Abstract
This article examines the Commentary on the River Classic (Shuijing zhu 水經注) by Li Daoyuan 酈道元 (d. 527), an official of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), and proposes a reconstruction of the textual ecology of Shuijing zhu from two perspectives that seek to shed light on the meaning and significance of this massive work. The first perspective is to contextualize Li's work in the commentarial tradition and draw attention both to the constraints faced by the commentator and to the creative potential of a commentary in its relating to the original text. The second is to put Li's work in conversation with contemporary southern writings on landscape and highlight the unique mode of space perception and representation that underlies this work. The article argues that Li Daoyuan constructs an infrastructure of rivers based on an imperial vision. Li's riverine system may be seen as a powerful emblem of the medieval Sui and Tang polities with their great canals that supplemented the rivers.
Keywords
Li Daoyuan, Shuijing zhu, empire, history, space perception, space representation, landscape writing, commentary
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