Abstract:

Ban Gu’s notes in Hanshu Dilizhi contain extremely rich geographical information, recording more than 300 rivers. The main sources of these notes on rivers come from Book of Rivers written in the period of Emperor Ming in Han Dynasties as well as statistical documents submitted by various administrative divisions. At the same time, regarding the various viewpoints in Confucian classics, Ban Gu researched the rivers recorded in Shangshu Yugong and Zhouli Zhifangshi and made excerpts to be included in Hanshu Dilizhi. In addition, a few of notes by other scholars were incerted into the notes in the centuries to follow when the text was widely disseminated.

Key words: Hanshu Dilizhi, rivers, the date of administrative division, statistical document