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Liao 遼
←   ←   ← 907–1125 →   →   →
Location of the Liao Dynasty in the year 1111 (purple)
Capital	Shangjing1
Religion	Buddhism, Khitan traditional animism, influences from Taoism and others
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
- 916-926	Taizu
- 926-947	Taizong
- 947-951	Shizong
- 951-969	Muzong
- 969-982	Jingzong
- 982-1031	Shengzong
- 1031–1055	Xingzong
- 1055–1101	Daozong
- 1101-1125	Tianzuo
History
- Abaoji becomes the Khitan Great Khan	907
- Abaoji assumes the title of Celestial Emperor	916
- "The Great Liao" is adopted as a dynastic name	947
- Emperor Tianzuo is captured by the Jin	1125
Area
- 947 est.[1]	2,600,000 km2 (1,003,866 sq mi)
- 1111 est.	4,000,000 km2 (1,544,409 sq mi)
1. Shangjing was the first of five capitals that were established, all of which served concurrently as regional capitals.

History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
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(Second Zhou 690–705)
5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms 907–960	Liao Dynasty 907–1125
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The Liao Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 辽朝; traditional Chinese: 遼朝; pinyin: Liáo Cháo; Khitan language: Mos Jælut),^[2] also known as the Khitan Empire (simplified Chinese: 契丹国; traditional Chinese: 契丹國; pinyin: Qìdān Guó; Khitan: Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur),^[3] was an empire in East Asia that ruled over Mongolia and portions of Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East, and northern China proper between 907–1125. It was founded by the Khitan Great Khan Abaoji around the time of the collapse of the Han Chinese Tang Dynasty.

The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people, led by Yelü Dashi, established Western Liao Dynasty, also known as Kara-Khitan Khanate, which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by Genghis Khan's Mongolian army.

History[link]

Khitans before Abaoji[link]

The Khitan were a Mongolic tribe who originally formed a part of Tanshihuai's Xianbei state before submitting along with the Kumo Xi to the Yuwen chieftains after the state's disintegration. They considered themselves descendants of the legendary Qishou Khagan, who was descended from Tanshihuai (reigned 157–181). The Kumo Xi and Khitan separated as one body from the Yuwen after the Yuwen were defeated by Murong Huang of the Murong tribe in 344. In 388 the Khitan separated from the Kumo Xi. This began the written history of the Khitan as an independent tribe. In the period of Zhenjun (r. 440–449) they 'asked for paying tribute' (any presentation of gifts by foreigners were seen as submissive 'tribute') and presented famous steeds to the court of the Northern Wei. In the Xianzu period (466–470) Mofuhe Hechen of the Khitan leading the eight Khitan tribes (Xiwandan, Hedahe, Fufuyu, Yuling, Rilian, Pijie, Li and Tuliuyu) presented famous steeds and high quality fur to the Northern Wei at their capital Datong and the Khitan were 'allowed' to trade in the area of modern-day Miyun County of Beijing City.

The Khitan lived on the eastern slopes of the Greater Khingan Mountain range, within the eastern portions of present-day Inner Mongolia. The area is ideal for the raising of cattle and horses, which was the basic source of wealth for the Khitan people. Their culture evolved over the course of centuries, influenced by both conflict and cultural interaction with their neighbors, both nomadic and sedentary. It was also common for Khitan to intermarry with people from neighboring steppe tribes.

During the Tang Dynasty in China, it is known that the Khitan were subservient to the Uyghurs who had their capital set in the Mongolian Plateau before their move westward in the 840s. Initial expansion was to the west in the Mongolian plains, filling the power vacuum created by the departure of the Uyghurs. Other steppe peoples residing in the region were the Shiwei, Xi and Tartars. The remaining Uyghurs fled west in the face of the Khitan advance.

Over the course of time, the Khitan had made some important observations. They noticed how the Uyghurs had coerced the Tang Dynasty to pay them tribute. They also saw the fearsome effect steppe cavalry used by the Shatuo Turks, the Kyrgyz, and the Uyghurs had against Chinese military forces. Khitan leaders also apparently made the observation that to become sedentary themselves would mean that they would have to compete with the Chinese on their terms, something in which the Khitan would have no hope of success. They knew that they must have access to the resources of China without losing the culture and/or identity that was a critical component of their steppe culture.

From the 750s, a clan using the surname Yaolian had held the title of khan, holding a monopoly on power for more than one hundred fifty years. They had full relations with the Tang Dynasty court. The first Yaolian khan even had the imperial surname of Li bestowed upon him, though no one in the steppe bothered with it. Yaolian khans wavered from alliance with the Tang Dynasty to joining in with coalitions against it. During this period of time, only the Yaolian clan used a surname among the Khitan.

Abaoji and the rise of the Khitans[link]

Northeast Asia in the year 900, showing the locations of the Khitans and the neighboring tribes and states the year before Abaoji's military campaigns began.

