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The Dushi fangyu jiyao 讀史方輿紀要 "Most important matters of geography to be found in the histories" is a book on historical geography and military geography written by the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Gu Zuyu 顧祖禹 (131-1692). It is 130 juan "scrolls" long and includes 36 maps and 35 tables. Geographically, the book focuses on critical spots interesting for defense and attack, like mountains, fords and valleys. Topography is an important issue for warfare and has always been pointed out by military writers. Gu Zuyu tries to combine theory with the practical conditions of topography. He uses examples from history to show the importance of defense, like, for example, the location of the Ming 明 (1368-1644) capital Beijing in the north, which is exposed to attacks from the sedentary and non-sedentary polities in the north, like the Mongols and the Manchus. Therefore, Beijing disposed of several circles of defense, like the three garrisons of the capital (jinji sanfu 近畿三輔), the three passes in the north (neisanguan 內三關), three prefectural garrisons near the metropolis, nine border garrisons in the north, three outpost garrisons (sanwei 三衛) and three eastern garrisons in Shandong (sanqi 三齊). The book described the military system of whole China through the ages, indications the positions of garrisons and fortifications and the various possibilities of the local troops to attack and withdraw, with many examples from history. Of great importance is also the economic situation of the region. Provinces producing a lot of grain are also better able to provide the troops with rice during military campaigns.
There is a print from Master Long 龍氏 from 1812. The Zhonghua shuju press 中華書局 has made a modern publication in the Wanyou wenku 萬有文庫 series.
Source: Chen Bingcai 陳秉才 (1989). "Dushi fangyu jiyao 讀史方輿紀要", in: Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Junshi 軍事, vol. 1, p. 211. Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe.
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