Guǎngjì

Guangji lay on the northern side of the Yangtze, in the river country of eastern Hubei. Its county had been established in the Tang and took the name Guangji in 742. The river and the routes along its banks connected the county to neighbouring regions, while its seat remained a centre of local administration and religious life.

Under the Yuan the county belonged to Qizhou; in the Ming and Qing it came under Huangzhou. The county seat was moved to an island in the Yangtze during times of disturbance and later returned to its former site. Qing officials compiled successive local gazetteers recording the county’s geography, officials and noteworthy events, preserving a detailed account of life along this stretch of the river.