Book
Xichuan Ditu 西川地圖
About this item
The Xichuan Ditu (map of Xichuan) is the map of the land of Shu that Zhang Song, Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi Province, gave to Liu Bei. In Chapter 60 of the Romance, Zhang Song secretly draws a geographical map of Xichuan and keeps it in his robe when he goes as an envoy to Cao Cao, and after being slighted by Cao Cao he takes it from his sleeve and presents it to Liu Bei in Jing Province on his way back. The map recorded everything: the terrain and routes, the width of the roads, the strategic points of mountains and rivers, and the money and grain in the treasuries and granaries. Romance, Ch. 60 §2 · 21–22 · 34
No map appears in Chen Shou's text. The Book of Wu (Wushu) quoted in Pei Songzhi's commentary on the passage for the 16th year of Jian'an (211) in the Biography of the First Sovereign in Records of Shu 2 records that Zhang Song and others told Liu Bei about conditions in Shu and drew him a map showing where the mountains and rivers lay. The Romance records this map in Chapter 60, and in Chapter 63 Liu Bei takes it out again to look at it. Records, Shu 2 §27–28Romance, Ch. 60 §34Romance, Ch. 63 §7
In the Records
The Biographies of the Two Governors Liu in Records of Shu 1, in Chen Shou's text, record that Liu Zhang sent his Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Zhang Song to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao, having already pacified Jing Province and driven out Liu Bei, paid Zhang Song no attention, and Zhang Song bore a grudge for it. The Biographies of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng in Records of Shu 7 say that Zhang Song, returning from meeting Cao Cao in Jing Province, urged Liu Zhang to break with Cao Cao and ally himself with Liu Bei, and that when Fa Zheng, who had been recommended as envoy, returned and praised Liu Bei's great strategic gifts, the two secretly plotted to serve Liu Bei. Records, Shu 1 §14Records, Shu 7 §15
According to the Biography of the First Sovereign, in the 16th year of Jian'an (211), when Liu Zhang grew fearful at news that Cao Cao meant to attack Zhang Lu, Zhang Song urged him to welcome Liu Bei and have him attack Zhang Lu. When Liu Zhang sent Fa Zheng to welcome Liu Bei, Fa Zheng laid out a plan for taking Yi Province. Chen Shou's text does not say that Zhang Song drew a map. Records, Shu 2 §27–28
The Book of Wu (Wushu) quoted in Pei Songzhi's commentary on this passage says that Liu Bei had earlier met Zhang Song and later won over Fa Zheng, and received both with great kindness. When Liu Bei asked about the extent of the land of Shu, the numbers of its weapons, storehouses, men and horses, and the strategic points and the distances of the roads, Zhang Song and the others told him everything and drew a map showing where the mountains and rivers lay, and by this Liu Bei came to know fully the strengths and weaknesses of Yi Province. Records, Shu 2 §28
In the Romance
In Chapter 60 of the Romance, the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Zhang Song tells Liu Zhang, who is worried about the threat from Zhang Lu, that he will go to Xudu and get Cao Cao to attack Hanzhong, and as he sets out as envoy he secretly draws a geographical map of Xichuan and hides it in his robe. Zhang Song had originally intended to offer Xichuan to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao slights him and has him beaten with staves and driven out. Saying he cannot go back empty-handed, Zhang Song decides to see Liu Bei in Jing Province on his way. Romance, Ch. 60 §1–3 · 21–22
Welcomed by Zhao Yun and Guan Yu, Zhang Song spends three days with Liu Bei, who says not a word about Xichuan. On the day of his departure, when Zhang Song is the first to urge him to take Xichuan, Liu Bei asks what can be done when the road to Shu is so rugged that carts cannot even travel side by side. Zhang Song takes a map from his sleeve and presents it, saying that by looking at this map alone one can know the roads of Shu, and urges him to make his plans quickly, saying that his trusted friends Fa Zheng and Meng Da will help. When Liu Bei unrolls it, the terrain and routes, near and far distances, the width of the roads, the strategic points of mountains and rivers, and the money and grain in the treasuries and granaries are all clearly set out one by one. Romance, Ch. 60 §23–24 · 29–35
In Chapter 63, as Liu Bei's army advances on Luocheng, when Pang Tong asks about the road, Fa Zheng draws a map on the ground, and when Liu Bei takes out the map Zhang Song left him and compares the two, they match without the slightest discrepancy. Fa Zheng says that the main road north of the hills leads to the east gate of Luocheng and the narrow road south of the hills to the west gate. Romance, Ch. 63 §7
Where the Romance differs
Who drew the map: In Chapter 60 of the Romance, Zhang Song personally presents to Liu Bei in Jing Province a map he has drawn secretly on his own. In the Book of Wu in Pei Songzhi's commentary, when Liu Bei asked Zhang Song and Fa Zheng about conditions in Shu, Zhang Song and the others told him and drew him a map, and Chen Shou's text has no map. Romance, Ch. 60 §2 · 34Records, Shu 2 §28
Where Zhang Song met Cao Cao: In Chapter 60 of the Romance, Zhang Song meets Cao Cao in Xudu and, passing through Jing Province on his way back, meets Liu Bei. In the Records, the Biographies of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng record that Zhang Song returned from meeting Cao Cao in Jing Province, and the Biographies of the Two Governors Liu say that by then Cao Cao had already pacified Jing Province and driven out Liu Bei. The man who went as envoy to Liu Bei was Fa Zheng. Romance, Ch. 60 §3 · 22Records, Shu 7 §15Records, Shu 1 §14
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Ownership history
| Owner | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Zhang Song | 211 | Novel & History 「又畫地圖山川處所」 · 「松乃暗畫西川地理圖本藏之」 · 「十六年」 |
| Liu Bei | 211~ | Novel & History 「由是盡知益州虛實也」 · 「松於袖中取出一圖，遞與玄德」 · 「玄德取張松所遺圖本對之」 |
Ownership is checked against the source texts (3KDEX) — each entry rests on the passage where the item changes hands. Owners not in the People index are not shown.