Western Xia (1038-1227), also known as Bangni Dingguo. "Bang Ni Dingguo" was first seen in the letter of founding of the country handed by the envoy of the Western Xia Dynasty to Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty: "The male Bang Ni Dingguo Wu Shu Xiao Shangshu Father Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty". This country name may be a literal translation of the Dangxiang language, which translates as "Bai Gaoguo" or "Bai Shangguo". Regarding the meaning of "Baigao", one says that Baigao refers to the upper reaches of the Baihe River, which originates in the Baishui in the northwest of present-day Sichuan, and refers to the Songpan Plateau, the birthplace of the Dangxiang people; It is a Buddhist kingdom established by the Dangxiang people in Chinese history, mainly with the Dangxiang people as the main body, including the Han, Uighur and Tubo ethnic groups. Because it is located in the northwest of China, it is known as Western Xia. Guozuo 189 years. In the end, it was destroyed in Yuan.

Western Xia was a Buddhist kingdom that built a large number of pagodas and Buddhist temples, with the Chengtian Temple Pagoda being the most famous. However, it was also an empire that advocated Confucianism and Han law, and actively sinicized before the founding of the country; although Xia Jingzong advocated the party, Tibetan and Uighur culture in order to maintain his own culture, and established measures such as the Western Xia language, the establishment of Fan officials, and the establishment of Fan customs, but since Xia Yizong to Xia Renzong, the Western Xia has changed from the Fan and Han counterparts to the general sinicization. The literary aspect is dominated by poetry and proverbs. In terms of art, there are abundant Buddhist murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Anxi Yulin Grottoes, which have the characteristics of "green murals". In addition, it is unique in terms of sculpture, music and dance.

The historical roots of Western Xia can be traced all the way back to the early Tang Dynasty. Dang Xiang is a branch of the Qiang nationality, and the Sui book uploads "Dang Xiang Qiang, after the three seedlings". During the Tang Dynasty, Dangxiang Qiang and Tuyuhun, who lived on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often united against the powerful Tibetans. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun was destroyed by Tubo, and the Dangxiang Qiang, who had lost its dependence, requested to be attached to it, and was placed in Songzhou (now Songpan, Sichuan) by the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty, Dang Xiangqiang, who lived in the southeast of Qinghai and the south of Gansu, was very afraid of the Tibetan army that was looting and killing everywhere, so he asked Tang Xuanzong for help and was moved to Qingzhou (now Qingyang, Gansu). After the Anshi Rebellion, Guo Ziyi was afraid of these foreign troubles, and suggested that the Tang Dynasty Sect move the Tuoba Chaoguang Department in Qingzhou to the north of Yinzhou (now Yulin, Shaanxi) and the east of Xiazhou (now Hengshan, Shaanxi) (equivalent to the southeast of Ordos, Inner Mongolia), this area was the old land of the "Great Xia" of the Huns during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which was called Pingxia at that time, so this part of the Dangxiang Qiang became the Pingxia Department, that is, the ancestors of the Western Xia royal family in the future.

During the Tang Dynasty, Tuoba Sigong, the leader of the Party Department, was named the envoy of the Xiazhou Festival by the imperial court, and because of the meritorious work of the Huangchao Uprising, he once recovered Chang'an, and was given the surname Li again, and was named the Duke of Xia. Since then, Tuoba Sigong and his descendants surnamed Li have become local feudal forces with Xia Guogong. This part of the Dangxiang Qiang armed forces was also known as the Dingyan Army, and its sphere of influence was centered in Xiazhou, including the four prefectures of Xia, Sui, You, and Yinzhou (that is, the southern region of present-day Ordos).

The districts are all known as the private domains of the Tuoba clan.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, no matter who was in power in the Central Plains, the Li clan (Tuoba clan) was "bowed down to the vassals", in exchange for the dominance of the place and a large number of rewards. After more than 200 years of construction, the Pingxia area is very rich, with the fertile pastures of the Jinze area as the core in the south of Ordos, and the agricultural area represented by Qiliping at the junction of the Xia and Song dynasties, the agricultural area provides a large number of cattle and sheep grain and grass for the Western Xia, and at the same time, Ordos is also rich in the best green salt that can be used as currency at that time, and the annual output can reach about 15,000 Hu, so the Pingxia Department of Dangxiang Qiang can be said to have soldiers, horses, grain and money, the time and place are favorable, and the power is gradually expanded. However, the ambition of the Li family has not been great, it is nothing more than willing to be a prince, although Song Taizu has cut the military power of the feudal town, but he is still lenient to the ethnic minorities in the northwest, "Xu Zhi hereditary". When the Xiazhou Festival brought Li Jitou to power, the situation changed.

