Please enter the text Gokyo system

The Liao Dynasty successively formed the five-capital system. The five capitals www.biquge.info the pen "Fun" Pavilion are Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing (now Lindong Town, Bahrain Zuoqi, Inner Mongolia), Dading Mansion in Zhongjing (now Ningcheng County, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia), Liaoyang Mansion in Tokyo (now Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province), Xijin Mansion in Nanjing (Beijing City), and Datong Mansion in Xijing (now Datong City, Shanxi Province). Among the five capitals, only Shangjing is the capital, and the others are all accompanying capitals. In the heyday after the alliance between the Liao, Song and Song dynasties, although the political role of Zhongjing was strengthened, it still did not change the status of the capital of Shangjing.

Liao was built by northern nomads. Its nomadic life of uncertain migration and carriage and horse as his home determined the emperor's patrol system, and its political center was not in the capital, but in the bowl (Khitan "Xingzao", "Xinggong") all major political issues were decided at any time in the bowl, and it was the administrative center for handling government affairs. Due to the constraints of climate and natural conditions, each has a place to make bowls at all times.

One country, two systems

Nanjing, Liaoning

In order to rule the local Han people, Liao Taizong adopted the rule method of "governing according to customs", and implemented a bicameral system of dividing the Han and Khitan people, and the north and south officials. And changed Youzhou to Nanjing and Yunzhou to Xijing.

Liao set up a dual-track official system of southern officials and northern officials, and "governed the Khitan with the system of their own clan, and treated the Han people with the Han system". The officials in the north govern the palace tents, tribes, and the politics of the vassal countries, and the officials in the south govern the Han prefectures and counties, rents, and military horses. Most of the official names and titles follow the Tang system, with reference to the official system of the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty. There are two types of official awards: actual and remote awards. The ministry officials and the scattered officials and ranks, honors, constitutional titles, knighthoods, and the number of households in the food estate. Most of the official names of the Liao Dynasty have Khitan official names, such as Lin Ya is Hanlin, Tiyin is in charge of the imperial family politics and religion, Yi Libi is in charge of the prison, Yili is exempted from being the wife of the edict, and so on.

Liao Shizong appointed the virtuous minister Yelu Wu, carried out a series of reforms, merged the southern and northern officials during the Liao Taizong period, established the North and South Privy Councils, and abolished the southern and northern kings. Later, the North and South Privy Councils merged to form a single Privy Council. Liao Shizong's reforms brought the Liao Dynasty from the form of tribal alliances into an era of centralization.

The laws of the Liao Dynasty were governed by customs, and different laws were used in different places. In the early days, there was ethnic discrimination, and the Khitan law was also judged by Han law during the Holy Sect. This reflects the elevation of the status of the Han Chinese. Generally speaking, the punishment of the Liao Dynasty was heavier, and the emperor often killed people at will, lawless, especially Mu Zong.

Bowl system

Khitans

捺bowl, translated in Chinese as "Xingying", "Xingzhong", "Yingpan". Although the Liao Dynasty successively took Liaoshangjing and Liaozhongjing as its capital, its political core was not in the capital, but in the bowl (the transliteration of "Xingzao" and "Xinggong" in Khitan). This is because the Khitans, the main ethnic groups of the Liao Dynasty, were nomadic people. Due to the uncertain migration of the Khitan people and the characteristics of chariots and horses as their home, the emperor's patrol system was determined. All major political issues are decided at any time and are the administrative center for handling government affairs. Every year, "four o'clock patrol", "four o'clock each has a place to go, called a bowl". The emperor's tent in the safari area was set up to distinguish it from the palace tent in the imperial capital. Due to the constraints of climate and natural conditions, each has a place to make bowls at all four seasons [28]?.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Liao, after taking the sixteen states of Yanyun, his territory included the vast area south of the Great Wall, and in order to maintain the economic life of the Khitan people's traditional riding and archery warfare, they still lived a life of "migrating at any time, chariots and horses as their home". Just as recorded in the "History of Liao", "the Liao country has a desert, soaked in the realm of the Great Wall, because it is appropriate to govern, autumn and winter against the cold, spring and summer to avoid the heat, with the water and grass on the fishing, the year is normal", in this special economic, political and cultural background, in the Khitan management system, gradually formed a set of counties have a distinctive nomadic Khitan nationality unique characteristics of the four seasons bowl system. The palace tent (also known as the tooth tent) of the Khitan Emperor's four o'clock tour, that is, the spring bowl, the summer bowl, the autumn bowl, and the winter bowl[28]?.

Military Edition

Samurai of the Liao Dynasty

In its military system, the palace guards and cavalry armor in the Luduo are trained to complete the training, and the elite of the world is selected to gather in the heart, which not only serves as a defense task, but also sends troops to fight. In addition, there are tribal soldiers, Han army, Bohai navy, etc. The Khitan are nomadic people, good at riding and archery, and usually grazing, fishing, and hunting, which is not only a productive economic activity, but also a military exercise. There is a war that can be assembled into an army very quickly.

