How did they retain their identity and remain under their own dynasty and leadership with so much exposure to and adoption of many features of Chinese civilization? How did they resist assimilation? By the middle of the tenth century, the Khitan, with a population of about 750,000, directly ruled about two and a half million Chinese and traded, had diplomatic relations, were was in touch with a China whose population numbered in the tens of millions. Thus, they governed in their traditional domains and in the territories they occupied in China for about two centuries. The Khitan adopted a Chinese name for their dynasty and Chinese reign titles and temple names for their emperors, built a Chinese-style capital city, and devised a Chinese-influenced administrative system and written scripts. Yet their creation of these scripts reveals recognition of new responsibilities incurred with annexation of new lands and the need to govern them. Neither has been fully deciphered, somewhat restricting knowledge of their society. They developed both a large script and a small script, each of which has similarities to Chinese characters. As the Khitan envisioned rule rather than plunder of subjugated domains, they recognized the need for a written language for their proto-Mongol spoken language (which also incorporated Tungusic words). They could also rest assured that the government would not expropriate their farm land and convert it to pasture.ĭevelopment of written scripts marked still another change for Khitan society. Inhabitants could count on relatively fixed and stable taxes rather than irregular and perhaps capricious demands. He now attempted to rule the sedentary population in his domains from a stationary site, with a regular administration. Although the capital, known by the Chinese name Huangdu (later changed to Shangjing) was based in modern Inner Mongolia, not at that time part of China, it signaled a change in his conception of governance. To bolster his legitimacy and to indicate his intent to rule both sedentary agricultural and mobile pastoral societies, he began to construct a capital city in 918. He overwhelmed opposition to his plan and retained power for almost two decades, setting a precedent for a Chinese-like system, which, however, continued to be contested. ![]() Khitan precedent dictated elections every three years for a new ruler, but Abaoji rejected that custom and instead sought to impose a hereditary rather than a tribal or elective system of succession. In 907, their ruler Abaoji proclaimed himself Khaghan (“Great Khan”) of a Khitan confederation, and within a decade he adopted a Chinese title, Shenze, for his reign. By 938, when China was still disunited, the Khitan had wrested control over Sixteen Prefectures, including the area of modern Beijing.Įven earlier, they had manifested their desire to govern the Chinese regions they had seized and to establish a true dynasty. They became intent on ruling rather than plundering the territories they occupied in China. Having been influenced by the Uyghurs, the first of the pastoral peoples of Mongolia to build a capital city and to devise an administrative system, they had begun to shift from a tribal organization to a larger confederation. ![]() Indeed, the Khitan sought to take advantage of the turbulence following the collapse of the Tang dynasty (619–907). The Khitan and the Formation of the Liao Dynasty On the other hand, when China was disunited, its northern pastoral neighbors would, on occasion, capitalize on its weakness to annex Chinese territories. In those circumstances, China often provided a safety net by permitting the pastoral nomads to trade for such necessities as grain and craft articles and such luxuries as silk and tea. A devastating winter could lead to the deaths of many of their animals. Their reliance on animals in regions plagued by high winds and considerable snow and ice made them vulnerable to their capricious environment. Mentioned in the Chinese sources as early as the fourth century, C.E., the Khitan, like other pastoral nomads, depended largely on their animals for survival, though a few tribes supplemented their incomes by fishing and farming. ![]() The Liao dynasty (907–1125) of China and its successor, the Western Liao (1124–1211), were founded by the Khitan, a proto-Mongol people who were originally nomadic pastoralists residing in modern Inner Mongolia, Mongolia, Manchuria, and perhaps as far north as Lake Baikal, in modern-day Russia. A fascinating essay on governance, international relations, technology and exchange in China and its northern frontiers from 907–1123. ![]() A Chinese dynasty and kingdom existed roughly in parallel to the better-known Song Dynasty, but this one ruled by the nomadic Khitans.
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