01
09route systems in the working corpusField file / 004
中文/EN
Project / FieldworkActive research / 2026
Ancient PlankRoads
A field atlas for translating named historical corridors into modern locations, surviving material evidence, and routes that can actually be investigated on the ground.
China / Qinling–Qinba–Shu road systems
02
06levels in each modern location chain03
06classes of surviving evidence04
03evidence grades for every recordResearch question / 01
How does a historic road become a place you can find?
Ancient route names rarely behave like a modern road number. A single name may describe a corridor, several alignments, or a network whose preferred path changed with repairs, warfare, settlement, and the landscape itself.
The atlas therefore treats every line as a hypothesis. It connects written sources to present-day administrative geography, then asks what material evidence still survives and how confidently each location can be reached.
Location model / 02
From historical name to exact site
Every record follows the same modern address chain. Coordinates supplement the chain; they never replace the names needed to ask directions locally.
- 01Province
- 02City
- 03County
- 04Township
- 05Village
- 06Site
Province → prefecture-level city → county → township → village → surviving site
Working corpus / 03
Nine route systems
These names are research units, not finalized GPS traces. Each remains open to alternate alignments and new field evidence.
Baoxie Road
褒斜道Qinling route system
Working recordChencang Road
陈仓道Western Qinling route system
Working recordTangluo Road
傥骆道Central Qinling route system
Working recordZiwu Road
子午道Eastern Qinling route system
Working recordJinniu Road
金牛道Sichuan–Shaanxi route system
Working recordMicang Road
米仓道Daba Mountains route system
Working recordLitchi Road
荔枝道Qinba route system
Working recordQishan Road
祁山道Longnan route system
Working recordYinping Road
阴平道Longnan–Shu route system
Working recordEvidence index / 04
Six things to look for
Plank sockets
Carved holes, spacing, cliff face, tool marks, and their relationship to the reconstructed road line.
Road surfaces
Cut steps, wheel ruts, paving, retaining walls, and changes in width or construction material.
Inscriptions
Cliff texts, dated repairs, route names, donors, officials, and later reuse of an older passage.
Passes
Topographic control points, gates, defensive works, sightlines, and connections between valleys.
Stations
Postal stations, inns, settlements, water sources, and the practical spacing of a day’s journey.
Bridges
Bridge sites, surviving masonry, abutments, river crossings, ferries, and evidence of route change.
Evidence grade
A Observed and located
B Source-supported, field check pending
C Working hypothesis
Field protocol / 05
Before, on site, after
01Before departure
Build the evidence packet
Align historic names, gazetteer references, previous surveys, candidate coordinates, access notes, and unresolved questions before entering the field.
02At the site
Record position and uncertainty
Capture coordinates, approach direction, scale, material, four orientation views, ambient audio, and a spoken note that separates observation from interpretation.
03After return
Reconcile the route record
Archive original media, compare names and coordinates, grade the evidence, update the route hypothesis, and preserve contradictions instead of smoothing them away.
Working principle / 06
The route is not a line.It is a chain of evidence.
The project remains deliberately open: every visit can confirm a site, weaken an inherited assumption, or reveal that the road took another path.
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