The army of the Liao Dynasty was about 200,000 to 300,000 in peacetime, while the Khitan tribe was full of soldiers, and the number of troops that the Liao could mobilize was very high in the total population, at 1,642,800 people[34]?. Because it retains the traces of primitive tribes and is in the historical stage of rapid transformation from slavery to feudalism, the military system was mostly integrated with the social system of the own nationality in the early stage.

The emperor of the Liao Dynasty personally held the supreme military power. There are North and South Privy Councils. The Northern Privy Council is the highest military administrative body, generally presided over by the Khitans, while the Southern Privy Council, also known as the Han Privy Council, is in charge of the Han people's military affairs, resulting in a situation in which the two military systems of the imperial court coexist[28]?.

The Liao army is roughly divided into the palace tent army, the tribal army, the Jingzhou army and the subordinate ****. The palace tent army, composed of strong men who collected accounts directly under the emperor, was a Khitan pro-army, which was used for guards and conquests, "taking the camp as the palace, selecting thousands of people from all departments, and placing the heart of the abdomen [34]?". The tribal army, mainly composed of strong men from tribes other than the Khitan, was used to guard the four sides. The above two types of troops are the main force of the Liao army. The Jingzhou Army, also known as the Wuzhou Township Army, is composed of strong men of the Han and Bohai ethnic groups from the prefectures and counties of Wujing Province. It is ****, which is composed of strong men of the subject country. The latter two types of troops are auxiliary forces[28]?. At the beginning of the Liao Dynasty, all aristocratic men served in the military, and the rank of the regular army between the ages of 15~50 was equipped with their own weapons and war horses [35]?. "One regular army, three horses, one grass valley, one person guarding the camp and one shop", "The men and horses do not give grain and grass, and the day is sent to beat the grass valley and ride out to plunder it" ("Liao Shi Bingwei"). Later, "along the border, each side placed Tuntian garrison, and Yitian accumulated valleys to pay the army." The Liao army was dominated by cavalry, and its main weapons were bows and arrows, swords and guns. In the later period, stone-throwing artillery was introduced from the Song Dynasty, and there was a gunner army [28]?.

Economic Editor

The Khitan people were originally nomadic people, "fish for food, fur for clothing, horses for water and grass, and people for cheese". The economic weakness of the nomads was resolved before the establishment of the Khitan state. Oases were created in the nomadic areas in an artificial way, and farming peoples were resettled in them. The Khitan people engaged in agriculture and handicrafts, all of which were introduced to the Khitan by Liao Taizu's grandfather, father and uncle, and taught weaving. Liao has set up herd herding envoys in various places to manage the livestock owned by the government. The emperor of the Liao Dynasty made agriculture and animal husbandry develop and prosper together, and each had its own place, and established a unique and relatively complete management system[28]?.

population

age

Number of households

Number of mouths

remark

The first year of the Divine Book of Taizu (916)

400,000 households

2 million people

[36]?

The first year of Emperor Taizong's reign (926)

573,000 households

2.86 million people

[37-38]?

2nd year of Mujong (952)

760,000 households

3.8 million people

[39-40]?

18th year of the Holy Reign (1000)

Unknown

6 million people

Calculated from the formula of compound interest in demographics [41]?

Middle Daoist period

970,000 households

7.5 million people

[42]?

The first year of Emperor Tianzuo (1111)

1.4 million households

9 million people

Population peak in the Liao Dynasty[38]?

agriculture

The Liao Dynasty has a complete range of crops, including grained crops such as millet, wheat, rice, and grain, as well as vegetables and fruits. They borrowed and learned from the agricultural technology of the Central Plains, introduced crop varieties, and also introduced watermelons, Uighur beans and other melon and fruit varieties from the Uighurs, and formed a set of unique crop cultivation techniques in combination with the characteristics of the northern climate. There were two types of land in the Liao Dynasty: public land and private land. The tuntian which I set up along the edge is naturally a public field. The idle fields cultivated by the people are also public fields, and the people have to pay rent to the imperial court after ten years of planting. As for the so-called "tax on land occupation", it is private land. It is estimated that most of the tuntian fields are concentrated along the northern border, while the private fields are mostly in the southern border of Liao. The Han people in the Khitan still maintained their family income by farming and weaving with men and women. At the same time, the Khitan placed the Han people captured in the war in the heart of the Khitan and established many military states. Except for a small part that needs to be paid, the rest of the income goes to the owner.

