Pu Shougeng (; fl. c. 1250–1281) was a Muslim merchant and administrator in China under the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

and Yuan dynasties. The name Pu probably comes from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

'' Abū'' (father). Pu's family background is unknown. According to one theory, his family came from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

during the early Song and later emigrated to

Quanzhou Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a populat ...

. According to another, they came from

Champa Champa ( Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd ...

during the later Song. The most likely scenario is that his family was of

South Arabia South Arabia () is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and ' ...

n origin and settled in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

. Pu was one of the wealthiest merchants in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its c ...

when, around 1250, he was appointed Superintendent of Maritime Trade in Quanzhou. He held the post for almost thirty years, using it to amass great wealth. When the Song court fled to Quanzhou, Pu claimed that there were many royal clan members in Quanzhou waiting to welcome the emperor; these clansmen, Pu alleged, wished to make Quanzhou the new Song capital. However, Pu Shougeng’s loyalty was already doubted when he boarded the emperor’s ship in Quanzhou Harbor. In fact, some Song officers "openly hinted that Pu’s purpose was to entice the emperor hen docked offshore, in Quanzhou Harborto go ashore so as to detain him, then use him as a pawn to improve his own bargaining position with the Mongols." Thus, "Song admiral

Zhang Shijie Zhang Shijie () was a Chinese admiral, military general, and politician during the Mongol invasion of China. Zhang was born to a prosperous family in present-day Hebei (part of the Liao empire, then Jin empire). After the fall of the Jin to t ...

politely declined, having received intelligence reports that Pu Shougeng was secretly negotiating with Yuan agents." By that time, "the Mongols thought uthe ideal person to help them help them build up their navy." The Mongol general Bayan (伯顏) had already sent a lieutenant to Quanzhou to negotiate a secret agreement with Pu, but "rumors and spy reports of

aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. ...

secret agreement reached dmiralZhang," who confiscated Pu's fortune to finance the Song defense against the Mongols. The Mongol Yuan dynasty made him Defender-general of the State(鎭國將軍) and later Assistant Civil Administrator (參知政事) of

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...

. In 1281, he was appointed one of two executive assistants to the provincial secretariat of Fujian. Thereafter he fades from view, but his family remained prominent under the Yuan. Many members of his family were tortured and slaughtered in the

Ispah rebellion The Ispah rebellion () were a series of civil wars in the middle of 14th century in Fujian during the Yuan dynasty. The term Ispah might derive from the Persian word "سپاه" (''sepâh''), meaning "army" or "Sepoy". Thus, the rebellion is also ...

. The survivors remained devout Muslims and were prohibited from holding public office under the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

on account of their defection from the Song.

References

Further reading