History of Mongolia
This article is part of a series
Pre-Mongol periods
Xiongnu 209 BC–155
Xianbei 93–234
Rouran 330–555
Göktürk 552–744
Uyghur 742–848
Kirghiz 539–1219
Khitan 916–1125
Medieval period
Khamag Mongol 1120–1206
Mongol Empire 1206–1271
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Northern Yuan Dynasty 1368–1636
Qing rule 1636/1691–1911
Modern period
Independence Revolution 1911
Outer Mongolia (1911–1919) 1911–1919
Occupation of Mongolia 1919–1921
People's Revolution 1921
Mongolian People's Republic 1924–1992
Democratic Revolution 1990
Modern Mongolia 1990–present
See also
Timeline of Mongolian history
Culture of Mongolia
Geography of Mongolia
Pan-Mongolism
Mongolia Portal v t e

Abaoji, who would later become Emperor Taizu of Liao, was born in 872, the son of the chief of the Yila tribe. At that time, the Yila tribe was the largest and strongest of the eight affiliated Khitan tribes, however the Great Khan, the overall leader of the Khitans, was drawn from the Yaolian lineage. In 901 Abaoji was elected to be the chief of the Yila tribe by its tribal council. By 903, Abaoji had been named the Yüyue, the overall military leader of the Khitans, subordinate only to the Great Khan. Four years later, in 907, Abaoji became the Great Khan of the Khitans, ending nine generations of Yaolian rule.^[4] Abaoji acquired the prestige needed to secure the position of Khitan Great Khan through a combination of effective diplomacy and a series of successful military campaigns, beginning in 901, against the Han Chinese forces to the south, the Xi and Shiwei to the west, and the Jurchens in the east.^[4]

The same year that Abaoji became Great Khan, the Chinese warlord Zhu Wen, who had in 904 murdered the last legitimate emperor of the Tang Dynasty, declared the Tang Dynasty over and himself the emperor of China. His Dynasty dissolved quickly, ushering in the 53 year period of disunity known as the Five Dynasties period. One of the five dynasties, the Later Jin Dynasty, was a client state of the Khitans.^[5]

For much of Chinese history, the position of Emperor was determined by primogeniture; the position would pass from father to first born son upon the father's death. While Khitan succession was also kept within families, an emphasis was placed on selecting the most capable option, with all of a leader's brothers, nephews, and sons considered valid choices for succession. Khitan rulers were expected to hand over power a paternal after serving a single three year term.^[6] Abaoji signaled his desire to become a permanent ruler in 907, securing his position by killing most of other Khitan chieftains.^[7] Between 907 and 910 Abaoji's rule went unchallenged. It was only after 910, when Abaoji disregarded the Khitan tradition that another member of the family assume the position of Great Khan, that Abaoji's rule came under direct challenge. In both 912 and 913 members of Abaoji's family, including most of his brothers, attempted armed insurrections. After the first insurrection was discovered and defeated, Abaoji pardoned the conspirators. After the second, only Abaoji's brothers were pardoned, with the other conspirators suffering violent deaths. Abaoji's brothers plotted additional rebellions in 917 and 918, both of which were easily crushed.^[8]

In 916, at what would have been the end of his third term as Khitan Grand Khan, Abaoji made a number of changes which moved the Khitan state closer to the model of governance used by the Chinese dynasties. Abaoji assumed the title of Celestial Emperor and designated an era name, named his oldest son Yelü Bei as his successor, and commissioned the construction of a Confucian temple. Two years later he established a capital city, Shangjing (上京), which imitated the model of a Chinese capital city.^[9]

Before his death in 926, Abaoji greatly expanded the areas that the Khitans controlled.^[10] At its height, the Liao Dynasty encompassed modern day Mongolia, parts of Kazakhstan and the Russian Far East, and the Chinese provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, and Shanxi.^[11]

Succession issues[link]

See also List of emperors of the Liao Dynasty

Abaoji had named his eldest son, Prince Bei, heir apparent in 918. However, his widow, Empress Dowager Yingtian, was more of a traditionalist than her husband. Thus, she did not so readily accept the notion of primogeniture. She believed that her second son, Deguang, would have made a more appropriate Khitan emperor because he displayed the traditional traits deemed appropriate to steppe leadership. He was declared the successor to Abaoji while Prince Bei retained his title. Prince Bei later went to China, where he was assassinated in 936.

Succession issues were not solved upon Deguang’s death in 947. Empress Dowager Yingtian, favoring her third son, immediately denounced her grandson, who was in line to become the third Liao emperor. However, Prince Lihu was seen by all as being wholly inappropriate to be the leader of the Khitan. Civil war loomed, but did not materialize as the court failed to support Yingtian on this occasion. Her grandson became emperor Shizong.

Succession did not return to Prince Bei’s line, as intended by Abaoji in 918, until 969 with the death of Muzong and the accession of Yelu Longxu as Emperor Jingzong. Succession would remain in this line until the fall of the Liao Dynasty in 1125. Despite this misleading stability, there were a lot of challenges to face.

Decline[link]

By the mid 11th century, the Khitan had lost their morale and started adopting a defensive attitude towards their neighbors. This was in part due to the influence of Buddhism and loss of the nomadic way of life among many of the Khitan. Around the 12th century, the empire's slow decline sped up as a result of succession problems, natural disasters, and the positive progress of the Jurchen in the northeast. More pressure was put on the Khitan when the Jurchens & Song entered the Alliance on the Sea against them and in 1124-1125, the Khitan Empire collapsed.

