The Privy Council runs the armies and the frontier.
On 1 January 1200 Xie Shenfu is its head and a vice-chancellor, Xu Jiyi (whom the later histories brand a Han Tuozhou toady) is deputy; the third seat (qianshu) is not pinned. Ye Zhu, the previous deputy, was dismissed in the 7th month of 1198. In 1200 He Dan takes over the council from Xie on 20 March 1200, Xu Jiyi leaves on 5 August 1200 for his mother's mourning, and Chen Ziqiang, the censor-in-chief, becomes qianshu on 24 August 1200.
Who he is
- Name
- Xie Shenfu (head); Xu Jiyi (deputy)
- Title
- Administrator of the Privy Council
- Since
- Xie from 8th month of 1198; Xu Jiyi in office by 1199
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- medium
Song shi quan wen juan 29 shang.
Overlord
The emperor.
What it holds
- The registers of the armies and the appointments of commanders
- The military examination of the frontier prefectures (set up in the 8th month of 1199)
- Orders of 1195 and 1197 reviewing commanders, arms and ships
How it was acquired
Standing institution.
Allies and rivals
Han Tuozhou was its Chief Secretary (du chengzhi) in 1195.
How things stand that morning
Heads of the council: Xie Shenfu, Xu Jiyi.
Military
Directs the Three Commands, the river armies and the frontier.
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.
- 5 August 1200Xu Jiyi leaves for mourning.Depends on: His mother's death.
- 24 August 1200Chen Ziqiang becomes qianshu shumi yuan shi.Depends on: Han Tuozhou's push.
Places of note
- Privy Council hall (shumi yuan), palace city district (location approximate): The military affairs office
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Appointments firm; the identity of the qianshu on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: An office; 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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.