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3 Author’s Preface Earlier, after I left the Purple Myrtle Wall [Ziwei Yuan]1 and was about to go out and serve as commandant [shuai] of Guangyou,2 some in-laws and old friends held a farewell drinking party for me in a tent by the Pine River [Songjiang].3 All of them were concerned about the scorching heat and desolate local conditions [I would find in the south]. I looked up some poems by Tang authors and checked on the geography of Guilin. Shaoling referred to it as “suitable to man”;4 Letian referred to it as “free of miasma”;5 Tuizhi went so far as to regard [gazing at] the rivers and mountains south of the Xiang River as superior to mounting a simurgh and riding off to the land of immortals.6 So, as for the best places I might travel to as an official, could there possibly be any better destination [than Guilin]? After parting with relatives and friends, I set out on my journey. When I reached the commandery [Guilin] in the third month of the ninth year of the Qiandao reign [1173],7 the weather was clear and fair—just as I had heard it would be. But the wondrous and unsurpassed nature of the cliff-caverns, the richness and antiquity of local customs and practices, and the grandness and superiority of the municipal government seat far exceeded what I had heard before. Since I refrained from “looking down on the [local] people,”8 they in turn forgave my ignorance and trusted in my sincerity. We made 4 Author’s Preface an agreement never to deceive one another. As one year followed the next, there were good harvests, and in the field office9 there were few official documents [to occupy my time]. I stayed for two years and found peace of mind there. When I received an imperial order to take up a new government post overseeing the entire frontier in Shu [Sichuan], I promptly sent up a memorial, politely insisting on my inability [to hold such a post]. I remained in Guilin for another month, but my plea failed to produce [the desired change in] orders. And so I parted with the people of Guilin , who presented me, now the traveler, with a goblet of wine by the roadside.10 After passing through the outer city wall, I was detained for two more days [by the local people] before I was able to depart. I traveled by boat on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers,11 crossed Dongting Lake, proceeded upstream past the Yanyu Heap [Yanyu Dui],12 galloped13 through the Two Chuan [Liang Chuan],14 and after half a year reached Chengdu.15 While I was on the road, there were no official matters [to occupy me], and so from time to time I thought about my former travels [in Guilin]. Because of this I recalled from memory Guangxi’s scenic places as well as its local goods [fengwu] and natural products [tuyi]16 —the kinds of information not generally found in local gazetteers—and collected them together to make this one book. Information worth noting on the Man people in remote areas was added as well for the purpose of providing information for the maps of local informants.17 Alas! Although Brocade City [Jincheng]18 is known throughout the world as a “famous capital and joyful land” [mingdu leguo] and I am fortunate to have reached it, at the same time I remain deeply attached to Guilin, so much so that I have compiled and edited19 this [collection of] minutia and trivia, which proves that I did not look down on the people there. Although I am now far away from them in a “famous capital and joyful land,” still I will never forget them! Second year of the Chunxi reign [1175], Summer Solstice Day,20 written by Fan Chengda, zi Zhineng, of Wu Commandery [Wujun]. Notes to Author’s Preface 1 The Purple Myrtle Wall, also known as the Purple Myrtle Palace (Ziwei Gong), is a circumpolar constellation composed largely of the stars of Ursa Major. For Author’s Preface 5 additional details see Schafer, Pacing the Void, 47, and Yan Pei, 2, n. 1. The term “Purple Myrtle Wall” also refers to a central government administrative unit— the Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng)—the name of which was officially changed in the eighth century to Purple Myrtle Department (Ziwei Sheng). Hucker, no. 7545. Fan Chengda had previously served as a drafter...

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