Liao Dynasty 907-1125 CE

Liao Dynasty

The Liao Dynasty 907-1125 CE was the first of the dynasties of conquest. It was founded by the Grand Kahn Abouji in 907. It was founded as the Khitan Empire, but would later be known as the Liao Dynasty. At the peak of its power, the Liao Dynasty encompassed Mongolia and parts of Manchuria and a small strip of China Proper. They developed a system of dual governments to rule over both Khitan and Han Chinese peoples. The dynasty would last until 1125 when the Khitans were conquered by the Jurchen people.

Beginnings

The Khitan

Map of Northeast Asia showing the Khitans in relation to China

The Khitan were a proto-mongolian people from the steppe of Manchuria. Like the other peoples on the steppe, the Khitan were a tribal, nomadic people. They practiced agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. Horses were an important part of life for the Khitan, all men learned to ride and shoot and were potential warriors. The Khitan family unit was a clan, and many different clans formed a tribe. A tribal chief would be selected to lead a tribe based on military acumen. A tribe alone was relatively weak but a confederation of tribes united posed a significant military threat. Decisions were not made by a single leader, rather decisions were made from a meeting of all the tribe leaders in the confederation. (Ebrey 164-167)

Their Dealings with the Tang

In times of peace Khitan tribes largely kept to themselves. Only in times of warfare would the tribes unite into a confederation and a leader elected. This made the Khitan weak and vulnerable. When China was strong, they were drawn into their influence. When China was weak, the Khitan became vassals to other nomadic peoples on the steppe. When the Tang Dynasty came into power they projected their influence onto the northern steppe. The Khitan were drawn into the Tang Tributary system. The Khitan and the Tang would occasionally enjoy times of good relations. During the good times, some members of the Khitan Li tribe were appointed to office and noble ranks in the Tang court. Several Khitan even served as Tang generals. The alliance between the Khitan and Tang would not last for very long. Internal turmoil beween the Khitan tribes caused relations to deteriorate. A series of rebellions by the Khitan would attempt to free themselves of Tang control, but each time the Khitan were routed by the Tang military. The Khitan did not take advantage of times of Tang weakness. This was mostly as a result of the Khitan being vassals to the Uighars who had assumed control of the steppe region. By the time of the Uighars' collapse, the Khitan were on good terms with the Tang and had renewed their alliance. (Franke & Twitchett, The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6, 44-51) After the collapse of the Uighars, the Khitan were freed from their domination. This left a power vacuum and an opportunity for the Khitan to expand into the steppe and Manchuria. The Khitan were not necessarily interested in expanding into China. Rather they just wanted Chinese wealth, Chinese manufactures, and Chinese captives. In essence this fostered a trade relationship where the Khitan would receive what they wanted in exchange for the "fine horses" they were famous for. By the end of the 9th century the Tang was in decline The Tang would cease to exist as a centralized power. The empire was divided up into 50 provincial governments each ruled by its own governor. The emperor became powerless. (Franke and Twitchett, 53-55)

The Rise of Abaoji

Even though the Tang was self-destructing, the Chinese border provinces were powerful and heavily militarized. These strong border defenses would repel Khitan raids and on occasion would cross the border into Khitan territory and would destroy their crops and take Khitan people prisoners. This agressive stance that these provinces took on the Khitan would be the catalyst that would unite the Khitan tribes into a nation. The man who founded the Khitan state and later the Liao Dynasty was Abaoji. (Franke and Twitchett, 56)

Abaoji

Hello I am Abaoji. I was born in 872 CE into the Yelu tribe. My father was the chief of my tribe. My uncle was the yu-yueh, or commander in chief of the military in your English language. Because of my family connections I quickly rose to prominence. I was a man of high stature and intelligence and I even knew Chinese. I kept my knowledge of Chinese from my fellow Khitan out of fear of exposing them to Chinese ideas that would cause them to lose their identity. I was a competent military commander and I would often conduct raids into China. In 901 I was elected chieftain of my tribe. I mounted a campaign to unite the steppe and to extend Khitan influence over other tribes. My campaign was successful. I united ten Khitan tribes into a federation and secured the steppe. In 907 I was elected Grand Kahn of the Khitan by the tribal chieftains. Here I became the undisputed leader of the Khitan. (Franke & Twitchett, 56-60)