In the seventh year of the Taiping Rejuvenation (982 AD), Zhao Guangyi reduced the military power of the feudal town and brought the Li family to the capital, preparing to eradicate the entrenched power in the northwest. Li Jishou's brother is named Li Jiqian, with extraordinary ambitions, and he knows that once he enters Beijing, it is tantamount to Jiaolong losing water, and there is no possibility of turning the tables. Therefore, he fled under the pretext of escape into the vast grassland. At this time, the Song Dynasty thought that the escaped small bandit gang had no ability and could not toss, but Li Jiqian was very politically savvy, and even married several local powerful daughters as wives and concubines, and suddenly became relatives with local leaders, and his power gradually grew.

In the second year of Yongxi (985 AD), Li Jiqian and his brother Li Jichong booby-trapped the Song general Cao Guangshi, occupied Yinzhou, broke through Huizhou (now Jingyuan, Gansu), and fell out with Song. In the second year of Dao (996 AD), Li Jiqian intercepted 400,000 grain and grass from the Song army, and sent a large army to surround Lingwu City. Song Taizong was furious and sent the Fifth Route Army to attack Xia, both north. After the collapse of Taizong of the Song Dynasty, Song Zhenzong ascended the throne, and in order to calm the people, he ceded Xia, Sui, Yin, You (Jingbian, Shaanxi), and Jing (Shaanxi Mizhi) to Li Jiqian, in fact, recognized the independent status of Western Xia.

In the fifth year of Xianping of Song Zhenzong (1002 AD), Li Jiqian led the tribes to capture Lingzhou, an important town of the Song Dynasty, and changed its name to Xiping Mansion, and then captured Liangzhou, an important town in the northwest, cut off the trade route between the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions, cut off the tribute from the Western Regions to the Song Dynasty, and at the same time forbade the Western Regions to sell horses to the Song Dynasty, which seriously affected the national defense and military construction of the Song Dynasty. When he was in alliance with the Tibetans, Li Jiqian was plotted by the Tibetans, was wounded by a crossbow shot, and died of his injuries at the age of 42.

After Li Deming ascended the throne, he devoted himself to the development of the Hexi Corridor, attacking Tibet in the south and the Uighurs in the west, greatly expanding the living space of the Dangxiang Qiang people, and in 1019, Li Deming selected Huaiyuan Town (now Yinchuan, Ningxia) as the capital and renamed Xingzhou. He still paid tribute to the Song and Liao externally, but internally he was completely imperial.

In 1032, Li Deming's son Li Yuanhao succeeded to the throne of Xia and began to actively prepare to break away from the Song Dynasty. He first abandoned the surname Li and called himself Wei Ming. In the second year, in the name of avoiding his father, he changed the name of Song Mingdao to Xiandao. began the Western Xia's own era name. In the following years, he built a palace, established civil and military classes, stipulated the service of officials and the people, fixed the military system, established the name of the army, created his own national script (Western Xia script), and issued the bald hair decree. He also sent a large army to capture the three strategic points of Guazhou, Shazhou (now Dunhuang, Gansu), and Suzhou (now Jiuquan and Jiayuguan, Gansu). In this way, Yuan Hao already owned the lands of Xia, Yin, Sui, You, Jing, Ling, Hui, Sheng, Gan (now Zhangye, Gansu), Liang (now Wuwei, Gansu), Gua, Sha, and Suzhou, that is, all of today's Ningxia, most of Gansu, northern Shaanxi, eastern Qinghai and parts of Inner Mongolia.

On October 11, 1038, Li Yuanhao was proclaimed emperor and founded the country as Great Xia. The Song court was extremely angry, and the relationship between the two sides officially broke down. In the following years, Yuan Hao successively launched four major battles, including the Battle of Sanchuankou, the Battle of Haoshuichuan, the Battle of Linfufeng, and the Battle of Dingchuanzhai, annihilating tens of thousands of elite people in the northwest of the Song army. And in 1044, in the Battle of Hequ, he defeated Liao Xingzong with 100,000 elite royal drivers, and completely established the pattern of Song, Liao, and Xia. At this time, the total strength of the Western Xia was about 500,000.

