Simingshan zhi 四明山志 is a book on Mt. Siming 四明山 in the district of Yuyao 余姚 close to Ningbo 寧波, Zhejiang. The book was written by Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲 (1610-1695), whose family hailed from the region. He often wandered through the mountain with its "seventy peaks" and once began to collect written information on it, revised these sources critically, and then began to compile a book. The result has a length of 9 juan.
Some reviewers argue that the poems and prose writings quoted by Huang were too long or occupied too much space. Another shortcoming is that the author integrated writings of his own friends which had actually nothing to do with the topic of the book. Nonetheless, Gu's book attracted attention, as can be seen by the prefaces written by Zhu Yizun 朱彝尊 (1629-1709), Song Dingye 宋定業, Jin Zhijing 靳治荊 and the author's brother Huang Zongyi 黃宗裔.
The book was begun in 1642 and finished (after revision) in 1673. It was first printed in 1702. The text is included in the series Siming congshu 四明叢書, published in 1940.
1 | 名勝 | Tourist spots |
2 | 伽藍 | Buddhist monasteries |
3 | 靈跡 | Daoist temples |
4 | 題考 | Inscriptions |
5 | 丹山圖詠 | Maps and poems of Mt. Danshan |
6 | 石田山房詩 | Poems from Stone Field Moutain Studio |
7 | 詩括 | Poems |
8 | 文括 | Prose writings |
9 | 撮殘 | Selection of various statements |