In 1171 the Song court recognised a Li woman of the Wang family, Wang Erniang, as the head of the people it called the Li and gave her the style "Lady of Suitability", with a command over thirty-six groups.
The title and the post pass in the female line: her daughter inherited in 1181 and another daughter in 1216, which means that on 1 January 1200 the holder is the daughter of 1181, unless the 1216 inheritance came sooner than the page implies. The Song counts the nearer Li as registered and taxpaying; the remainder are "raw" and not registered, but we have no source that sets out the distinction for Hainan. The Wang headwoman is the Song's channel to the first and a rival of the headmen of the second.
Who he is
- Name
- not known: the daughter who inherited from Wang Erniang in 1181 is not named
- Title
- Headwoman of the Li, holding the Song title "Lady of Suitability" (the title given to Wang Erniang in 1171)
- Since
- 1181 (Wikipedia, "Hlai people"), unless a later succession has not been recorded
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Wang Erniang (title 1171), her daughter (inherited 1181), another daughter (inherited 1216)
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia, "Hlai people": in 1171 the Song court gave Wang Erniang the title "Lady of Suitability" and made her commander-general over 36 ethnic groups in the south; in 1181 her daughter inherited the position; in 1216 another daughter did. She was very wealthy and kept order among her people; the Song relayed its orders to the southern peoples through her. The page does not name the two daughters or Wang Erniang's husband.
Overlord
None in law; holds a Song court title
What it holds
- Authority over the Li districts near the Song counties of the north and east (the extent is not located)
- The Song title and command over thirty-six groups
How it was acquired
By the Song grant of 1171 and descent in the female line.
Allies and rivals
Allied with the Qiongzhou office; rivalry with the hill headmen of the interior is inferred, not reported.
How things stand that morning
In place. No Song campaign against the Li is recorded for the winter.
Wealth
Very wealthy on the Wikipedia account; land, cloth and aloeswood by inference.
Threats
- The pressure of Han settlers from the coast
- Rival headmen
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.
- 1216Another Wang daughter inherits the position.Depends on: The line holding Stopped by: An earlier death or a break in the line
Places of note
- Marker for the Wang headwomen's country: Seat not located
Where the sources disagree
- The seat is a marker only. The sources we could read do not place the Wang dong; the marker stands at Qiongzhong in the middle of the highland.
Evidence: Three dated entries in one Wikipedia article; no Chinese source seen.
On the map: No polygon is drawn: the Wang dong is not located. The Li country is drawn in the peoples realm record.
Primary sources for Chiefs of the south-west
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.
- 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 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
- Draft Compilation of the Collected Statutes of the Song, Various; the Song huiyao were compiled by the Song state, the surviving draft reassembled by Xu Song from the Yongle dadian in the nineteenth century (the original Song compilations date from the eleventh to the thirteenth century; the surviving extracts were recovered in 1809 to 1820 and printed in 1936). Dated extracts from the Song government's own statute collections, arranged by office. Read online
- Miscellaneous Notes on Court and Country since the Jianyan Era, Li Xinchuan (李心傳) (first series 1202, second series 1216). A contemporary handbook of the Southern Song state, written in Sichuan by the historian Li Xinchuan and finished in its first part in 1202, two years after the start of 1200. Read online
- Notes in Answer to Questions about the Lands beyond the Passes, Zhou Qufei (周去非) (1178, after service in Guangxi). A Guangxi official's notes, written twenty years before 1200, on the south-western frontier of the Song and the countries beyond. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.