City · The Southern Song of Zhao Kuo (Ningzong) · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Zhenjiang

Zhenjiang (Jingkou, Runzhou before 1113) stands where the Grand Canal reaches the Yangtze opposite Guazhou and Yangzhou.

It is the garrison town of the strongest river army (see Zhenjiang army), the seat of the Huaidong paymaster-general, and the point where the canal grain boats cross to the north bank. Its counties are Dantu, Danyang and Jintan. The three hills of the city (Beigushan, Jinshan with its monastery, Jiaoshan) are among the best-known sites of Jiangnan; the famous Jinshan and Jiaoshan monasteries stand by the river.

The canal and ferry tolls and the garrison feed the town.

Who holds it

Name
Not known for 1 January 1200
Title
Prefect of Zhenjiang, usually with the title of the Huaidong military office
Since
not pinned
Confidence
low

Not named in the sources we read.

Lord in 1200

The emperor through the prefect and the army commander, whose names are not known.

Overlord

The emperor and the Privy Council.

What the town holds

  • The canal-Yangtze junction
  • The Zhenjiang army's barracks
  • The paymaster-general's offices

How it was acquired

Raised to Zhenjiang fu in 1113.

Allies and rivals

Reserve and base for the Huaidong front; partner of Jiankang.

How things stand that morning

Garrison town in peace.

Wealth

Canal tolls, rice, silk, salt passing through; no figures.

Military

The Zhenjiang army; river squadron.

Threats

  • A Jin thrust at Yangzhou and Guazhou (as in 1161 and 1206)

Charter

None known. A Song city has no charter of liberties: it is governed by the prefect (zhizhou or zhifu) and the circuit offices, with its guilds (hang) and the neighbourhood wards under official supervision.

Council

Prefect and army commander.

Communities

Soldiers, boatmen, merchants, the monks of Jinshan and Jiaoshan.

Fairs and markets

Daily markets and temple fairs; no dated fair known.

Militia

Garrison troops under the prefect or the army command; no figures.

Walls and castle

Walled city on the south bank hills.

Trade and crafts

Grain trans-shipment, salt, rice, vinegar (Zhenjiang is later known for it: not pinned for 1200), silk, boats.

Places of note

  • Jingkou ferry: Canal mouth and ferry to Guazhou
  • Jinshan monastery: Famous river-hill monastery

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Structure is firm; no holders.

On the map: City and near land.

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

  1. General knowledge of Song administrative and economic history (Hartwell, Von Glahn, Smith and Twitchett eds., Cambridge History of China vol. 5 part 2), not re-checked line by line in this pass
  2. OMNIA board, area sce notes (a lead, not a source)

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