A Chinese Translation With Extensive Notes Of Frontinus' The Water Supply Of The City Of Rome

Finished in the first century AD,De Aquaeductu Urbis Romae(The Water Supply of the City of Rome)was thought to be a commentarius,i.e.a “handbook” or “memorandum” or even partly the modern derivative “commentary”,by its author Sextus Julius Frontinus who was appointed by the emperor Nerva to the post of curator aquarum(water-commissioner)for the City of Rome in 98 AD.Frontinus showed high devotion and diligence in office,in order to change the disappointing administrative situation of water supply because of the illicit behaviors from both the water-staffs(aquarii)and the privates.In this work Frontinus sets forth his duties,responsibilities and accomplishments during approximately one year in office as curator;sketches the history of Rome's aqueducts,furnishes a wealth of technical data on supply and delivery,quotes legal documents and touches on a variety of other topics from his point of view.Yet he didn't compose a treatise on the engineering of aqueducts,but a rather comprehensive work concerning mainly about the water supply.That nothing of this kind is known among the surviving classical writings,together with the authority of its content comes from the author's office,makes it a unique work which can be the starting point and valuable reference to those who want to study the urban administration of the city of Rome in the early empire.Aim of the present dissertation is to provide a reliable Chinese translation of The Water Supply of the City of Rome with some notes which could be helpful to the future readers and researchers of it.There are three parts chiefly:(1)a brief introduction of the work—its date,contents,form,textual tradition,etc.—the author,and the sketch of academic research about it;(2)a Chinese translation,based on the CCT(Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries)edition edited by R.H.Rodgers,as well as the Loeb and Teubner editions;(3)extensive notes referring to the commentary by Rodgers,with the present author's endeavors attempt to embrace some recent researches in the notes.We will be able to look deeper inside the Roman society through not merely the reading and comprehension of The Water Supply of the City of Rome,but also the more comprehensive study of the water supply in metropolitan Rome,the domina orbis.