In order to encourage the people to open up wasteland, the Liao court made a rule that if the farmland was successfully developed, it could be rent-free for ten years, forming a unique Khitan mixed economy of agriculture and animal husbandry[43]?. In January 991, during the period of Liao Shengzong, "the edict exempted the tax of the three capitals and provinces, and still dismissed the fields" [44]?. In September 1075, during the reign of Liao Daozong, "with the hunger of Nanjing, the rent tax was exempted for one year, and Su Zhenzhi still paid money"[45]?. The inhabitants of the Liao Dynasty who engaged in agricultural production were incorporated into prefectures and counties, including yeoman farmers who owned a small amount of land and tenants who lived by renting landlords' land. Regardless of their economic status, they were members of the state with the status of freemen and bore the burden of state servitude. Most of the tenants of the temples were donated by nobles and bureaucrats along with the land, and they were another form of taxpayers who paid both taxes to the state and rent to the temples[28]?.

animal husbandry

The animal husbandry of the Liao Dynasty was very developed, and the pastoral economy of the Khitan people was greatly developed[46]. Animal husbandry was the source of livelihood for the Khitan and other tribesmen, and it was also the material condition for the Liao Dynasty to be strong and strong. At that time, the north of Yinshan Mountain to the Yuqu River, the Tuhe River, the Huangshui River to the Talu River, and the Erguna River basin have always had excellent pastures. The Khitan tribes and subordinate tribes were mainly engaged in nomadic herding. Sheep and horses were the main means of subsistence for the Khitan and other nomadic herdsmen: milk meat was food, fur was clothing, and horses and camels were important means of transportation. Horses are also indispensable equipment for warfare and hunting. Therefore, "the Han and Tibetan households are also superior to the amount of shepherding". Abaoji's wife, Shu Lushi, once proudly said: "I have the wealth of sheep and horses in the West Building, and my happiness is beyond poverty"[47]?. Sheep and horses were also taxes and tributes levied by the Liao Dynasty on the Khitan tribes and the northwest and northeast vassals and subordinate departments, and were important economic sources for the Liao Dynasty, so they were valued by the ruling group. The nomadic Khitans, incorporated into the corresponding tribes and Shilie, under the management of the tribal leaders, engaged in animal husbandry production on the tribal land, and bore the burden of tribal and state servitude, and could not leave the headquarters at will without the permission of the court and the tribal leaders. They were the laborers of the pastoral areas, the main bearers of pastoral production, and the subjects of the tribal aristocracy[28]?.

handicraft

Liao Dynasty porcelain

The iron smelting industry in the Liao Dynasty was well developed [48-49], and the excavated iron agricultural tools, cooking utensils, horse harnesses, and hand tools were comparable to those of the Central Plains. Liaodong was an important place for iron production in the Liao Dynasty, which promoted the development of the iron smelting industry in the Liao Dynasty. In the early days, he used to use horizontal tents and large clan slaves to place stone spirits and engage in smelting. "曷shu", that is, the Khitan "iron". During the time of the Holy Sect, due to the changes in the multiplication of household registration and production relations, the Shushu Shilie was reorganized into a ministry, and it was still endowed with iron. Liao is divided into three metallurgies in the hand mountain, the three ancient times and the Liushi River. Among them, Hand Mountain is the first mountain in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, and the history of mining and metallurgy here is from the Liao Dynasty at the latest[28]?.

The pottery of the dynasty was influenced by the Tang Dynasty, and the cultural relics unearthed from the tombs show that some Song Dynasty utensils and other utensils were imported from abroad, but. The production of gold and silver also adopts the metal beating and gilding techniques of the Tang and Song dynasties[50]?. Liao porcelain occupies an important position in the history of the development of Chinese ceramics, the shape of porcelain can be divided into two categories: the Central Plains style imitates the style of the Central Plains, there are bowls, plates, cups, saucers, bowls, boxes, pots, bottles, etc., and the Khitan style imitates the leather, wooden and other container styles used by the people, and the utensils have bottles, pots, plates, and plates, and the shape is unique [51]?. The village kiln is the largest known ancient porcelain kiln site of the Liao Dynasty, which can produce white-glazed, single-glazed and three-color glazed porcelain, as well as official kiln utensils used in the court. In the Liao Dynasty, there were a complete range of handicrafts such as gilding, silver, dyeing and weaving, horse harnessing, porcelain making, and papermaking, and the craftsmanship was exquisite[51]?.

Khitan saddle, Duan inkstone, Shu brocade, and Ding porcelain were rated as "the first in the world" by the Song people[52]?. The exquisite gold and silver artifacts unearthed from the tombs of nobles such as the tomb of Princess Chen and the concubine and the tomb of Yelu Yu all reflect the unique national characteristics and high level of craftsmanship and technology of the Khitan [53]. For example, the double monkey green glazed cockscomb pot and the dragon head green glazed cockscomb pot unearthed from the Liao Tomb in Guangde Gong Township, Wengniute Banner, Inner Mongolia are imitation Khitan leather container patterns, and traces of imitation leather sewing are made on the side of the pot body, and such pots are unique to the Khitan people's daily life utensils [53]?. The two-meter-tall porcelain statue of the Arhat, which was scattered to museums around the world and used as a symbol of the museum's scale, was a product of the Liao Dynasty and was stolen by foreigners from a cave near Yi County, Hebei Province [53]?.