After the conquest of the Liao Dynasty several hundred members of the Khitan nobility, led by Yelü Dashi, fled northwest across the Gobi desert to the border area and military garrison of Zhenzhou, in modern day Xinjiang province. Yelü Dashi convinced the people there, around 20,000 Liao cavalry and their families, to follow him and attempt to restore the Liao Dynasty. Yelü Dashi proclaimed himself emperor in 1231, after which he moved further northwest into modern Kazakhstan, and after a failed attempt in 1134 to reclaim the territory formerly held by the Liao, decided to instead to stay where he was and establish a permanent Khitan state in Central Asia. The state, known as the Kara-Khitan Khanate or the Western Liao Dynasty, controlled several key trading cities, was multicultural, and showed evidence of religious tolerance. The state survived for nearly a century before being conquered by the Mongol Empire in 1218.^[12]

Government[link]

Law and administration[link]

Abaoji introduced a revolutionary new system of governing both nomadic and sedentary populations simultaneously. His concept was to divide the empire into two sections called Chancelleries. The Northern Chancellery (北院) consisted of nomadic steppe peoples, including the Khitan and conquered steppe tribes. The Southern Chancellery, by contrast, included territories incorporated into Khitan domains that was populated by Chinese and the people of Balhae.

The Northern Chancellery was run on a steppe military model. Abaoji was known as the Great Khan of the Northern Chancellery. The entire steppe population was constantly mobilized, ready for military action should it be required. The Khitan language, for which scripts were devised in 920 and 925, was the official language of the Northern Chancellery. The Xiao family, the consort family to the new imperial family, would govern the North.

The Southern Chancellery (南院) was run on a civil model. Here Abaoji served as an emperor more in line with the Chinese model of leadership. The vast majority of the administrative work was done by the sedentary populations themselves under the leadership of Abaoji’s family, who at some point adopted the surname Yelü. Chinese was the official administrative language of the region. The Southern Chancellery even adopted the Tang practice of competitive civil service examinations to staff the various bureaucracies of government required to govern a large sedentary population. However, due to suspicions over this overtly Chinese system, initially small numbers of jinshi degree holders were actually appointed to government posts. Loyalty, a holdover of common steppe practices, was still a more important means of appointment, even in the Southern Chancellery.

Despite the brilliance of this administrative innovation, it most certainly did not meet with universal approval from the Khitan elite. They believed, with some justification, that the development of a Chinese-style imperial system would seriously harm their interests within Khitan society. Thus, many elite, including those in Abaoji’s own family, rebelled against his rule. This persisted for nine years.

In 916, Abaoji began his attempt to institute another stabilizing innovation, borrowing the Chinese notion of primogeniture. He named his eldest son, Prince Bei, heir apparent, a first in the history of the Khitan. However, despite Abaoji’s support for this system, it never really took hold until the end of the tenth century.

In 918, the government occupied a newly constructed walled-city that would serve as the Liao capital. Called Shangjing 上京 (Supreme Capital), it not only served as the administrative center of the new empire, it also included a commercial district called the Chinese city 漢城 (Hancheng – not to be confused by the former Chinese name for Seoul which was the same). The city was built on a site hallowed by the Khitan people at the headwaters of the Shira Muren River.

More than thirty walled cities were built, including four additional capitals that served as subsidiary capitals for the four other regions of the empire. An Eastern Capital was built near present-day Liaoyang. After the Sixteen Prefectures were absorbed into the empire, a Western Capital was built near Datong while the Southern Capital was constructed on the site of present-day Beijing. There was also a Central Capital. These cities were not only capitals of their respective regions, they also served as centers of commerce, and provided considerable wealth for the Liao Dynasty.

Law in the Liao Dynasty was applied differently in the Northern and Southern Chancelleries. The Northern Chancellery, governed by the Xiao consort clan, retained a distinctive Khitan-steppe character.

The Yelu clan, who governed the Southern Chancellery, were considerably more sinified in character. Initially, justice was not delivered in an even-handed fashion to the Chinese inhabitants of the empire. This is reported to having changed from 989. Beginning in 994, Khitans having committed one of ten grave crimes would be punished according to Chinese law. This is indicative of a transition from “ethnic law” to “territorial law.”

Foreign relations[link]

Five Dynasties[link]

From the rise of Abaoji to the fall of the Liao Dynasty in 1125, a total of six dynasties ruled what is now northern China. First were the Five Dynasties, which ruled northern China in succession from 907 to 960. Then, there was the Song Dynasty, which succeeded the Later Zhou Dynasty in 960, and which within two decades, was able to incorporate the southern kingdoms into its realm, taking nearly all of traditional Chinese lands.

The Later Tang Dynasty was founded by the Shatuo Turks in 923 after its founder, Li Cunxu, the son of Abaoji’s blood brother Li Keyong, had overthrown the Later Liang Dynasty. However, relations between the two were deteriorating, largely because of Khitan incursions into Hebei, taking booty and captives.

Li Cunxu had died in 926. Despite the general deterioration in relations, the Later Tang Dynasty sent an envoy by the name of Yao Kun to the Liao Dynasty. When he arrived, however, Abaoji was on campaign, completing the conquest of the sedentary kingdom of Balhae (known in Chinese annals as Bohai.) Abaoji’s appetite for expansion had apparently not been sated by the conquest of Balhae, because he sent a demand for cession of the Sixteen Prefectures, which made up the border region between the two empires. However, Abaoji died on September 6, temporarily removing attention from the Sixteen Prefectures.

The Later Tang Dynasty weakened in the 930s. When Shi Jingtang revolted, the Liao sent a large army through the passes at Shanxi to assist. In return for assistance in his revolt, the new Later Jin Dynasty, Shi ceded the Sixteen Prefectures to the Liao.

