Mei Wending’s Ningguo fuzhi “Xingye” Chapter and the Hybrid Space of Fenye in Qing Gazetteers

Abstract This article provides a detailed analysis of a single fenye 分野 (field allocation) document in a local gazetteer. We propose that fenye chapters in local gazetteers occupied an “intermediate status” between private scholarly works and centrally sponsored imperial compilations. This is a status that we attribute to local editorial practices, the official background of their compilation, and the sensitive nature of fenye knowledge which was related to military and political astrology. By examining the “Xingye” chapter of the Ningguo fuzhi 寧國府志 completed in the early years (1673–1674) of the Kangxi reign, we highlight that the fenye knowledge articulated in this gazetteer was the result of the interplay between authoritative power—namely, political authority, the authority of the Sage Kings, and academic authority—, personal factors—particularly the individual author’s scholarship—, and scholarly contexts, including regional academic traditions and the scientific background of the period. This study offers a new perspective on fenye in local gazetteers and contributes to a deeper understanding of the historically situated modes of expression of scientific knowledge.