Mount Wuyi in Chong'an county is the Daoist and tea mountain of north Fujian, with a Daoist temple at its foot (by our recollection the Chongyou guan, later called the Wuyi Palace) and hermitages among the cliffs.
Zhu Xi built his retreat there in 1183 (see the Zhu Xi record). Song Daoist temples had a second life as pension posts: an official could be named warden or superintendent of a temple (a zhuguan sinecure) with a small salary and no duties, and Zhu Xi was one such holder, by our recollection of his career, and lost his post in 1196 (see his record). The tea of Wuyi is not yet the famous cliff tea: Wikipedia puts the terraced tea farms on monastery estates in the sixteenth century, and the imperial tribute tea of 1200 is made at Beiyuan in Jian'ou.
Who holds it
- Title
- Warden of the Daoist temple on Mount Wuyi (a sinecure of the court)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Not known. By our recollection Zhu Xi held a nominal wardenship of a Daoist temple, among them this one, and lost his temple post in 1196 (see the Zhu Xi record); who holds the Wuyi post now is not known.
Overlord
The prefect of Jianning fu
What it holds
- The temple and the hermitages of the mountain; their lands are not known
Allies and rivals
Zhu Xi's pupils, who use the mountain; the Jianning prefect.
How things stand that morning
Quiet. Zhu Xi's retreat there is now disused (see his record).
Places of note
- Mount Wuyi: The Daoist temple and hermitages; position approximate
Where the sources disagree
- Common accounts of Wuyi stress the famous cliff teas (Dahongpao and others). On Wikipedia's Wuyi tea page the terraced monastery tea farms are of the sixteenth century, so they are not part of the world of 1200.
Evidence: The tea point is from the Wuyi tea page; the temple name and the sinecure system are recollection.
On the map: A disc over the mountain only.
Primary sources for Southern Song
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Bi Yuan (畢沅), completed by Feng Jiwu after his death (late eighteenth century, finished after 1801, from Song and Yuan sources). A Qing scholar's continuous month-by-month chronicle of the Song and Yuan centuries, compiled from the Song shi, the Liao, Jin and Yuan histories, Li Tao, Li Xinchuan and other Song sources. Read online
- Outline and Details of Two Reigns (thirteenth century, after 1224). A Song outline-and-detail chronicle of exactly the two reigns around 1200, drawn from the court's daily records. Read online
- Annals of the Western Xia, Wu Guangcheng (吳廣成) (1825 to 1827, compiled from Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan sources). A Qing scholar's year-by-year reconstruction of Tangut history from the Chinese histories, since the Xia left no surviving annals of their own in Chinese. Read online
- History of the Song, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345, from the Song veritable records, state histories and the Huiyao). The official history of the Southern Song, which ruled from Lin'an (Hangzhou) in 1200. Read online
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- History of the Jin, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office, with Ouyang Xuan among the chief compilers (1343 to 1344, from the Jin veritable records and the Jin national history). The official history of the Jurchen empire that ruled north China and Manchuria in 1200. Read online
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Record of the Great Jin State, Attributed to Yuwen Maozhao (宇文懋昭); the attribution is doubtful (preface dated 1234; probably assembled in the Southern Song from Song and Jin material, with later accretions). A Song-side history of the Jin, with annals for each emperor and chapters on institutions, customs, the capitals and the Jurchen way of life. Read online
12 more in the sources library for South China.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.