The Song holds Hainan as a ring: the prefecture of Qiongzhou in the north (the island's capital, across the strait from Leizhou), and three military districts (jun) in the south and west, Wan'an in the south-east, Changhua at Danzhou in the west, and Jiyang (formerly Yazhou) in the far south, which the campaign board calls the southernmost yamen of the empire.
The interior belongs to the Li under their own headmen (see the Li records). Han settlers from Fujian and Guangdong had been moving onto the island since the eleventh century and pushing the Li toward the mountains of the south (Wikipedia, "History of Hainan"). Hainan is the empire's farthest place of exile: Su Shi lived at Danzhou between 1097 and 1100 (recollection).
The trade is aloeswood, betel, cloth and the rice that the island still has to import. Who holds Qiongzhou on 1 January 1200 is not known.
Who he is
- Title
- Prefect of Qiongzhou and head of the Qiongguan (Hainan) office (anfu)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No source available to me names the holder in the winter of 1199-1200.
Overlord
The Pacification Commissioner of Guangnan West
What it holds
- Qiongzhou and its counties, Wan'an jun, Changhua jun and Jiyang jun
- The sea crossing from Leizhou and the island's ports
- Song relations with the Li through the Wang headwomen
How it was acquired
Appointment; the units date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Allies and rivals
The Wang headwomen of the Li; Fujian settlers; the Leizhou prefect.
How things stand that morning
Quiet. No Li rising is recorded for the winter.
Places of note
- Qiongzhou: Island capital
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The four units are firm; the exact title of the office and its holder are from recollection.
On the map: A point at Qiongzhou; the units are drawn by the province records.
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, "History of Hainan"
- Wikipedia, "Hlai people"
- Songshi (History of the Song), Dili zhi, juan 89 and 90 (Fujian, Guangnan East and West); recalled from the standard text, not re-read for this record
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.