commerce

With the development of agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts, exchanges have become more frequent, and commercial activities have become more and more active. In the early days, Liao Taizu built Yangcheng in the north of Tanshan, "starting to do things to pass through the city". Later, the territory was expanded, the construction was perfect, the economic component was increased, the scope was expanded, and the business also had further development. After the Liao Wujing was built one after another, they all became important commercial cities in the Liao Dynasty [28]?. The economic exchanges between the Liao Dynasty and the surrounding regimes, ethnic groups and countries were mostly carried out in the form of tribute and mutual markets. Due to the development of commerce, there was also a wealthy merchant class in the territory of the Liao Dynasty, who either did business in the five capitals, prefectures and counties, or traveled to and from the Liao, the five dynasties or the Song Dynasty, and some even became envoys to negotiate on behalf of the Liao Dynasty. Han Shixun of Xijing Naturalized Prefecture was also a merchant on the wealthy side [28]?.

The price of goods in the Liao Dynasty was very low, and although there was a tax on salt and wine, the tax rate was not consistent in various places. The prosperity of commercial trade contributed to the development of the monetary economy. According to the literature, the time of Zala, the father of Jeruabaoji, had already begun to mint money. However, the use of currency was not much, and during the time of Liao Shizong, Shangjing was still in a state of using cloth without money for trading. Different currencies were used in various places, for example, the Liao money minted by the Holy Sect before was very small, and a little more after the Holy Sect, but in the currency in circulation, the amount was still very small, less than 2 percent, the main was the Song money, followed by the Tang and the Five Dynasties and other dynasties; There was also trade with Japan, Goryeo, the Abbasids, and the Qarakhanids[43]?.

Culture Editor

The Liao Dynasty absorbed a lot of Han culture and Bohai culture. After the destruction of the Bohai Sea, a large number of Bohai remnants lived in the prefectures and counties around Liaoshangjing and Liaodong, and the more advanced Bohai culture had a relatively extensive influence on the Liao culture. According to the frequent contacts between the sixteen states of Youyun in the Han Dynasty and the Song Dynasty later, whether it was war or peacetime trade, the influence of Han culture on the Liao Dynasty was huge. Due to the translation of a large number of Chinese books, the scientific, technological, literary and historical achievements of the Central Plains people were introduced to the grassland area, which led to and promoted the development of the nomadic grassland culture. For example, Liao Taizu, the founding emperor of Liao, worshiped Confucius, and successively established schools in Shangjing, prefectures, and counties to teach Confucianism, and also established Confucius temples; Liao Shengzong often read "Zhenguan Political Dignitaries", and Taoism loved to read "Analects"; during the Liao Daozong, the Khitan called himself "Zhuxia", and Taoism said, "I cultivate cultural relics, and I am not different from China." [54]?” In terms of education, the establishment of scholars and scholars and the selection of scholars by imperial examinations [28] was implemented.

writing

Khitan mourning book cover

The literati of the Liao Dynasty wrote in both the Khitan language and a large number of Chinese. Their works include various genres such as poems, lyrics, songs, fu, essays, chapter music, and calligraphy, as well as various themes such as reminiscence, precepts, satire, and narrative. The authors include the emperor and queen, the clan, the ministers, the tribesmen, and the gentlemen and brothers. The Khitan poems have both majestic sentences and fresh and beautiful words. Liao Xingzong is also good at poetry, in 1050 the Song Dynasty made Zhao Xuan to Liao, Liao Xingzong asked for the "oath such as mountains and rivers poems" at the banquet. Among the emperors of the Liao Dynasty, the Liao Daozong had the highest literary accomplishment, good poetry, fresh and elegant works, and far-reaching artistic conception. There is "Title Li Yan Huang Ju Fu". Yelubei, the king of Dongdan in the clan, has "Musical Idyllic Poems" and "Sea Poems". Yelu Guoliu, Yelu Zizong, and Yelu Zhao brothers are all good at writing and working in the chapter, and Yelu Guo has left "Rabbit Fu" and "Song of Sleep"; during the period when Yelu Zizong was sent to Goryeo, "every time he cherishes his relatives, there are many writings", which was later compiled as "Xiting Collection"; Yelu Zhao was exiled to the northwest because of his affairs, and wrote a letter to invite Xiao Tzu Rin and Chen Anbian's strategy, and the words and gist can be called.

Xiao Guanyin, the queen of Liao Daozong, "Hunting Shu", "Huixinyuan" and the poem "Gentlemen and Ministers Comrade Huayi Tongfeng" express the political ideal of caring for the safety of the society and the lord. In addition to Wang Ding's "Burning Pepper Record", the Liao people's works that have been handed down to this day also include "Drunken Righteous Song" by Master Sigong. "The Song of Drunken Righteousness" was composed in the Khitan language, and there is a translation of Yelu Lu in the Jin Dynasty, but the original Khitan text and the translation of Ye Lu Lu have been lost, and now there is a Chinese translation of Yelu Chucai, the son of Ye Lu Lu, who has been handed down [28]?.

