北魏酈道元《水經注》以翔實的考證、豐富的引述和獨特的形式成為地理志史上的重要作品。後人常據此書研究地理變遷，並探討其政治意圖。在這樣的閱讀框架下，實地考察和文獻保存成為《水經注》最重要的價值所在。本文則嘗試挖掘《水經注》的虛構面和敘事性，將「異事書寫」和「引述文獻」置回文本語境，重新探討它們的意義。發現看似追新好奇的異事書寫其實意圖以人情交流與讀者共鳴；看似原文照搬的引述文獻其實仰賴讀者的先驗知識，作者才得以靈活地依照地景挑選、重組、刪修歷史事件。《水經注》解消了〈禹貢〉以下任土作貢的地志結構，以河水流經的地景為順序介紹沿岸掌故與景象。上述的變化和酈道元試圖建構的地志傳統有關，指向的是更寬廣的預設讀者，而不再只為統治者服務。這群有共同知識和興趣的地志讀者，讓酈道元得以凸顯地理景色予人的趣味性和美感體驗。這影響了他對異事的敘事經營與鋪陳，也決定了引述文獻時如何打散與重組。如此一來，《水經注》別具一格的書寫形式與內容就有了地志發展史上的解讀空間。

As a commentary and a gazetteer, Shuijing zhu (Commentary on the Waterways Classic) is usually seen as a record of changes in geography in medieval China and studied for this purpose and political intentions implied therein. Under this framework, the most important value of Shuijing zhu lies in its field studies and preservation of texts. However, by focusing on strange writings and quotations in the book, we can see how the author manipulates these for his specific purpose. This article discusses the narrative and fictional aspects of Shuijing zhu. When analyzing anecdotes and quotations in the context, I find that Li exaggerates conflicts and emotions among different people in anecdotes. Also, Li selects, abbreviates and reconstructs historical facts for different types of landscape, for he knows the readers already have knowledge and information about the stories. As a result, Li deconstructs the genre established by “Yu Gong” in the Book of Historical Documents. Shuijing zhu is no longer a gazetteer to help emperors rule the country, instead, Li tries to find, to cultivate and to summon a group of readers who share interests in appreciating sceneries. With these target readers who have same knowledge background and interests in mind, Li emphasizes the delight and aesthetic feelings in the sceneries. In so doing, Li manages to narrate strange stories, and reconstruct the quotations. The creative writing style and content of Shuijing zhu therefore allow meaningful interpretations in the history of geographical writings.