[asiaconqueror]

I heard that it was the Khitan who founded the Liao Dynasty. Can someone tell me more about the history of this dynasty? Were the Khitan Mongols?

[Ludahai]

asiaconqueror, on Aug 21 2004, 07:07 AM, said:

I heard that it was the Khitan who founded the Liao Dynasty. Can someone tell me more about the history of this dynasty? Were the Khitan Mongols?

I have just finished reading a part of a larger book on Imperial Chinese history that gave quite a bit of background on the Khitan origins of the Liao Dynasty. I am fixin to go to bed now, but in the next couple of days, I will summarize that information for you and post it here.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Ludahai, I look forward to your input contribution .. :P

[Ludahai]

I have been reading a book called "Imperial China: 900-1800" by Princeton Historian F.W. Mote. I purchased the book recently at the bookstore at Taipei 101 and it is a very well written, accessible book on Late Imperial Chinese history.

Becuase it doesn't attempt to cover all of Chinese history, it can be more detailed about some parts of China's history as well as its interactions with its neighbors that more encompassing anthologies of Chinese history can't. This is definately true of the Liao, who were northern neighbors of China and considered one of the early "Conquest Dynasties."

This book devotes three chapters to the Khitan and I will summarize those in parts over the next few days (I have a typhoon holiday today and will likely have one tomorrow,) so I will work on this over the next few days.

-----

Summmary of Chapter 2 - Abaoji (Sections 1,2 and 3)

Abaoji was the supreme chieftain of the Khitan people and founder of the Liao Empire.

The Khitan people originated on the eastern slopes of the Greater Khingan (Xing'an) Mountain Range along the border of Manchuria and Mongolia. Their basic wealth came from herding cattle and horses. The Khitan often intermarried with neighboring peoples, including Shiwei and Xi Mongolic groups.

Nearby were other groups that were related to the Khitans. These included the Uighurs (Turkic) who had an empire in Mongolia until they were forced from it but another Turkic group known as the Kirghiz. The Uighurs moved to what is today known as Xinjiang. There were also the Jurchen people to the east and northeast, as well as the Bohai nation to the South-Southeast near the Yalu River. The Bohai nation consisted of a formerly nomadic group who ruled over a primarily Chinese and Korean sedentary population.

The three main language groupings in the Inner Asian steppe are Turkic, Mongol, and Tungunsic. However, they are all members of the larger Altaic language family. It is believed that these languages all arose from the area around NW Manchuria, NE Mongolia toward the area around Lake Baikal in modern-day Siberia.

The Uighurs were the most important Turkic group in Inner Asia, though the language family itself has spread to Anatolia. The Khitan people are sometimes called "Turko-Mongol", suggesting that these two branches of the Altaic Language family hadn't yet sufficiently differientated. Nonetheless, the Khitan language is generally classified as "proto-Mongol." Despite this, a considerable amount of the vocabulary of the Khitan language comes from Turkic-Uighur sources.

The previously mentioned Tungusic division of Altaic includes Jurchen, Bohai, Korean, and perhaps even Japanese. Despite the general mutual unintelligibility of the languages in question, their closeness, as well as their common condition of being steppe peoples in the face of a much larger sedentary population to the south, did promote a form of kinship amongst these peoples.

Khitan origin legends date back many centuries, despite the fact that there was no Khitan script until the 10th century. Chinese references to the Khitan date back to the 4th century, and form the majority of our knowledge of this people.

The Khitan people were sometimes subordinate to the Uighurs during the Tang Dynasty, but that ended when they (the Uighurs) moved to Xinjiang after A.D. 842. It was then that they adopted writing from the Sogdian people (an Indo-European people) who used a form of the ancient Aramaic script. Back in Mongolia, the Khitan filled the power vacuum, particularly in eastern parts of Monglia, during the 10th century.

The Khitan learned their lessons from history rather well. If they become sedentary like the Chinese, they would lose their only real advantage over the Chinese and would lose their cultural integrity. Korea was able to maintain their identity despite substantial Sinification due to their relative distance from the power of the Chinese state. The Uighurs moved, but they also remained apart from Chinese civilization despite becoming an important link along the Silk Road. However, the Khitan couldn't follow the example of the Koreans of the Uighur due to their proximity to the Chinese state. They would need to draw on the resources of their larger, sedentary neighbor without sacrificing their steppe integrity.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Gubook Janggoon]

"Korea was able to maintain their identity despite substantial Sinification due to their relative distance from the power of the Chinese state."