In terms of bibliography, Liao set up the National History Academy, which specialized in the revision of history, set up officials to supervise the cultivation of national scholars, bachelors of the history museum, and the revision of national history, and wrote 20 volumes of daily notes, calendars, actual records, and national histories, and translated many Han books into the Liao Dynasty script, such as "History of the Five Dynasties". Among them, the actual records written by the Liao Dynasty became one of the main materials of the Liao history compiled by the Yuan Dynasty [28]?.

In terms of language, both Chinese and Khitan are commonly spoken, and many documents are written in these two languages. The Liao Dynasty also appeared in the Chinese character book "Dragon Shrine Handbook", which was compiled for Buddhist believers to study Buddhist scriptures. The Khitan script is a script created by the Liao Dynasty with reference to Chinese characters to record the Khitan language, and it is divided into two forms: Khitan large characters and Khitan small characters. However, there is a lack of similar literature.

Legend has it that the Khitan characters were created in 920 by Liao Taizu's order to refer to Chinese characters for Yelu Tulu Bu and Yelu Bugu, and there should be more than 3,000 characters. The small characters are pinyin characters, with about 500 pronunciation symbols. The Khitan small characters are larger and simple, and although the original characters are few, they can penetrate all the Khitan languages. The Khitan people also had a strong influence on other ethnic groups, such as the creation of the Dangxiang script in the Western Xia, the Jurchen script in the Jin Dynasty, and the Basipa script in the Yuan Dynasty. The use of Khitan characters was not until 1191, when Jin Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty abolished [28]?.

religion

The religion of the Liao Dynasty was dominated by Buddhism and shamanism, in addition to worshipping Khitan ancestors and folk beliefs[28]?. National beliefs include the worship of Konoha Mountain, the worship of heaven and earth [28], the worship of the sun god [55], and the worship of the mountain god [56]. The worship of Konoha Mountain originates from the legend of the emergence of the Khitan ancestor and the rise of the Khitan Eight Tribes, with a shamanic cultural background [57]?. The Khitan people built the Khitan ancestral temple in Muye Mountain to worship the ancestors, and finally developed into the firewood book ceremony of the Liao Dynasty royal family.

Buddhism in the Liao Dynasty basically inherited the didactic Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty [27]. As early as the Tang Dynasty, when Tang Wuzong launched the extermination of Buddhism, because the towns of Hebei did not obey, a large number of monks and Buddhist culture flowed to Hebei, which made the local Buddhist culture flourish. In 902, Longhua Prefecture built Kaijiao Temple, which was the starting point of Buddhism in the north and Khitan. In 918, a Buddhist temple was built in Liaoshangjing, and Buddhism was gradually believed and admired by the Khitan people. In 926, after the Liao Dynasty destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, 57 people including the Bohai monk Chongwen were captured to Shangjing, and Tianxiong Temple was built. Since then, temples have also been built in Zhujing and various prefectures and counties. After the Liao Dynasty took possession of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in 938, this place gradually developed into the center of Buddhist culture, and by the late Liao Dynasty, "the number of monks and Buddhist temples crowned the north".

Liao Taizong and other Liao Dynasty emperors also adopted a policy of protecting Buddhism, and all respected Buddhism, and Buddhism flourished. When Liao Xingzong was in the time of Juehua Island, Haishan (Lang Sixiao), a monk of Haiyun Temple, had a very good relationship with Liao Xingzong [58]?. Liao Daozong once praised Fa Jun with a poem: "The peak of the line is a thousand feet of pine, and the moon of the heart of the sky is purified." "With the spread of Buddhism, by the emperor's order, the temple survey, carved and printed Buddhist scriptures and personal scriptures, fund-raising activities such as carving and printing scriptures were very active. The Danzang, Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist paintings found in the wooden pagoda of Yingxian County, Shanxi, the Buddhist scriptures found in the tower of Fengrun Tianbao Temple in Hebei, and the Buddhist scriptures found in the Buddha Relic Pagoda of the Right Banner of Bahrain, Inner Mongolia, can be called the treasures of Buddhist art [27]?. The Liao Dynasty completed the main Buddhist stone carvings led by the Great Prajna Sutra, and the Khitan Tripitaka published in the Liao Xingzong period, which was second only to the Shu version of the Tripitaka opened during the Song Dynasty and Song Taizu, occupies an important position in the history of Buddhist scriptures [28]?.

Taoism and Taoist thought also had a certain influence on the Khitans. At the beginning of the Liao Dynasty, among the Han Chinese who entered the grassland in various ways, there were some Taoist believers. For example, there is a Tianchang Temple in Shangjing, a Tongtian Temple in Zhongjing, and there are many Taoist priests and Taoist temples in some state cities. Some of the upper Khitan and Khitan tribesmen also believed in Taoism. Liao Shengzong was very interested in "Taoism and Taoism, both of which are clear about their purposes"[59]?, and his younger brother Yelu Longyu was a devout Taoist believer[60]?. Some upper-class Taoist priests were treated as well as the upper echelons of Buddhism by the emperor. Liao Shengzong once gave the Taoist priest Feng Ruogu the crown prince Zhongyun. The spread of Taoism also led to the study of Taoist classics, such as the early Liao Taoist priest Liu Haichan's "Song of Returning Dan Po Mystery" and "Returning the Gold Chapter", Yelu Bei's translation of "Yin Fu Jing", Liao Shengzong's Khotan Zhang Wenbao Zeng entered the "Neidan Book", and Master Sigong's "Song of Drunken Righteousness" also mixed with Taoist thoughts[28]?.

