Officers: prévôtés, bailiwicks, seneschals · The Southern Song of Zhao Kuo (Ningzong) · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Jing Tang

The senior minister of Han Tuozhou's government.

He became privy councillor in the 4th month of 1195 and right chancellor in the 1st month of 1196 when Yu Duanli went up to left chancellor; Yu fell in the 4th month of 1196 and Jing Tang has been the only chancellor since. He presented the revised statutes of Qingyuan (Qingyuan chongxiu chiling ge shi) in the 9th month of 1198 and was promoted a rank in the 8th month of 1199. He is raised to left chancellor on 20 March 1200 and dies in office on 23 September 1200 (posthumous name Wenmu).

Later accounts say he followed Han Tuozhou's lead in the ban; we have not re-read them.

Who he is

Name
Jing Tang (1138-1200, so we recall)
Title
Right chancellor (you chengxiang)
Since
Right chancellor from the 1st month of Qingyuan 2 (early 1196); left chancellor from 20 March 1200
Born
1138 (age at death not checked)
Family
Not pinned; from Yuzhang (Nanchang) in Jiangxi, so we recall.
Confidence
medium

Song shi quan wen juan 29 shang and xia (appointments and death entries); his life dates from general knowledge (not re-checked).

Overlord

The emperor and, in practice, Han Tuozhou.

What it holds

  • The Secretariat and Chancellery (Zhongshu menxia) in form
  • The signature on the edicts of the ban and on the law code

How it was acquired

By appointment as Han Tuozhou's chosen minister.

Allies and rivals

Ally of Han Tuozhou; colleagues Xie Shenfu, He Dan, Xu Jiyi.

How things stand that morning

The only chancellor; a figurehead for Han.

Wealth

Salary and perquisites; no figures.

Military

Heads the civil side of the Privy Council through the vice-chancellors; no commands.

Threats

  • Death on 23 September 1200 (the 8th month; likely course)

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.

  1. 20 March 1200Left chancellor.Depends on: Han's choice.
  2. 23 September 1200Dies in office.Depends on: Illness.

Places of note

  • The Chancellor's hall (zhengshi tang), palace city district (location approximate): Where the sole chancellor sits

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Dated entries are firm; his character and policy are from later histories we did not re-read.

On the map: An office at the court; no ground.

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

  1. Songshi quanwen (Song shi quan wen), juan 29 shang, Ningzong annals Qingyuan 1 to 6 (zh.wikisource, Siku edition)
  2. Songshi quanwen, juan 29 xia, Ningzong annals Jiatai 1 to Kaixi 3 (zh.wikisource, Siku edition)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.