The superintendency was founded at Guangzhou in 971, after the Song conquered the Southern Han (our recollection; we could not fetch a page that dates it), and it was for two centuries the empire's chief door to the Indian Ocean.
It inspects every foreign ship that anchors below the city, takes the levy in kind, buys the best goods for the court at fixed prices (incense above all, then pearls, ivory and rhinoceros horn), licenses Chinese ships to go abroad and houses and polices the foreign merchants in the fan quarter. Frankincense was so valuable that the promotion of officials at Guangzhou and Quanzhou depended on the quantity they brought in (Wikipedia, "Quanzhou"). By 1200 Quanzhou has grown into a rival and in the next century overtakes Guangzhou; where the balance stands on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Who he is
- Title
- Maritime Trade Superintendent (tiju shibo) of Guangzhou
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Not known. Over the twelfth century the office was held now by a separate superintendent, now by the circuit transport commissioner or the prefect on top of his own post; which arrangement stood on 1 January 1200 we could not establish.
Overlord
The Song court (the The campaign board entry of Revenue) and the Guangnan East circuit
What it holds
- The customs levy and the court's purchases of foreign cargoes
- The licensing of outward Chinese junks
- The lodging, dues and discipline of the foreign merchants in the fan quarter outside the west gate
How it was acquired
Founded 971 (recollection).
Allies and rivals
The Pacification Commissioner and prefect, who often holds the post as well; the fan headman; the Quanzhou superintendency; Srivijaya, Champa and the Arab and Persian captains who bring the cargoes.
How things stand that morning
Open and busy. Copper cash is forbidden to leave the empire, and leaves in the holds of ships all the same.
Wealth
The in-kind levy on incense, pearls, ivory, spices and cloth; no figures.
Threats
- The cash drain and the court's bans
- Corrupt buying prices
- Wreck and sea raiders
Places of note
- The fan quarter and customs landing: Outside the west gate on the river; exact site not located
Where the sources disagree
- Wikipedia, "Islam during the Song dynasty", says the office of Director General of Shipping at Quanzhou was held consistently by a Muslim in the Song; we found no support for that (see the Quanzhou superintendency record).
Evidence: The function is firmly attested in Song and later sources; the founding date and the holder are not fetched.
On the map: A point at Guangzhou.
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
- Wikipedia, "Quanzhou"
- Wikipedia, "Islam during the Song dynasty"
- Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua), Zhufan zhi (about 1225), later evidence, described in Wikipedia, "Zhu Fan Zhi"
- Zhou Qufei, Lingwai daida (1178), described in Wikipedia, "Lingwai Daida"
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.