La biografia di Zhou Qufei: un tentativo di ricostruzione attraverso varie fonti storico-letterarie a partire dal XII secolo
Author(s)
Almonte, Victoria
Date Issued
2018
Type
bookPart
Start Page
89
End Page
101
Abstract
Zhou Qufei was an imperial official during the Southern Song dynasty (11 27-1279).
He lived many years in Guangxi province and in 1178 he wrote a geographical work,
titled Lingwai Daida (Answers about territories beyond Lingnan). This manuscript
contains descriptions of geography, history and customs of Guangxi province and
it includes descriptions of oversea territories, until Northern Africa countries. The
attempt to reconstruct Zhou Qufei’s biography stems from the need to fully understand
the context in which he produced his work. From his biographical reconstruction
came to light that the experiences he made in Guangxi allowed Zhou to
compile a richer and more detailed work. In addition to previous historical Chinese
sources, due to his relationships with foreign merchants, travelers and sailors, living
in Guilin, he was able to supply more information regarding the Western territories.