Han Chinese and Shatuo Turks living in Later Jin territories chafed at the subordinate position they had in relation to the Liao. This led the Later Jin court to begin to display independence from the Liao. Consequently, the Khitan attacked as far as Kaifeng, where they stole maps archives, water clocks, musical instruments, and copies of the Classics, and kidnapped craftsmen and scholars. They then decided to move further into the present day provinces of Hebei and Shanxi. However, faced with the difficulties of governing a large sedentary population, the Liao emperor changed his mind about being emperor of China and decided to return to the Southern Capital. On the return in 947, the emperor died.

These events led to the collapse of the Later Jin Dynasty, and with the power vacuum left when the Liao emperor’s death, the short-lived Later Han Dynasty was founded.

The Later Zhou Dynasty struck at Liao positions in 958 in an attempt to regain the Sixteen Prefectures. After successfully taking two prefectures in Hebei, Emperor Muzong sprung into action, leading a Khitan cavalry force to the Southern Capital the following year. Military confrontation was averted with the death of the Later Zhou emperor.

Song Dynasty[link]

The Song Dynasty succeeded the Later Zhou Dynasty, the last of the Five Dynasties, in 960. Initially, the Song Dynasty court focused on reunifying the Chinese realm by incorporating the remaining southern kingdoms left over from the Ten Kingdoms period in the south. However, once Wuyue was brought into the fold in 978, Emperor Taizong began to focus on the north.

Two major issues caused relations between the Liao and the Song to sour. One was the continued Liao occupation of the Sixteen Prefectures. The other was Liao support for the Northern Han kingdom, the remnant of the Later Han Dynasty that was toppled in 950.

Emperor Taizong led the conquest of the Northern Han in 979. Then, he led an ill-advised invasion of the Sixteen Prefectures. The result was a resounding Liao victory, forcing the Song emperor to retreat in disgrace.

Song Emperor Taizong tried to take advantage of a fifteen-year-old Liao emperor by launching a three-pronged invasion in 986. The Song were decisively defeated on all three fronts. The Song court then resumed diplomatic contact with the Liao.

The Liao invaded the Song Dynasty in 1004, and stopped just north of Shanyuan, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Song capital of Kaifeng. The Song emperor Zhenzong met them with a force. The Treaty of Shanyuan was worked out in January, 1005. The Song Dynasty was required to pay an annual tribute to the Liao. The treaty also stipulated that the two imperial families address one another using familial terms. The tribute was increased and extended to Xi Xia when the Liao and Tanguts threatened further invasion in 1042.

Goryeo[link]

When the Khitan conquered the kingdom of Balhae, the border with Korea had been pushed to the Yalu River. Korea itself was undergoing significant transformations at the same time. Goryeo was founded in 918, and eventually unified the entire Korean Peninsula. The Silla kingdom, which had ruled the entire peninsula since the seventh century, fell in 935.

In 993, the Khitan invaded Goryeo's northwest border with 60,000 troops. The Khitan withdrew and ceded territory to the east of the Yalu River when Goryeo agreed to end its alliance with Song Dynasty China. However, Goryeo continued to communicate with Song, having strengthened its position by building fortresses in the newly gained northern territories.

In 1010, Emperor Shengzong of Liao led a massive invasion with 400,000 men, commanding the troops himself. He easily defeated the resisting army of General Gang Jo, who was executed by the Khitans. However, Gang Gam-chan urged King Hyeonjong to escape from the palace, and not to surrender to the invading Liao troops. King Hyeonjong followed Gang Gam-chan's advice, and managed to escape from the burning capital. A Korean insurgency began to harass the Khitan forces. Eventually, Shengzong ordered a withdrawal of the entire Khitan force; the Khitans lost the war, and didn't gain anything. Thus another bloody war between two nations was foreshadowed, as both sides remained hostile to each other. After the war, Gang was promoted as the Minister of Government Administration.

In 1018, General Xiao Baiya of Liao invaded Goryeo with 100,000 men. This time, many officials urged to king to enter a peace negotiation, since the damage from the 2nd Koryo-Khitan War was so great and Goryeo was not able to recover from the damage. However Gang Gam-chan again urged the king to fight the Khitans, since the Khitan force was much smaller than the previous invasions. General Gang led about 200,000 men toward the Goryeo-Liao border. The first battle of the war was the Battle of Heunghwajin, which was won by General Gang by blocking a stream and then destroying the dam when the Khitans were mid-way through crossing.

Many Khitans drowned, but General Xiao did not give up hope of capturing the capital, Gaeseong, and continued to march southward. Later Xiao realized that the mission was impossible to achieve, and decided to retreat. General Gang knew that the Khitan army would withdraw from the war, and waited for them at the fortress of Kwiju, where he encountered retreating Khitans in 1019. (Battle of Kwiju). Discouraged and starving, the Khitans lost the battle. Following his victories in the Third Goryeo-Khitan War, peace was made.

Other contact[link]

From the time of the empire's creation all the way to its decline, the Liao Dynasty was recognized by Korea. Russian people in their first contacts with Khitan people of Liao, had believed that they had in fact established contact with the empire of China, who were culturally and physically similar to the Chinese, and henceforth, the country-name of China in Russian is Китай (pronounced kitai). The Khitan were also in contact the Abbasid empire, and the court of Baghdad once asked for a Khitan princess for marriage. These relations established the Khitans all across the steppes, before the Mongol expansion. Commercial activity allowed the Khitans to make their name known beyond the Pamirs and in Europe.