The Liao Dynasty also had a common ****** religion, which mainly spread eastward through the ****** Qarakhanid Kingdom in the Western Regions. In 996, the Arab scholar Nasuruddin who joined the Liao court built the Niujie Worship Temple in Nanjing, Liao (present-day Beijing)[61]?. Later, the Liao Emperor of the Western Liao Dynasty adopted a policy of tolerance and subsidence towards ****** Religion, which enabled ****** Religion to continue to develop in the Western Regions.

art

Chinese Singing and Dancing Maiden (detail)

The paintings of the Liao Dynasty have high artistic value, the Khitan people are good at painting grassland scenery and riding figures, and many accomplished painters have emerged in the Liao Dynasty, creating a large number of excellent paintings. Yelubei and the famous painters Hu Gui, Hu Qian and his sons painted many of them into the Northern Song Dynasty and were known as "divine products". Yelubei's "Shooting and Riding Picture", Hu Huan's "Zhuo Xie Picture", Anonymous's "Autumn Forest Deer Picture", "Danfeng Youlu Picture" and other famous paintings are all treasures. In addition, the more famous ones are: Yelufang has twice envoyed to the Song Dynasty, and when he saw Song Renzong, "His Majesty's speech, only one sight," that is, he copied the true face. Xiao Liang according to the "Painting Preparation" cloud: "Good reading, pro-Hanmo, You Shandanqing ......" Yu Zhongwen According to the "Illustrated Treasure Book", he is good at painting people, and he learns from Huzhou (Wentong). In addition, there are Yelu of the Khitan nationality, Xiao Shi, the concubine of the Qin and Jin dynasties, and Chen Sheng, Chang Siyan and Wu Jiuzhou of the Han nationality, who are also known as good painters [28]?.

The sculptures are strong and lifelike. The art of architecture is mainly embodied in stupas and Buddhist temples. The Jueshan Temple Tower in the West Pagoda Courtyard of Lingqiu Jueshan Temple in Shanxi Province, the Tianning Temple Tower in Beijing, the Liaoyang White Pagoda in Liaoning Province, and the Golden Pagoda in Haicheng Ximucheng are beautiful in shape, and are the outstanding representative works of the most popular dense eaves tower in the Liao Dynasty. The Guanyin Pavilion of Dule Temple in Jixian County, Tianjin, is also the strength of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, and is majestic and magnificent[28]?. Stone carvings carved in Khitan script in the Liao Dynasty. Khitan stone carvings are carved with Khitan large characters and small characters, and are generally divided into categories such as Ji Gong Monument, Temple Building, Book of Mourning, Epitaph, Inscription, etc. Khitan big-character stone carvings such as: "Liao Taizu Ji Gong Tablet" (remnant), "Da Liao Daheng Tent Lanling County Lady Jian Jing'an Temple Tablet", "Yelu Yanning Epitaph", "Xiao Xiaozhong Epitaph", "Late Taishi Inscription Stone Record" and "Peking University King Epitaph" and so on. Among them, the "Epitaph of the King of Beida" (also known as "Yelu Wanxin's Epitaph") is the most neat font in the Khitan large-character stone carving, telling the deeds of Yelu Wanxin, and this epitaph is engraved with Khitan characters and Chinese characters in the Liao Dynasty. Due to the neat lettering and the large number of words, it is conducive to the interpretation of Khitan characters [28]?.

Liao Dynasty music was deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, and on this basis, it was integrated with Khitan folk art to establish a form similar to court music. It is recorded in the "History of Liao" that the musical instruments played are: the bamboo pipe, the flute, the flute, the sheng, the pipa, the five strings, the gonghou, the zheng, the square ring, the branch drum, the second drum, the third drum, the waist drum, the big drum and the clapper, etc. Sanraku consists of 12 people and is a complete performance team. The band is in two rows, and under the third person in the front row, there is a low dancer who dances to the beat[28]?.

technology

Liao Dynasty porcelain

The Liao Dynasty also made some achievements in science and technology. The Liao Dynasty medicine was well known, and the Liao Dynasty physician Zhilugu (915-1005) wrote the "Pulse Formula" and the "Acupuncture Book", the treatment methods of which are still used in clinical practice today. At that time, there was a technology for embalming and preserving corpses, and Wen Weijian's "Facts of the Imperial Court" and "New Five Dynasties History: Siyi Appendix" and other documents all recorded the methods of the Khitan people to preserve corpses with incense, salt, alum, etc. In 1981, a relatively well-preserved dried corpse was found in the Liao Tomb of Haoying in Chayouqianqi, Inner Mongolia [28].