After the defeat of Song Liao, Yuan Hao was indispensable, increasingly tyrannical and indulgent, and even took his son Ning Lingge's wife as a concubine, in 1048 Lantern Festival, because of the hatred of taking his wife, Yuan Hao's son Ning Lingge waved a knife and cut off all the nose of his father Yuan Hao, Yuan Hao died of extreme pain and blood, at the age of 46. Yuan Hao's son Liangzuo inherited the throne, and after his death, he ascended the throne by Zi Bingchang, at this time the political situation in Western Xia was in turmoil, and Song Shenzong thought that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, and sent troops to attack Xia in five ways, preparing to recover Lingwu. However, there were many defeats and few victories, especially in the two battles of Lingzhou and Yongle City, which lost more than 600,000 soldiers and civilians, and spent no money on military expenses. The national strength of the Western Xia side also suffered a big loss. After the rise of the Jurchens, the Western Xia captured the Dingbian Army of the Song Dynasty (present-day Wuqi, Shaanxi) and declared themselves vassals to the Jin State. The emperor of the Jin Dynasty was happy to reward the Western Xia king Qianshun with the Xixia Dynasty (Qinghai Ledu), Jishi Prefecture (now Qinghai), the hometown of the Western Xia, and the territory of the Western Xia reached its peak. After the rise of the Mongols, they always regarded the Western Xia as a thorn in their side (first, the Western Xia occupied Heishui City, the passage for the northern barbarians to invade the Central Plains; second, the Western Xia controlled the wealth of the Hetao and the Hexi Corridor area), and used it as a training ground, constantly sending troops to attack and harass assaults and train troops. In 1227, the Western Xia finally fell, and the Mongol soldiers still dug three feet of ground near the tomb of the Western Xia king, and destroyed everything, so that since the Ming Dynasty, no dynasty has obtained many valuable items near the tomb of the Western Xia king. In 1227, Li surrendered to the Mongols. After the death of Genghis Khan, he did not mourn secretly, so as not to regret the Western Xia. After Li surrendered, he was killed according to Genghis Khan's will, and the Mongol general Chahan worked hard to avoid the fate of Yinchuan from slaughtering the city, and entered the city to pacify the soldiers and civilians in the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were preserved, and the Western Xia perished.

In 1288, Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, went to the twenty-fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty and changed Zhongxing Mansion to Ningxia Road.

Another theory is that the Western Xia royal family was descended from the Xianbei tribe. Li Yuanhao, the founding monarch of Western Xia, claimed to be the Xianbei of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

On the "History of the Song Dynasty" volume 485 "The Biography of the Xia Kingdom", Yuan Hao wrote the seal of Song Renzong: "The ancestors of the ministers were originally out of the emperor, when the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the beginning of the Later Wei Dynasty." "History of Liao" volume 115 "Western Xia Waiji": "After the Wei Tuoba clan of the Western Xia. "History of Jin" volume 134 "Biography of Western Xia": "The founding of the country of Xia is old, and its minister Luo Shichang recounts the times, saying that the Yuan and Wei dynasties are declining, and those who live in Songzhou are because of the old surname as the Tuoba clan. ”

Xinhua News Agency, February 29, 08: Archaeologists recently discovered a cemetery of the Li family of the Tuoba Department in Paiziwan Village, Narinhe Township, Wushen Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In the cemetery of the Li family of the Tuoba Department from the fifth dynasty to the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, several very precious epitaphs were unearthed. The epitaph uses a large paragraph of text to describe the origin of the Li family of the Tuoba Department, and clearly states that his family is "the great family of the native Hakka, and the Xin of the Later Wei Dynasty". The Li family of the Tuoba Department is "a big family that moved here later, and is the descendant of the Northern Wei Dynasty", which once again linked the Dangxiang Tuoba Department and the Xianbei Tuoba together.

The rulers of the Xia Kingdom attached great importance to the manufacture of weapons. Jingzong once set up a forging workshop behind the east wing of his official hall. The types of weapons include bows and arrows, guns, swords, shovels, 61, catties, axes, knives, etc., which are skillful and of high quality. The armor pieces are made by cold forging process, which is smooth and crystalline, and cannot be penetrated by ordinary arrows and crossbows. The sword cast by Xia Guo has the reputation of "the first in the world". However, due to the scarcity of metal resources, they could not support themselves, so they often sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to buy weapons, or to build the purchased iron on the spot and then ship it back to their home countries.