Society and culture[link]

Chinese acculturation[link]

The level of sinification of the Khitan people has been debated. While it is clear that the ruling Yelu clan had been sinified to some extent, the bulk of the Khitan people seems to have resisted Chinese acculturation. The above resistance to the idea of primogeniture among the Khitan elite is only one indication of a resistance to Chinese acculturation. However, physical similarities aside, the cultural assimilation is clearly noted by the fact that Russian people who had established contact with the Khitan people, had in fact believed they've established contact with the Chinese people, and the name for "China" in the Russian language has always been "Китай", which is pronounced "kitai".

One of the stated purposes of the division of the empire between a Northern Chancellery and a Southern Chancellery is to create different forms of government for the steppe peoples in the north, which maintained steppe norms of society and government, and for the sedentary peoples in the south, which used mostly Chinese methods of governance.

Abaoji, who himself spoke Chinese and was familiar with Chinese culture, did not speak Chinese in front of his subjects. He revealed to Later Tang Dynasty envoy Yao Kun before his own death that he did not wish the Khitan people to lose the edge that they enjoyed as a nomadic people. He did not want them to become “soft” like the Chinese.

Another indication of resistance to acculturation is the Chinese notion of the use of surnames, a notion of which is a measure in the minimization of potential incestuous contacts. For a century and a half under the Yaolian clan, only the imperial clan used a surname. Only after Abaoji ascended to the position of Great Khan, did his clan as well as the Xiao consort clan adopt surnames, though the exact time is a matter of some debate. It may have taken place either before or after Abaoji's death. The issue arose again in 1074 when a proposal to have all Khitan use surnames was refused by the emperor as being too Chinese. It was believed that it was result in a radical reordering in Khitan society seen as undesirable.

Religion[link]

A ceramic sculpture of a Buddhist luohan, glazed in the sancai style.

By the time Abaoji assumed control over the Khitans in the early tenth century, a majority of the Khitan population had adopted Buddhism.^[13] Buddhism was practiced throughout the length of the Liao Dynasty. Monasteries were constructed during the reign of the first emperor, Taizu, and Buddhism was especially prominent during the reigns of Emperors Shengzong, Xingzong, and Daozong.^[14]

Buddhist scholars living during the time of the Liao Dynasty predicted that the mofa (末法), an age in which the three treasures of Buddhism would be destroyed, was to begin in the year 1052. Previous dynasties, including the Sui and Tang, were also concerned with the mofa, although their predictions for when the mofa would start were different from the one selected by the Liao. As early as the Sui Dynasty, efforts were made to preserve Buddhist teachings by carving them into stone or burying them. These efforts continued into the Liao Dynasty, with Emperor Xingzong funding several projects in the years immediately preceeding 1052.^[15]

Evidence from excavated Liao burial sites indicates that animistic or shamanistic practices were fused with Buddhism and other practices in marriage and burial ceremonies. Both animal and human sacrifices have been found in Liao tombs, alongside indications of Buddhist practice. Indications of Daoist, zodiac, and Zoroastrian influences have also been found in Liao burial sites.^[16]

Spoken and written languages[link]

The Memorial for Yelü Yanning, which contains 271 characters of Khitan large script.

The Khitan spoken language is a member of the Altaic language family. The language is most closely related to the Mongolic language subdivision, but shares some terms with the Turkic spoken by the Uighur peoples, who shared the steppes of North Aisa with the Khitans for several hundred years.^[17]

Prior to their conquest of north China and the establishment of the Liao Dynasty, the Khitans had no written language. In 920 the first of two scripts, the Khitan large script, was developed. A second script, the Khitan small script, was developed in 925.^[18] Both scripts are based off of the same spoken language, and both contain a mix of logographs and phonographs.^[19] The large script shows similarities with the kai shu (楷书), or standard, style of Chinese calligraphy, and the small script shows similarities to the xing shu (行书), or running style. Despite the similarities to Chinese symbols, the Khitan scripts were functionally different from Chinese.^[18]

Few documents written in Khitan script survive to this day. The surviving specimens of Khitan script have all been found carved into stone or cast into metal; no Khitan writing on paper or silk has been found. The Liao emperors read Chinese, and while there were some Chinese works translated into Khitan during the Liao Dynasty, the Confucian classics, which served as the core guide to the administration of government in China, are not believed to have been translated to Khitan.^[20]

Status of women[link]

The status of women in the Liao Dynasty varied greatly, with the Khitan Liao having much a more egalitarian view towards women than the Han Chinese did. Han Chinese living under the Liao Dynasty were not forced to adopt Khitan practices, and while some Han Chinese did, many did not.^[21]

Unlike Han society, which had a strict separation of responsibilities along gender lines, and placed women in a very subservient role to men, tbe Khitan women of the Liao Dynasty performed many of the same functions that the Khitan men did.^[22] Khitan women were taught how to hunt, and managed family herds, flocks, finances, and property when their husbands were at war.^[22][23][24] Upper class women were able to hold governmental and military posts.^[24]

The sexual freedoms of Liao also stood in stark contrast from those of the Han Chinese. Women from the upper Liao classes, like those of the Han Chinese upper classes, had arranged marriages, in some cases for political purposes.^[25][26] However women from the lower classes of the Liao did not have arranged marriages, and would attract suitors by singing and dancing in the streets. The songs served as self-advertisements, with the women telling of their beauty, familial status, and domestic skills. Virginity was not a requirement for marriage among the Liao, and many Liao women were sexually promiscuous before marriage, which stood in sharp contrast from the beliefs of the Han Chinese.^[25] Khitan women had the right to divorce their husbands, and were able to remarry after being divorced.^[24]