Korea's pretty d**** close to China..could you explain :P

[Tyler]

Thats very good info thanks Ludahai.

[Ludahai]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Aug 24 2004, 07:38 PM, said:

"Korea was able to maintain their identity despite substantial Sinification due to their relative distance from the power of the Chinese state."

Korea's pretty d**** close to China..could you explain :P

Sure, at this time in history, there was a buffer between Korea and China. Bohai was the principle buffer. It was a state that was also controlled by steppe people, but had a large sendentary population composed mainly of Chinese and Koreans. The rise of the Khitan people also provided a buffer between Korea and China as the Khitans would even come to control parts of northern China.

As the Tang weren't much of a seafaring kingdom, they couldn't really exert more than cultural influence over Korea even though it is very close to the Shandong Peninsula.

[Ludahai]

From Chapter 2 (Abaoji) Section IV (A New Leader Emerges) of the above referenced "Imperial China: 900-1800"

---

By the A.D. 750s,a line of supreme chieftans using the lineage name Yaolian has risen to dominance. THey maintained their dominance for about a century and a half. The first of the Yaolian khans was even given the "Li" imperial surname by the Tang court, though this evidently meant little in the steppe as the name Yaolian continued to be used.

Chinese accounts of this era of Khitan history make reference to "Eight Tribes" of Khitans and "Nine Tents" of Yaolian lineage. The "Nine Tents" refers to the nine generations of Yaolian khans. There were eight tribes that made up the Khitan nation, with the Yila tribe being the largest and most powerful. It is from this tribe that Abaoji was born in 872 as the son of the Yila tribe chieftain.

In 901, Abaoji was elected the chieftain of the Yila tribe. When one says elected, it is not meant in the sense that it generally refers to in modern democratic republics. What it means here is that you present yourself before the triennial council of tribal elders, who then acknowledge your right to rule as chieftain.

Unlike the Yaolian, the Yila tribe didn't use a clan surname as it was a Chinese custom, and not a custom for steppe people. At the beginning of the tenth century, the Yila tribe adopted the surname "Yelu." Also according to Khitan custom, the Yila tribe took their wives from another clan in their tribe. This consort clan adopted the surname "Xiao". At this time in Khitan history, the Yila tribe were focused in a struggle for control of the defensive line separating the Tang from the steppe powers. Li Keyong, a Shatuo Turk who had also been granted the Tang imperial surname, controlled part (modern-day Shanxi) of the defense line of passes.

As already mentioned, Abaoji was elected chieftan of the Yila tribe in 901. In 903, he was named "Yuyue", commander of all Khitan military forces. This position put him second only beneath the Yaolian "Great Khan." In 905, Abaoji led 70,000 troops to Li Keyong's stronghold to swear a tradtional steppe blood brotherhood with the Shatuo Turk defender of the passes. This was Abaoji's wedge into China. Two years later, Abaoji presented himself before the triennial council of tribal chieftains, and gained the support of seven of the eight tribes to be elected the Great Khan of the Khitan people, the first non Yaolian to hold the post in a century and a half.

Meanwhile, developments in China also took a dramatic change during the first decade of the tenth century. The Chinese warlord Zhu Wen murdered the legitimate Tang ruler in 904, placing his young son on the throne. By 907 (the same year in which Abaoji was elected Great Khan), Zhu Wen assumed the throne for himself and founded the Later Liang dynasty. This was the beginning of the Five Dynasties period in northern China.

The year 907 signaled a pivitol change, not only in northern China, but also in its relations with the steppe nomads. China's capital was moved from its traditional center of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an) in the west to Bian (present-day Kaifeng) in the east. Also, the main steppe threat, which had previously been from the northwest, was now coming from the Northeast in the form of the Khitan. Three of the Five Dynasties were actually founded not by Han Chinese, but by partially Sinified Shatuo Turks, including the third of the five dynasties, the Later Jin, which was little more than a client state of the Khitan Liao dynasty.

