The prefect of Kuizhou watches the Qutang gorge and tolls the boats that go down to Hubei and up to Chongqing; salt from the Daning and Yun'an wells, Sichuan rice, silk and tea go down this river, and officials, grain for the east and the cash of the Sichuan government come up it.
The river is the Song's fast road; cutting it at the gorges would bleed the empire. The travel diaries of Lu You (1170) and Fan Chengda (1177) show the river garrison at Kuizhou.
Who he is
- Title
- Prefect of Kuizhou and Pacification Commissioner of the Kuizhou circuit
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Not found for 1200.
Overlord
The emperor Ningzong, through the Sichuan Zhizhi commissioner.
What it holds
- Kuizhou and Wushan
- The Qutang and Wu gorge approaches
- The Daning and Yun'an salt yards
How it was acquired
Standing office of the circuit.
Allies and rivals
Works with the Jinghu officials downstream at Yichang (the scj sheet's ground).
How things stand that morning
At peace; the river is open. The size of the river force is not known to me.
Wealth
The toll and the salt.
Military
A river force and a small garrison; no numbers.
Threats
- Flood and low water on the gorge rocks.
- The southern Man of Qianzhou and Shizhou.
Places of note
- Qutang gorge: The gate of the gorge: the Yanyu rock in the channel.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The tolling role is from the campaign board and the travel diaries; the size and form of the force are not known.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
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
- Lu You, Ru Shu ji (1170) and Fan Chengda, Wuchuan lu (1177): travel diaries of the Yangtze gorges, Kuizhou and Sichuan: recalled, NOT re-read
- Songshi, Dili zhi 5 (juan 89), the four Sichuan circuits: recalled, NOT re-read (zh.wikisource and ctext were unreachable in this session)
- OMNIA board, notes_scc.txt (a lead, not a source)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.