The astronomical calendar of the Liao Dynasty inherited the five-dynasty calendar and improved it slightly. The Liao Dynasty originally used the Yuan calendar of the Later Jin Dynasty and Ma Chongyuan, and in 995 the Ming calendar of the Liao Thorn Shi Jia Jun was used. The emperor of the Liao Dynasty attached great importance to the observation of celestial phenomena, and the people of the time connected celestial phenomena with political affairs. In 1971, the painted star map found in the Liao tomb of Xuanhua in Hebei Province depicted the 28 sutras and the 12 signs of the zodiac. In 1989, two more star maps were found in the Liao tomb in Xuanhua, which were slightly identical to the previous ones, and had 12 zodiac signs, both of which were in human shape, from which it can be seen that the astronomy of the Liao Dynasty had reached a very high level [28]?.

Diplomatic editors

Tang dynasty

The Khitan people were originally subordinated to the Tang Dynasty and were established by the Tang Dynasty as the Songmo Governorate. In the late Tang Dynasty, the Khitan State was established as an independent state, and repeatedly invaded the Hebei region. At the end of the Tang Dynasty after the Five Dynasties, Liao Taizong accepted Shi Jingjiao's request to assist him in establishing the Later Jin to replace the Later Tang Dynasty, so as to obtain the submission of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Later Jin. Soon he conquered the Central Plains in the south, and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty to establish the Liao Dynasty. At this point, the diplomatic relations between the Liao Dynasty and the Central Plains changed for the first time to a state in which the Liao Dynasty was supreme and the Central Plains was subordinate. [27]?

Song dynasty

After the decline of the Liao Dynasty, the Later Zhou and the Northern Song Dynasty successively went on a northern expedition for the sixteen states of Yanyun, and the two sides resumed the situation of confrontation. The Liao Dynasty adopted a defensive strategy and supported the Northern Han Dynasty against the Northern Expedition of the Central Plains, repeatedly resisting the attacks of the Central Plains. It was not until the time of Liao Shengzong that after full preparation, he launched the southern expedition again and led the Liao army to approach the Northern Song Dynasty's Lanzhou. Eventually, the two sides concluded the Lanyuan Alliance, which was obtained by the Liao Dynasty, and established diplomatic relations with the Northern Song Dynasty on a roughly equal footing for 120 years, and the two sides strengthened economic and trade exchanges[62]?. In 1042, Liao Xingzong took advantage of the internal and external difficulties of the Northern Song Dynasty after the Song-Xia War, led a heavy army to display the Liao-Song border, and sent Xiao Temo (Han name Xiao Ying) and Liu Liufu to the Song Dynasty to claim the ten counties of Waqiao Guannan.

The Song Dynasty sent Fu Bi to negotiate with the Liao envoys, and the two sides reached an agreement in September. In the end, 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 horses of silk were added to end the dispute over the land. Liao Xingzong also sent Yelu Renxian and Liu Liufu to make Song fight for the word "Na" again, that is, the year coin was given to Liao by Song Fang, not as a gift. Song Chen Fubi suggested that Song Renzong agree to the request, and asked the Liao Dynasty to restrain the Western Xia as a condition to destroy the relationship between Liao and the Western Xia, and finally made Liao Xingzong personally conquer the Western Xia twice, costing the people and money[27]?. In the late Liao Dynasty, the invasion of the Jin Dynasty established by the Jurchen people, coupled with internal divisions and infighting within the imperial court, made the Liao Dynasty interested in peace talks with the Northern Song Dynasty. However, the Northern Song Dynasty had already established a maritime alliance with the Jin Dynasty and jointly invaded Liao, so they refused to negotiate peace, and finally the Liao Dynasty died in the Jin Dynasty [28]?.

Korea

The Liao Dynasty came into contact with Goryeo after the destruction of the Bohai Kingdom in 926. In 942, he gave 50 camels to Goryeo, but was rejected by Goryeo Taejo. The Liao envoys were banished to an isolated island, and the camels they sent were starved to death (Wanfu Bridge Incident). So far, the Liao Dynasty has repeatedly harassed the border of Goryeo, and in 993, Liao Shengzong led a large army across the Yalu River to invade Goryeo. In the end, the two sides negotiated peace, and after Goryeo agreed to sever the alliance with the Song, Liao Shengzong led his army back to the north, and the two sides established friendly and good-neighborly relations. In 1009, there was a military mutiny in Goryeo. Liao Shengzong took the opportunity to invade Goryeo[63]?.

