put in charge. But now local gazetteers also allowed one to network with other officials and rise in the administrative hierarchy.