Abduction of marriage age women was common during the Liao Dynasty. Khitans men of all social classes participated in the activity, and the abductees were both Khitan and Han. In some cases, this was a step in the courtship process, where the woman would agree to the abduction and the resulting sexual intercourse, then the abductor and abductee would return to the woman's home to announce their intention to marry. This process was known as baimen (拜門). Other times, the abduction would be non-consensual and would result in a rape.^[27]

Marriage practices[link]

In Liao custom betrothal was seen as being equally serious to, if not more serious than, marriage itself, and was difficult to annul. The groom would pledge to work for three years for the bride's family, pay a bride price, and lavish the bride's family with gifts. After the three years were up, the groom would be allowed to take the bride back to his home, and the bride would usually cut off all ties with her family.^[28]

Khitan marriage practices differed from those of the Han Chinese in several ways. Men from the elite classes tended to marry women from the generation their senior. While this did not necessarily mean that there would be a large gap in ages between husband and wife, it was often the case. Among the ruling Yelü clan, the average age that boys married was sixteen, while the average age that girls married was between sixteen and twenty-two. Although rare, ages as young as twelve were recorded, for both boys and girls.^[29] A special variety of polygamy known as sororate, in which a man would marry two or more women who were sisters, was practiced among the Liao elite.^[24][30] Polygamy was not restricted only to sororate, with some men having three or more wives, only some of whom were sisters. Sororate continued throughout the length of the Liao Dynasty, despite laws banning the practice.^[30] Over the course of the dynasty, the Liao elite moved away from polygamy and towards the Han Chinese system of having one wife and one or more concubines.^[30] This was done largely to smooth over the process of inheritance.^[24]

See also[link]

Khitan portal

• Jin Dynasty
• Tang Dynasty
• Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
• Song Dynasty
• Northern Liao
• Kara-Khitan Khanate

Notes[link]

References[link]

David Curtis Wright (2005). From War to Diplomatic Parity in Eleventh-Century China: Sung's Foreign Relations With Kitan Liao. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 290. ISBN 978-9004144569. and Wang Gungwu, "The Rhetoric of a Lesser Empire: Early Sung Relations with Its Neighbors" in Rossabi, Morris, ed. China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. University of California Press, 1983, pp. 47–65. may have been used in this article, however there were no in-line citations before the rewriting began. Because the entire article is being rewritten from scratch, these sources will soon be depreciated. When that happens, this notice will be removed.

• Franke, Herbert; Twitchett, Denis (1994). "Introduction". The Cambridge History of China, Volume 6, Alien Regime and Border States, 907-1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1-42. ISBN 9780521243319. 
• Gernet, Jacques (2008). A History of Chinese Civilization (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521497817. 
• Johnson, Linda Cooke (2011). Women of the Conquest Dynasties. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824834043. 
• Kane, Daniel (2009). The Kitan Language and Script. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004168299. 
• Mote, Frederick W. (1999). Imperial China: 900–1800. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674445154. 
• Shen, Hsueh-Man (2001). "Realizing the Buddha's "Dharma" Body during the Mofa Period: A Study of Liao Buddhist Relic Deposits". Artibus Asiae 61 (2): 263-303. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3249911. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
• Turchin, Peter; Jonathan M. Adams, Thomas D. Hall (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires and Modern States". Journal of World-Systems Research 12 (2): 219–229. http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol12/number2/pdf/jwsr-v12n2-tah.pdf. Retrieved 12 August 2010. 
• Twitchett, Denis; Tietze, Klaus-Peter (1994). "The Liao". In Franke, Herbert; Twitchett, Denis. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 6, Alien Regime and Border States, 907-1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 43-153. ISBN 9780521243319. 
• Wittfogel, Karl A.; Feng Chia-Sheng (1946). "History of Chinese Society Liao (907-1125)". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 36: 1-752. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1005570. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 

External links[link]

• "Gilded Splendor" - Liao Dynasty art at Asiasociety.org

Zhang Liao
Portrait of Zhang Liao from a Qing Dynasty edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
General of Cao Wei
Born	169
Died	222 (aged 53)
Names
Simplified Chinese	张辽
Traditional Chinese	張遼
Pinyin	Zhāng Liáo
Wade-Giles	Chang Liao
Style name	Wenyuan (文遠)
Posthumous name	Marquis Gang (剛侯)

Zhang Liao (169–222)^[1] was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He participated in many campaigns, including those against Yuan Shao's clan and the Wuhuan tribes. Zhang Liao was most noted for his pivotal role in the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford in 217, where he successfully defended the city of Hefei against the advances of Sun Quan's massive army.

Chen Shou, author of the Records of Three Kingdoms, considered Zhang Liao among the Five Elite Generals, along with Xu Huang, Yue Jin, Zhang He and Yu Jin.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

A local of Mayi (馬邑; present-day Shuo County, Shanxi), Zhang Liao was originally surnamed Nie (聶). He served as a local administrative officer during his younger days. Towards the end of the Han Dynasty, Ding Yuan, governor of Bing Province (并州; covering present-day Shanxi), favored Zhang Liao's martial skills and recruited him.

In 189, Ding Yuan and his trusted aide, Lü Bu, led troops into Luoyang to assist General-in-Chief He Jin to eliminate the Ten Attendants, a group of influential eunuch officials in the imperial court. However, He Jin was soon assassinated by the eunuchs and the capital fell into chaos. Dong Zhuo, a warlord from Liang Province (凉州), in the ensuing tussle for power, intended to place in the throne a puppet emperor. This move deteriorated the relationship between Ding and Dong and induced the latter to plot against the former. After Lü Bu was persuaded to defect and kill Ding Yuan, Zhang Liao followed him to serve under Dong Zhuo, who had become the de facto head of government. Soon, regional warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, who was therefore forced to move the capital west to Chang'an.

