The Huainan coast, from the Yangtze mouth past Tongzhou, Taizhou and Yancheng to the Huai mouth, is the greatest salt-producing shore of the Song and the largest single source of state revenue.
The saltmakers deliver the salt to the yards; the salt goes by the canal to Zhenzhou (Yizheng) at the Yangtze, where merchants redeem their vouchers; from there it goes up the river to the whole middle valley. Yangzhou is the commissioner's seat. The salt coast lies exposed behind the Huai line: a Jin raid there would cut the state's income. No figures.
Who he is
- Title
- Commissioner for salt and tea (tiju chayan gongshi) of Huainan
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Institutional knowledge; the campaign board notes on Tongzhou, Yancheng and Zhenzhou.
Overlord
The Ministry of Revenue.
What it holds
- The yards of Tongzhou, Taizhou and Yancheng
- The exchange at Zhenzhou (Yizheng)
- Canal and sea-wall works
How it was acquired
Standing.
Allies and rivals
Salt merchants of Yangzhou and Huizhou.
How things stand that morning
Normal; drought hits the coast in summer 1200 (likely course).
Wealth
The largest revenue of the state.
Military
Salt-police.
Threats
- A Jin raid on the coast
- Storm tides
- Smugglers
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Summer 1200Drought in Tongzhou, Taizhou, Yangzhou and Chuzhou (the chronicle).Depends on: The weather.
Places of note
- Zhenzhou salt exchange: Redemption of vouchers
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Structure certain; people and figures unknown.
On the map: A coastal strip.
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
- Songshi quanwen (Song shi quan wen), juan 29 shang, Ningzong annals Qingyuan 1 to 6 (zh.wikisource, Siku edition)
- General knowledge of Song administrative and economic history (Hartwell, Von Glahn, Smith and Twitchett eds., Cambridge History of China vol. 5 part 2), not re-checked line by line in this pass
- OMNIA board, area sce notes (a lead, not a source)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.