At this time, Abaoji set about to transform the Khitan grand khanate in a way that would serve as a model for later conquest dynasties. Abaoji attached a foreign administrative system to the Khitan nomadic state. He envisioned an empire that was part nomadic and part sedentary. The northern part would remain true to Khitan nomadic tradition and would be governed as such. However, such a government would be unsuited for the sedentary peoples to the south, so instead of a military government of the steppe, a Chinese style civil government administered the sedentary population. THe empire was thus divided into the Northern and Southern Chancelleries.

It wouldn't be until 947 that the dynastic name "Great Liao" was adopted, though most Chinese sources date the dynasty's origin approproiately at 907, the year Abaoji assumed the title of Great Khan.

The above mentioned reforms of government didn't have universal support among the Liao. The nobility saw that their interests would suffer. We have no way of knowing how lower aspects of Khitan society felt as Khitan records before their adoption of writing are non existant. Nobles felt threatened by the notion of primogeniture. This was a Chinese notion that the leadership of the nation should be heriditary, and not "elected." Theoretically, under Khitan tradition, any noble male could be elected Khan at the triennial council. However, under primogeniture, the emperor remains emperor until his death, and the heir is predetermined by the emperor, usually by direct lineage. Due to this, for the first nine years of his khanate, Abaoji faced rebellions from within his own family who felt that their prerogatives had been taken away.

In 916, Abaoji adopted Chiense court ritual formalities by assuming for himself the title of "Celestial Emperor" and proclaiming a reign-period name. Two years later, a newly built walled capital city by the name of Shangjing (上京?) was occupied by Abaoji's government. A second walled "Chinese city" (漢城 - not to be mistaken with modern-day Seoul) was built to the south, adjacient to Shangjing. The urban population of this city was made up os mostly captured Chinese sedentary people.

Despite the adoption of Chinese trappings of power, Abaoji did not nor could not behave like a Chinese ruler. In accordance with steppe custom, he regularily forgave the rebels due to the traditional rights dissenters had under tribal custom.

The aforementioned capital city of Shangjing was built near the headwatersof the Shira Muren River, which flows into the Liao River of central Manchuria. Thirty more small walled cities were also built, largely inhabitated by the captured Chinese population. They were forced to manufacture salt, smelt and work iron, etc.

An Eastern Capital was built at modern Liaoyang City in central Manchuria. A Central Capital was built about one hundred miles south of the Supreme Capital, at the site of an absorbed Xi people's ritual center.

In 936, a 70-100 mile wide stretch of northern China, "the sixteen prefectures" was ceded to the Liao. This territory would be a continual sore spot between the Liao and successive north Chinese dynasties. Two more capitals were built in this territory, a Western Capital at Datong in Shanxi and a Southern Capital at Yan, ironically at the site of present-day Beijing (which means Northern Capital.) In these ceded territories, the Chinese pattern of administration was retained by the Khitan.

In maintaining the dual system of government, there were two Prime Ministers who answered directly to Abaoji and later emperors. One from the Xiao consort clain was to run the Northern Chancellory while one from the Yelu clan ran the Southern Chancellory. The central government had six ministries: personnel, revenue, rites, war, justice, and public works. Many officials of the SOuthern Chancellory were from the sedentary peoples of China, Bohai, and Korea.

[Gubook Janggoon]

I see, thank you for the clarification!

[General_Zhaoyun]

Great contribution from Ludahai.. :P

[Ludahai]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Aug 25 2004, 03:29 AM, said:

I see, thank you for the clarification!

My pleasure. ;)

[Ludahai]

I am sorry I haven't been able to post more of the summary in recent days as I have just been moving to another apartment in Taichung City. I will get back to it when things calm down a bit.

[jstampfl]

Has anyone seen a map of the area controled by the Liao. I have seen a general map,
but I would like one showing the cities.

Mongolai has many Liao cities. The one at the reference that follow is about 100 km from Xar Xorun (Khara Khorim). http://jts88.com/mon...tan/khitan.html


John

[Snafu]

jstampfl, on Dec 8 2004, 12:02 AM, said:

Has anyone seen a map of the area controled by the Liao.  I have seen a general map,
but I would like one showing the cities.

Mongolai has many Liao cities.  The one at the reference that follow is about 100 km from Xar Xorun (Khara Khorim). http://jts88.com/mon...tan/khitan.html
John

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's a detailed map of the Liao domains at the empire's height in the mid 11th century.

http://www.geocities...056/liaomap.jpg

[jstampfl]

Thanks for the map image. Can you give me the name of the book that it comes from?