Town · The kingdom of Dali · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Shaxi

Shaxi is a market village in the Heihui valley below the Shibaoshan hills, on the road from the Erhai by Jianchuan to Lanping, Lijiang and the Tibetan border.

English Wikipedia describes it as a market stage on the tea-and-horse road; the Sideng market square and the temples that stand are Ming and Qing. The Dali-period rock carvings of Shibaoshan lie in the hills about 12 km north. We read no Dali-period account of the village itself.

Who holds it

Title
Headman or governor of the place for its lord
Since
not known
Born
not known
Confidence
low

Lord in 1200

The governor of Jianchuan, for the king

How things stand that morning

Quiet.

Militia

not known; no figure

Trade and crafts

A market stage on the road to the north-west; salt, cloth and pack animals.

Where the sources disagree

  • The 'tea-and-horse road' is the later name of a road that carried tea to Tibet from about the Song (and Tibetan horses to China); the extent of the tea trade at Shaxi in 1200 is not shown.

Evidence: English Wikipedia on the village; nothing dated for 1200.

Primary sources for Dali

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia, Shaxi, Yunnan (read this session)
  2. Wikipedia, Dali Kingdom (read this session)

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