Khitan hunters using eagles to hunt

The Liao Dynasty

Abaoji founded the Liao Dynasty in 907 CE. There is a debate over this date,The debate is whether the Liao Dynasty started in 907 or 916. Abaoji became Grand Kahn in 907. He didn't become emperor until 916. Franke and Twitchett argue that Liao historians saw 907 as a convenient date to start their dynasty since it coincided with the end of the Tang Dynasty (60). Chronologically it made sense to them. In the time between 907 and 916, Abaoji would further consolidate his power and put down rebellions within his own family. In 916 he formally declared himself emperor of the Khitan and the first emperor of the Liao Dynasty. He was now known as Emperor Taizu. Emperor Taizu established a hereditary system of succession. This was in contrast to the Khitan tradition of election by the tribal leaders. Taizu took steps to make his regime permanent. He built a capital city, the Supreme Capital at Lin-huang. He would later build Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist temples in his capital city.

Liao Rule

At the peak of the Liao Dynasty's power, it ruled over most of Mongolia, Manchuria, and a small strip of China Proper around Beijing. It acquired sixteen Chinese prefectures in 938. The Khitan numbered about 750,000 and ruled over 2-3 million Chinese. This led to a dual state system of government in which the empire was split into northern and southern regions. The northern region was predominately Khitan while the southern region was Chinese. The Chinese living in the southern region played a big role in the government. The south was run by the bureaucratic institutions of the Tang. The Liao used the Tang examination system to choose candidates to fill positions in the southern government (Wittfogel, 17). In the south important administrative functions were left to the Chinese. The northern government was a mobile operation. The emperor and his court moved from place to another depending on the season. The north was administered by tribal leaders, high ranking Chinese officials, and imperial relatives. Khitan institutions and traditions were kept in place in the north. Keeping the Khitan language and the Khitan script in use in the north allowed the Khitan to resist sinification. The ruling elite became adept in both Khitan and Chinese ways, but the majority of the Khitans preserved their traditions. The Khitan were able to keep a hold on their power by intimidating their neighbors. The Song found it easier to pay tribute to the Liao than face them in battle. This effectively bought peace between the two empires. The Liao also intimidated the Koreans as well as the Tanguts. (Ebrey, 166-167)

Khitan Script

The Khitan language was a type of altaic language that resembles Mongolian, Turkic, and Tangusic. The language is considered a lost language so there is very little that is known about it. The Khitan did develop a writing script and there are examples that remain today. The Khitan script was introduced in 920. The script resembles either simple Chinese characters or artificially constructed characters. It seems that the Khitan script was greatly influenced by Chinese characters. (Franke and Twitchett, 31)

An example of the Khitan script. Notice how it resembles Chinese characters

Contemporary Commentator

Abaoji wasn't a stranger to Chinese ways. He had a good understanding about Chinese traditions and language. It is plausible that he would want to model a Khitan script after Chinese. A lot of things in the Liao dynasty have been modeled after Chinese institutions in one way or another. It is only logical to continue that in a writing script.

References

• De Bary, WM. Theodore, and Irene Bloom, eds. Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol 1, From Earliest Times to 1600. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

• Ebrey, Patricia. Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

• Lary, Diana. Chinese Migrations: The Movement of People, Goods, and Ideas Over Four Millennia. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.

• Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China: Volume 5, Part One: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907-1279. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

• Twitchett, Denis, and Herbert Franke, eds. The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

• Wittfogel, Karl A., "Public Office in The Liao Dynasty and The Chinese Examination System", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jun., 1947), pp. 13-40

Classroom Presentations

File:Southern Song and Liao Dynasties Presentation.pptx