Lishui under the Song and Yuan

The Song: from Shengzhou to Jiankang Prefecture

In 975, the eighth year of the Kaibao era, the Song general Cao Bin sent his subordinate Tian Qinzuo, who defeated the Jiangnan army at Lishui; in the same year Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, surrendered, Jiangning was renamed Shengzhou once more, and Lishui was placed under Shengzhou. In 1018, the second year of the Tianxi era, Shengzhou was made into Jiangning Prefecture and Lishui came under Jiangning. In 1129, the third year of the Jianyan era, the emperor crossed to the south and took up residence at Jiangning, which was renamed Jiankang; Lishui was placed under Jiankang Prefecture at the rank of ciji, a secondary metropolitan county:

五月，驻跸江宁府，因改名建康，溧水隶之，等为次畿。

Translated: In the fifth month the emperor took up residence at Jiangning Prefecture and it was accordingly renamed Jiankang; Lishui was placed under it at the rank of ciji, a secondary metropolitan county.

In the eleventh month of the same year the Jin forces attacked Jiankang and Lishui was taken; the county sheriff, Pan Zhen, died defending the town. The district government's "Historical Evolution" page treats the Song only in general terms, and the changes of jurisdiction in that period are taken here from Volume One of the Kangxi edition of the Lishui County Gazetteer.

The Yuan: a county raised to a prefecture

In 1275, the twelfth year of the Zhiyuan era of Kublai and the first year of the Deyou era of the Song, the Yuan forces took Jiankang and Lishui surrendered; in the same year the Yuan established a province at Jiankang, with Bayan as its chief administrator, governing Lishui and other counties. In the following year, 1276, a darughachi was appointed at Lishui, ranking above the county magistrate. In 1277, the second year of the Jingyan era, Jiankang Prefecture was made into a circuit and Lishui was placed under Jiankang Circuit.

In 1295, the first year of the Yuanzhen era of Temür Öljeyitü Khan, Lishui was raised from a county to a zhou, or prefecture, of the middle rank, with a darughachi still appointed above the prefect:

成宗元贞元年乙未，升溧水为州，等为中。仍设达鲁花赤，出知州上。

Translated: In the first year of the Yuanzhen era of Chengzong of the Yuan, Lishui was raised to a prefecture, of the middle rank. A darughachi was still appointed, holding rank above the prefect.

In 1329, the second year of the Tianli era, Jiankang Circuit was renamed Jiqing Circuit and Lishui Zhou was placed under Jiqing Circuit.

County status and rank

Lishui was a county under the Song, at the rank of ciji; under the Yuan it was raised to a prefecture of the middle rank, the only period in which it was not a county. The prefecture lasted from 1295 until 1369, when it was reduced to a county again in the second year of the Hongwu era (see "Lishui under the Ming and Qing"). In the Yuan, a county was headed by a magistrate, with the darughachi above him; after the elevation, the prefecture was headed by a prefect, with the darughachi still above him.

Uncertainties

First, on the jurisdiction of Lishui after its elevation in 1295, the annalistic record gives the elevation and the offices appointed but not the circuit it belonged to; the district government writes that "Lishui County was raised to Lishui Zhou, under Jiqing Circuit". According to the annalistic record, however, the name Jiqing Circuit dates only from 1329, when Jiankang Circuit was renamed; in 1295 the circuit was still called Jiankang. The two accounts are set side by side and no choice is made between them.

Second, the darughachi is recorded twice: in 1276, when "a darughachi was appointed at Lishui, ranking above the county magistrate", and in 1295, when, after the elevation, "a darughachi was still appointed, holding rank above the prefect". The word "still" indicates that the office was maintained throughout the Yuan, while the title of the official below it changed with county and prefecture status.

Third, the Jin capture of Lishui in 1129 and the death of Pan Zhen are given in a single sentence in the annalistic record; the details of the fighting belong to the relevant entries in the chronological record.