A Taizhou man (Linhai) who rose from the censorate (censor-in-chief, then privy councillor in the 4th month of 1195, vice-councillor in the 1st month of 1196, vice-chancellor and Privy Council head by 1197-98).
He is the most independent of the ministers; later accounts credit him with holding back the worst of the persecution of the proscribed, which we have not re-read. He becomes right chancellor on 20 March 1200 and, after Jing Tang dies on 23 September 1200, is the senior minister; he is dismissed in the 1st month of Jiatai 3 (about February 1203, per the chronicle).
Who he is
- Name
- Xie Shenfu
- Title
- Administrator of the Privy Council and vice-chancellor (zhi shumi yuan shi jian canzhi zhengshi)
- Since
- Vice-chancellor and head of the Privy Council from the 8th month of 1198; right chancellor from 20 March 1200 (the leap 2nd month; likely course)
- Born
- about 1139 (not checked)
- Family
- From Linhai, Taizhou, in Liangzhe East.
- Confidence
- medium
Song shi quan wen juan 29 shang (entries of 1195, 1196, 1197, 1198 and 1200).
Overlord
The emperor and Han Tuozhou.
What it holds
- The Privy Council (military affairs) in form
- The signature on the military examination law for the frontier prefectures (8th month of 1199)
How it was acquired
Appointment by Han Tuozhou's court; his Taizhou origin makes him a local figure.
Allies and rivals
Colleague of Jing Tang, He Dan, Xu Jiyi; the friends of Taizhou, Wenzhou and Mingzhou are on the proscribed list.
How things stand that morning
Head of the Privy Council and a vice-chancellor.
Military
Sets the policy for the Three Commands and the frontier armies through the Privy Council.
Threats
- Han Tuozhou's wishes
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.
In 1200
- 20 March 1200Right chancellor.Depends on: Jing Tang's elevation.
Later, on the likely course
- 1203 (1st month of Jiatai 3)Resigns and is dismissed; Chen Ziqiang becomes right chancellor in the 5th month.Depends on: Han Tuozhou's will.
Places of note
- Privy Council offices, palace city district (location approximate): Where the Privy Council head and vice-chancellor sits
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Dated entries firm; his character from later histories.
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
- Songshi quanwen (Song shi quan wen), juan 29 shang, Ningzong annals Qingyuan 1 to 6 (zh.wikisource, Siku edition)
- 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.