More than 800 years ago, the Song and Jin Dynasties were at war. In order to avoid the war, the Zhao and Song royal families moved south in large numbers. 349 members of the Zhao royal family came to Quanzhou by sea. As one of the institutions that manages the Zhao royal family, Nanwai Zongzhengsi moved with it and was located in the "Water and Land Courtyard" in Gurong Lane, the ancient city of Quanzhou, where it lasted for 147 years.
At that time, Quanzhou was far away from the war, had a stable society and convenient sea transportation. After Nanwai Zongzhengsi moved to Quanzhou, the Zhao royal family thrived in such an environment. They worked as officials and businessmen, and participated extensively in various social affairs and maritime trade in Quanzhou, which greatly improved Quanzhou's local consumption capacity, especially the consumption of high-end imported products such as spices, medicinal materials, and treasures, which stimulated demand for imports. Rare treasures from various countries gather here, and different cultures blend with each other.
However, with the decline of the Southern Song Dynasty, the area underwent many changes since then. Time has passed, but here, which was once the gathering place of the Zhao royal family, there are still some protective stone tablets and stone statues carved from the Song Dynasty standing quietly, silently telling the passing of time.
In 2019, with the archaeological team's exploration and excavation of the Nanwai Zongzhengsi site, it became the first scientifically excavated Song and Yuan Dynasty architectural relics with unique construction methods in southern Fujian. It is also the only place where archaeological excavations have been carried out so far. It is located at the site of Zongzhengsi of the Song Dynasty.
At the site, poolside wooden piles, coastal roads and building foundations from the Southern Song Dynasty were discovered. Official building components such as "official" bricks, ridged beasts and animal jewelry, animal face pattern and lotus pattern tiles were unearthed. The tile patterns are similar to The tile patterns found on important official building sites of the Song Dynasty in Hangzhou, Luoyang and other places have similar patterns, which can prove that this group of buildings is a higher-level official building built by the Song Dynasty.
It can be said that the size and richness of the remains of Nanwai Zongzhengsi fully illustrate its important position in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The establishment of Nanwai Zongzhengsi strengthened the state power’s promotion of Quanzhou’s maritime trade, and further proved that Quanzhou’s role since the Song Dynasty important role of maritime trade.
Editor in charge: [Ren Shuai]