Wu Jun Zhi (《吳郡志》)

'Wu Jun Zhi' is a fifty-volume work compiled by Fan Chengda during the Song dynasty. Fan Chengda, known for his other work 'Can Luan Lu' (《驂鸞錄》), authored 'Wu Jun Zhi' in his later years. The compilation was assisted by local scholars Gong Yi, Teng Mao, and Zhou Nan. However, some individuals who were not included in the records spread rumors after Fan Chengda's death, claiming that the work was not authored by him. As a result, the publication of the work was delayed. The preface of 'Zhiyuan Jiahe Zhi' (《至元嘉禾志》) states that 'Wu Jun Zhi' was not published due to these unfounded criticisms.

In the early Shao Ding period, Li Shoupeng from Guangde finally had the work engraved, and Zhao Rutan wrote a preface for it. Zhou Bida, in the epitaph he wrote for Fan Chengda, confirmed that 'Wu Jun Zhi' was indeed authored by Fan Chengda and that Gong Yi, Teng Mao, and Zhou Nan had assisted by gathering information. This helped to settle the controversy surrounding the authorship of the work.

Li Shoupeng noted that the work only covered events up to Shaoxing third year and did not include significant developments that occurred afterward, such as the establishment of the Million Warehouse, the founding of the new city of Jia Ding, the establishment of a naval base at Xu Pu, and the relocation of the military camp to Gu Jing. To address this, Li Shoupeng ordered the scholar Wang Taiheng to add these events, following the example of Chu Shaozun who supplemented 'Shi Ji' (《史記》). However, unlike Chu Shaozun, Wang Taiheng's additions were not clearly marked as supplementary material, leading to confusion and inconsistency in the text.

'Wu Jun Zhi' is divided into thirty-nine sections and is known for its extensive references and concise narrative, making it one of the best local gazetteers. Although the original printed version has been lost, the current edition still retains the original format from the Shao Ding period, including annotations within annotations. This unique structure, which was first seen in Yao Hong's supplementary notes to 'Zhan Guo Ce' (《戰國策》), is a notable innovation in book writing.

In summary, 'Wu Jun Zhi' is a significant historical and geographical work that provides valuable insights into the region of Wu during the Song dynasty. Despite the initial controversies and later additions, it remains a well-regarded and important resource.

References

• 《四庫全書總目提要·卷68 史部·地理類一》

《吳郡志》是宋朝范成大編纂的一部地方志，共有五十卷。范成大另有《驂鸞錄》等著作。《吳郡志》是他晚年之作，由當地人龔頤、滕袤、周南共同協助完成。當時有些人想要列入該志書而未能如願，趁范成大去世後，散佈謠言稱該書並非出自范成大之手，因此該書一度未能刊行。《至元嘉禾志》的序言中提到，《吳郡志》因遭謗議而未能刊印。

直到南宋紹定初年，廣德的李壽朋才開始刊刻此書，趙汝談作序。周必大為范成大所撰的墓誌中確認，該書確實是范成大親自編纂，並說明龔頤等三人常為其蒐訪資料，因此謗議有所由來。此論斷最終得以確定。李壽朋還指出，該書僅記載至紹興三年的內容，此後的一些重要設置，如百萬倉、新設的嘉定縣、許浦的水軍、顧徑的軍屯等，都未被收錄。他命令校官汪泰亨進行補充，自稱是仿效褚少孫補充《史記》的例子。然而，褚少孫補充的《史記》雖然有時被批評為粗陋，但至少未與原著混淆。汪泰亨的補充部分當時未單獨標明，導致與原著混亂，體例不同。

《吳郡志》全書共分三十九門，引用廣泛，敘述簡潔而精確，被視為地誌中的佳作。該書的刊版早已遺失，現存的版本仍是紹定時期的舊版，其中夾注中有再夾注的情況。據考，范成大之前，只有姚宏在補注《戰國策》時曾有此例，但不如《吳郡志》中那麼多，可謂是著書的一種創舉。