Service under Lu Bu[link]

Having an affair with one of Dong Zhuo's concubines, Lü Bu was apprehensive to his adopted father, and again turned on his master and slayed Dong. Zhang Liao then assisted Lü Bu in an attempt to stabilize the capital and rebuild imperial authority. However, the new government was destroyed by Dong Zhuo's former subjects Li Jue and Guo Si when they breached the city gate of Chang'an. Zhang Liao fled with Lü Bu, and joined Yuan Shao temporarily. During their short stay in Yuan Shao's camp, they helped performing raids on the Heishan Bandits' camp, and had dealt major damage to latter.

Following Lü Bu, Zhang Liao and other Bing Province warriors wandered the land, and finally were given a chance to gain a foothold. In 194, Lü Bu was welcomed by Chen Gong of Yan Province, while the warlord of the province, Cao Cao, was dwelling on causing calamities in Xu Province (徐州). For more than a year, the two forces were wrestling over Yan Province and Lü Bu's forces were able to defeat Cao Cao initially, but Cao managed to gradually regain his control over the province. After a famine outbreak, Lü Bu was finally ousted from the area to Xiaopei (Cao Cao's army resorted to cannibalism to solve the problem of food storage).^[2] There, Lü Bu joined the Xu Province warlord, Liu Bei, who would be betrayed by Lü and lost the province to him. Zhang Liao was made a county minister of Lü Bu when the latter gained Xu Province.

In 198, Cao Cao defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi, and most of his men either defected or surrendered. Lü Bu was executed and Zhang Liao led his men to Cao Cao.^[3] Since then, he participated in many of Cao Cao's campaigns, including the decisive Battle of Guandu and the subsequent northern expeditions against Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang, and the Wuhuan tribes.

Battle of Xiaoyao Ford[link]

After Cao Cao lost the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208, he placed Zhang Liao, Yue Jin and Li Dian at Hefei fortress with 7,000 men to guard against advances of the southern warlord Sun Quan. Soon Sun Quan led a much larger force upon Hefei. Under instructions from Cao Cao, Zhang Liao and Li Dian recruited 800 vanguard troops to deter the enemy outside the city.

As dawn broke, the force moved out with Zhang Liao in the forefront. Zhang Liao galloped into the enemy ranks and single-handedly killed tens of men. Proclaiming his own name, Zhang Liao then went straight for Sun Quan, who sought refuge on top of a knoll. At least three of Sun Quan's generals tried to intercept him, but all failed.^[4] After seeing Zhang Liao had much fewer men on a slope, Sun Quan calmed down and ordered his troops to surround the enemy.

Leading scores of men, Zhang Liao soon broke through the encirclement. Those who were still caught within then cried, "General, are you going to forsake us?" Spinning around, Zhang Liao rode into the circle again and rescued his men, by when it was already noontime. Sun Quan's demoralized soldiers then retreated for the time being.

Returning to the city, Zhang Liao supervised the reinforcement of the defense works. After two weeks of siege, Sun Quan could not take Hefei and had to turn back because of a wide spread plague within his army. At Xiaoyao Ford (逍遙津), Eastern Wu's main army retreated first while the rear army of only one thousand men led by Sun Quan and a few generals stayed behind.^[5] Knowing Sun Quan had made such an arrangement, Zhang Liao immediately led several thousands of elite cavalry to capitalize on his foe's fatal blunder. On a number of occasions, they almost captured Sun Quan if not resisted desperately by Sun's general, Ling Tong. Upon hearing Zhang Liao had accomplished this nearly impossible deed, Cao Cao was stunned, and personally arrived Hefei, where he took a look on the battlefield for a long time.^[3] Zhang Liao was promoted to the rank of General Who Conquers the East (征東將軍) for his deed in Xiaoyao Ford.

Late life[link]

After Cao Pi succeeded Cao Cao in 220, Zhang Liao was further promoted to General of the Vanguard (前將軍) and again deployed to Hefei to defend against Sun Quan. In 221, Zhang Liao traveled to Luoyang for an audience with Cao Pi, the emperor of the newly-founded state of Wei, who compared the general to Shao Hu (召虎)¹. However, Zhang Liao soon fell sick at the edge of a battle against Wu, a new state that Sun Quan founded. Sun Quan reminded his men, "Even though Zhang Liao is sick, he is still unrivalled. On guard!" After defeating Lü Fan, a Wu general, Zhang Liao died in the following year in Jiangdu (江都). He was granted the posthumous title of Marquis Gang (剛侯), literally meaning "resolute marquis".

Zhang Liao's son Zhang Hu also served Wei as an Assistant General (偏前軍).

¹Shao Hu was a general famous for his bravery during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

In fiction[link]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, is a romanticization of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms era. In the novel, Zhang Liao was depicted as a loyal and upright general. While this might be true, such portrayal was likely the result of artistic simplification.

In Chapter 18, where he still served under Lü Bu, Zhang Liao was sent with a force to attack Liu Bei at Xiaopei (小沛, present day Pei County, Jiangsu). From the city wall Guan Yu addressed the attacker, "You seem like an extraordinary man, why ally yourself with the rebels"? Whereupon Zhang Liao hung his head and made no reply. Knowing that Zhang Liao was a righteous man, Guan Yu refrained from hurling insults at his enemy, nor did he go out to meet the attack.

