Spatial Imaginaries in Mid-Tang China: Geography, Cartography, an ...

Chapter 1

Geographical Advancements in the Mid-Tang

In Chinese intellectual history, the close affinity between geography and literature did not occur suddenly in the mid-Tang period. The two fields were not clearly demarcated, and therefore texts from both fields had shared thematic and stylistic features for a long time. There were also certain earlier periods in which a rapid advancement in geographical awareness and achievement similar to the mid-Tang can be observed. The interplay between these geographical advancements and contemporary literary developments have been noted by other scholars, and an overview of this historical cross-field affinity will help us better understand its manifestation in the mid-Tang. Moreover, the major geographical works discussed in this overview will reoccur as points of reference in the following chapters.

Next, I will first delineate the heightened geographical awareness shared by a wide range of mid-Tang literati within the contemporary social and historical context. I will also discuss the involvement of major mid-Tang literary masters in geographical study or exploration. I will then introduce Jia Dan’s “Map of Chinese and Foreign Lands,” situating