The Liao dynasty, also known as the Khitan Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü clan of the Khitan people. Founded around the time of the collapse of the Tang dynasty, at its greatest extent it ruled over Northeast China, the Mongolian Plateau, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, southern portions of the Russian Far East, and the northern tip of the North China Plain.
The dynasty had a history of territorial expansion. The most important early gains was the Sixteen Prefectures (including present-day Beijing and part of Hebei) by fueling a proxy war that led to the collapse of the Later Tang dynasty (923–936). In 1004, the Liao dynasty launched an imperial expedition against the Northern Song dynasty. After heavy fighting and large casualties between the two empires, both sides worked out the Chanyuan Treaty. Through the treaty, the Liao dynasty forced the Northern Song to recognize them as peers and heralded an era of peace and stability between the two powers that lasted approximately 120 years. It was the first state to control all of Manchuria.
Liao circuits, c. 1111. © SY
Tension between traditional Khitan social and political practices and Han influence and customs was a defining feature of the dynasty. This tension led to a series of succession crises; Liao emperors favored the Han concept of primogeniture, while much of the rest of the Khitan elite supported the traditional method of succession by the strongest candidate. In addition, the adoption of Han system and the push to reform Khitan practices led Abaoji to set up two parallel governments. The Northern Administration governed Khitan areas following traditional Khitan practices, while the Southern Administration governed areas with large non-Khitan populations, adopting traditional Han governmental practices.
Collapse of the Liao dynasty (1117–1124). © Qiushufang
The Liao dynasty was destroyed by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in 1125 with the capture of the Emperor Tianzuo of Liao. However, the remnant Liao loyalists, led by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong of Liao), established the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai), which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by the Mongol Empire. Although cultural achievements associated with the Liao dynasty are considerable, and a number of various statuary and other artifacts exist in museums and other collections, major questions remain over the exact nature and extent of the influence of the Liao culture upon subsequent developments, such as the musical and theatrical arts.
Map of Western Liao (Qara Khitai) Empire as of 1160 AD when it was at the greatest extent. © SY
History of China
References
- Berkshire Encyclopedia of China (5 vol. 2009)
- Cheng, Linsun (2009). Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Pub. Group. ISBN 978-1933782683.
- Dardess, John W. (2010). Governing China, 150–1850. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60384-311-9.
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (2010). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP. ISBN 978-0521196208.
- Elleman, Bruce A. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 (2001) 363 pp.
- Fairbank, John King and Goldman, Merle. China: A New History. 2nd ed. (Harvard UP, 2006). 640 pp.
- Fenby, Jonathan. The Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power 1850 to the Present (3rd ed. 2019) popular history.
- Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization (1996). One-volume survey.
- Hsu, Cho-yun (2012), China: A New Cultural History, Columbia University Press 612 pp. stress on China's encounters with successive waves of globalization.
- Hsü, Immanuel. The Rise of Modern China, (6th ed. Oxford UP, 1999). Detailed coverage of 1644–1999, in 1136 pp.; stress on diplomacy and politics.
- Keay, John. China: A History (2009), 642 pp, popular history pre-1760.
- Lander, Brian. The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China From the First Farmers to the First Empire (Yale UP, 2021. Recent overview of early China.
- Leung, Edwin Pak-wah. Historical dictionary of revolutionary China, 1839–1976 (1992)
- Leung, Edwin Pak-wah. Political Leaders of Modern China: A Biographical Dictionary (2002)
- Loewe, Michael and Edward Shaughnessy, The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC (Cambridge UP, 1999). Detailed and Authoritative.
- Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China, 900–1800 (Harvard UP, 1999), 1,136 pp. Authoritative treatment of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and early Qing dynasties.
- Perkins, Dorothy. Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture. (Facts on File, 1999). 662 pp.
- Roberts, J. A. G. A Concise History of China. (Harvard U. Press, 1999). 341 pp.
- Stanford, Edward. Atlas of the Chinese Empire, containing separate maps of the eighteen provinces of China (2nd ed 1917) Legible color maps
- Schoppa, R. Keith. The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History. (Columbia U. Press, 2000). 356 pp.
- Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China (1999), 876pp; scholarly survey from 1644 to 1990s
- Twitchett, Denis. et al. The Cambridge History of China (1978–2021) 17 volumes. Detailed and Authoritative.
- Wang, Ke-wen, ed. Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism. (1998).
- Westad, Odd Arne. Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 (2012)
- Wright, David Curtis. History of China (2001) 257 pp.
- Wills, Jr., John E. Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History (1994) Biographical essays on important figures.