Ricerc@Sapienza

During the last century, considerable interest arose regarding Chinese knowledge
of western territories, with a long list of works being published on the topic. Joseph
Needham’s Science and Civilisation in China (1959) states that Arab thinking had clearly
influenced the Chinese conception of geography over the centuries. Zhang Xinglang
analyses the relationship between the Chinese empire and countries overseas, focusing
on Islamic countries and particularly those in the north of Africa. Feng Chengjun’s
western territories toponyms and Gudai nanhai diming huishi have provided two powerful
and even fundamental tools for the research presented here. The first gathers
together a large collection of toponyms from various literary works; these are written
in western language with their relative transcription or translation in Chinese. The
second, the Gudai nanhai diming huishi, is divided in two volumes analysing many
Chinese toponyms and their use in several geographical works.
Li Qingxin’s Haishang Sichou zhilu, focuses on the development of the Maritime
Silk Road and its economic-political consequences for China’s empire. Gabriele
Foccardi’s research focuses instead on the motives for Chinese travellers and their
expeditions, highlighting the historical and social differences between the different
dynasties. Friedrich Hirth and William Rockhill provide a crucial literary resource with
their translation of Zhao Rukuo’s work, Zhufanzhi (1966), as does J.V.G. Mills with his
annotated translation of Ma Huan’s Yingya shenglan, a journey work of the fifteenth
century. Yang Wuquan’s research into Zhou Qufei’s work, published in 1999, identifies
several toponyms used by Zhou and compares several foreign geographical works.
Zhou Qufei and Zhao Rukuo were both imperial officials during the Southern
Song dynasty. They spent many years in the border territories of China: Zhou Qufei
in Qinzhou, Guangxi province, and Zhao Rukuo in Quanzhou, Fujian province. Their
works mention several toponyms never used before in Chinese texts: ‘Meilugudun’,
or ‘Meilugu’ (as written by Zhao Rukuo), is one of these. The identification of this toponym has not been determined until now. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to
determine which kingdom was identified with the ‘Meilugudun’ toponym during the
Song Dynasty. Two different questions are here discussed and resolved. First, can
the land of Meilugudun be identified with the city of Merv in Turkmenistan? Second,
do Zhou’s ‘Meilugudun’ and Zhao’s ‘Meilugu’ both stand for the same place?
This paper can be divided into four sections. The first section focuses on Zhou
Qufei, the second on Zhao Rukuo. The third analyses and compares previous scholars’
studies. The fourth proposes the new identification of the Meilugudun kingdom.