Abstract
Di-Li (地理)”, supposed to be the word origin of “geography,” is authentically based on the “Yi-Jing (Book of Changes),” one of the “Five-Classics” of Confucianism. This metaphysical book has predominated in Chinese philosophy and other sciences for more than two thousand years since published. Confucians, therefore, always have relied on commentaries on this book when they defined the concept of “Di-Li.” The oldest definition of this word was noted during the Tang dynasty (618-907). This paper surveys all the relevant commentaries about “Book of Changes,” written until the Song (960-1279) period, in order to clarify how the “Di-Li,” the concept of geography in East Asia, was understood over time and how those commentaries were formed.
First, we discuss the earliest two types of definition of the “Di-Li” that was written in the Tang period: Kong Ying-da (孔穎達) considered the “Di-Li” as an orderly “structure” in landforms and vegetation; Li Ding-zuo (李鼎祚) regarded the “Di-Li” as a kind of atmospheric vertical circulation which is sensible in our “cognition”.
Next, we analyze the commentaries on Yi-Jing written in the Song period. In this period, following four types of theories about a definition of the “Di-Li” were provided: (1) “structure” as abstract positional relations; (2) “cognition” as a basis of an idealistic classification criterion; (3) “phenomenon” as an incarnation of a metaphysical principle; (4) “space” that is absolute but finite.
These diverse definitions of the “Di-Li” provided during Tang-Song period preserve certain aspects of philosophy of traditional Chinese geography.
