The historical value of the work Lingwai Daida by Zhou Qufei

This work, for the first time in English, presents the annotated translation of the geographical sections of the work Lingwai Daida (Notes from the Land Beyond the Passes) written by Zhou Qufei in 1178. It is composed by two chapters: firstly, the author focuses on Zhou’s life, on the structure of his work and on other relevant aspects (its sources, editorial history, relationship with other geographical works written during the Song dynasty). Secondly, in the second chapter, the author translates and analyzes the Chinese text, paying attention to the image of the world as known by the Chinese people at that time (described by Zhou Qufei) and to how this image was influenced (in some cases) by the Arab knowledge.