In the next chapter, after Lü Bu was defeated and captured by Cao Cao, Zhang Liao was also bound and brought before the victor. While Lü Bu pleaded for mercy, Zhang Liao scorned at the cowardly behavior and cursed his captor, showing no fear for death. He stretched his neck out to make it easier for him to be beheaded, and the angry Cao Cao then came for Zhang Liao with a sword in hand. However, Liu Bei quickly held on to Cao Cao's arm and Guan Yu dropped onto his knees. In unison they avouched for Zhang Liao's character and pleaded for his life. Dropping the sword, Cao Cao laughed, "I, too, know Wenyuan (Zhang Liao's style name) to be loyal and righteous. I was just testing him." The warlord then personally unbound Zhang Liao and offered him fresh clothes and a seat. Moved by Cao Cao's sincerity, Zhang Liao then surrendered.

When Guan Yu was later besieged by Cao Cao's army in Xiapi, it was Zhang Liao who persuaded him to surrender. Zhang Liao then became close friends with Guan Yu during Guan Yu's short service under Cao Cao, having fought alongside him against Yuan Shao. In the novel, when Guan Yu was chased by Xiahou Dun after leaving Cao Cao's service, Zhang Liao insisted that Xiahou Dun allow him to leave in accordance with Cao Cao's orders.

In Chapter 86 Zhang Liao was hit by an arrow fired by Ding Feng during an encounter with Wu troops led by Xu Sheng, despite his illness. He was rescued by Xu Huang (who coincidentally eventually also died under similar circumstances) and together, they escorted Cao Pi back to safety. Upon returning to Xuchang, Zhang Liao died from the injury and was rewarded for his bravery.

Modern references[link]

Zhang Liao is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. He also appears in all 11 installments of Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game series.

In Gosei Sentai Dairanger, Iron Face Zhang Liao (鉄面臂張遼) was the previous Ryu Ranger who joined the Gorma and became an immortal as a result.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References[link]

• Chen Shou (2002). Records of Three Kingdoms, Volume 17, Biography of Zhang Liao. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80665-198-8. 
• Luo Guanzhong (1986). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80520-013-2. 
• Lo Kuan-chung; tr. C.H. Brewitt-Taylor (2002). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-3467-4. 

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Gang Jo (강조, 康兆, 964 - 1010) was a Goryeo general who served under Emperor Mokjong of Goryeo and Emperor Hyeonjong of Goryeo. General Gang Jo was a general in charge of the Northern border army.

Rise to power[link]

When scholar-official Kim Chi-yang burned the royal palace to the ground, threatening to kill the emperor and take over, Emperor Mokjong called General Gang Jo to the capital city of Kaesong. General Gang Jo immediately executed Kim Chi-Yang and his supporters.

Then, the scholar officials, enemies of Gang Jo, spread rumors and lies that the general was planning to take over the government for himself. These rumors reached the Emperor, and he planned to kill Gang Jo. Gang Jo heard of the conspiracy and doubts of the Emperor, and ordered his army to attack and kill all of his enemies, including the emperor. After assassinating Emperor Mokjong, General Gang placed Emperor Hyeonjong of Goryeo on the throne.

War with the Liao and death[link]

Soon after this, Emperor Shengzong of Liao attacked Goryeo during the fall of 1010 in an attempt to kill Gang Jo for killing the Goryeo Emperor. The 400,000-man Liao army came invading into Goryeo territory. The Liao first attacked and lost at the city of Uiju, whose castle lord was General Yang Gyu.

Next, the Liao finally headed to the city of Tong-Ju, which is where General Gang Jo and 30,000 Goryeo troops were waiting. General Gang Jo set up an ambush on a narrow pass that the Liao army was inevitably going to have to pass. There, he directly led his troops in a three-pronged attack when the Liao came. The Liao soldiers were forced to retreat and 10,000 died during this ambush. The enemy troops issued another attack on Tong-Ju city but faced a humiliating defeats with indescribable casualties.

The Liao commander lead the remnants of his heavily-damaged army and led yet another attack on the city, with Gang Jo as his main target. The Liao were defeated a third time, and were forced to retreat once more. In one last-ditch effort, the Liao army came attacking once more, but this time, General Gang Jo did not directly orchestrate the attack and played Badok with one of his lieutenants instead, thinking that victory was a given. General Gang's conceitedness and underestimation would eventually lead to his downfall and death.

Liao soldiers pierced through the city's defenses and captured General Gang. General Gang refused to surrender to the Liao Emperor, who in turn, executed General Gang.

Place in History and comparison to Yeon Gaesommun[link]

Gang Jo is seen both as a hero and a ruthless dictator. Though because his period of reign was a time of war against the invading Liao, not many deaths were ordered by the general with the exception of Emperor Mokjong and the conspiring scholar-officials. Gang Jo can be compared with his predecessor Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo, who had also killed an Emperor of Goguryeo for conspiring against him.

Gang Jo, however, was not as brilliant as Yeon Gaesommun, as he was not able to keep control for very long. Gang Jo did bring great victories to Goryeo over the Liao dynasty, but his death brought about another period of trouble for Goryeo, just as Yeon Gaesommun's death had done to Goguryeo. Gang Jo can be seen as a smaller-scale version of Yeon Gaesomun.

See also[link]

• Goryeo
• Dictators of Goryeo