Northwestern States

The Liao Dynasty maintained relatively friendly and harmonious exchanges with the northwestern states. The Western Xia, the main neighbor of the Liao Dynasty to the west, had long maintained a tributary and marriage relationship with the Liao Dynasty. It was once a Liao vassal and was known as the state of nephews. The relationship between the Liao Dynasty and the countries of the Western Regions also has a long history. As early as the time of Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji, he once led an army to the west, causing the countries of the Western Regions to submit one after another[64]?. During the period of unification, the princess went out to the Western Regions, and built the city of Kedun in 1003, as an important frontier town in the northwest, after years of operation, the Liao Dynasty's sphere of influence covered the land of Monan, Mobei and the Western Regions.

The Liao government adopted a policy of "building three departments due to the relocation of the tribes" [65]?, so that these countries supervised each other and were unwilling to betray the Liao Dynasty[66]?. As a result, the Ganzhou Uighurs east of the Green Mountains, the Western Uighurs, and the Qarakhanid states west of the Green Mountains were basically close to the Liao Dynasty, and their relations with the Northern Song Dynasty were relatively sparse. In addition, Persia and Dashi in West Asia also sent envoys to communicate in the early Liao Dynasty. In the second year of Tianzan, the Persian envoy came, and in the second year, the Great Eclipse envoy came. The king of the Great Food sent an envoy to ask for the prince's marriage, but he did not agree. The following year, the repatriation envoy asked for marriage, and Liao Shengzong married him as the daughter of the clan[67]?.

Therefore, after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Western Regions, West Asia, and Eastern Europe all used the Liao Dynasty (Khitan) as the representative title of China. In the ****** military books of Central and West Asia, gunpowder and firearms passed down from China are also referred to as "Khitan flowers" and "Khitan rockets". To this day, the Khitan is still used as the name of China in the Russian national language and script[34]?.

Social editing

Scattered Chart

The society and customs of the Khitan people are different from those of the Han people. The Liao Dynasty was the same as the Central Plains in the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, which ruled the Han people, and the Khitans in the north were still living in the common world. There are many rituals and customs of the Khitan people, such as the sun worship ceremony, the firewood book ceremony, the regeneration ceremony, the mountain sacrifice, the shooting of ghost arrows, etc. The special way of life is the four o'clock "bowl", the emperor of the Liao Dynasty led the central power of the hundred officials, with the four o'clock of the year, to patrol the hunting, the location of the palace tent is the "bowl". In addition, there are living habits such as "head fish feast" and "head goose feast". The Khitan food culture adapts measures to local conditions, including candied fruits, preserved fruits, etc., which are made by soaking fruits with beeswax to facilitate preservation. In the northeast of the Qing Dynasty, there was still a custom of "soaking in honey" with Ou Li (wild fruit), and today's preserved fruits, a specialty of Beijing, are also in the same vein as the Khitan people's "honey-soaked mountain fruits" and "honey-dried mountain fruits" [68]?.

In daily life, the Khitan people have a North Asian ethnic tradition, and most of them wear sheep and fox furs. The aristocratic officials mainly wore mink fur, and wore silk clothing, and wore more decorations. Drinking alcohol and eating meat were common, and the residence was mainly in the tabernacle, and some lived in the palace. Wrestling, juju (kicking a ball), willow shooting, rabbit shooting, Go and back-and-back are all amateur activities of the Liao people. Regarding the festival customs, both the Liao and Han dynasties have them, and the old Khitan customs are still the mainstay. For example, on New Year's Day, weak rice and white sheep pith are used as cakes. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people eat pancakes, which are called "Xuntian cakes". Others are Zhonghe, Shangsi, Dragon Boat Festival, Summer Solstice, Zhongyuan, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongjiu, Winter Solstice, etc., all of which are directly or indirectly introduced from the Central Plains, and the festival customs are basically the same. However, there are also some festivals, which, although the name is the same, retain the customs and rituals inherent in the Khitan [68]?.

The Khitan people had the custom of drinking tea during the Five Dynasties, and the tea wind was becoming more and more intense, and every household could not go without tea for a day, which was closely related to their daily dietary structure and the cold and windy geographical environment. When the court encounters major festivals, it tastes tea to worship the ancestors and sacrifices to the world, entertains guests and envoys, and has a set of grand and standardized etiquette.

The festivals of the Khitan people include the beginning of spring, Chongwu, summer solstice, Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Festival, etc. On the day of the beginning of spring, the palace holds a celebration ceremony. The emperor entered the inner hall and led his ministers to worship the portraits of their ancestors and offer wine. The emperor poured incense in front of the earth ox, drank wine three times, and played music. Then take a colored rod and whip the earthen ox. The director reported the spring solstice, and the ministers also held a colored cane to whip the earth ox for three weeks, and then introduced the festival degree to make the above officials ascend the temple, scatter grain, beans, hit the earth ox, and the ministers sat down in turn, drank wine, ate spring plates, and drank tea "History of Liao".

According to the "Liao History: Lizhi": "The emperor and queen bow six times, and the incumbents all bow down." The emperor and queen were reinstated, and they were ordered to serve two pieces of tea and fruit cakes and bait, and lay down the position of the god of heaven and earth (that is, the god of the earth).

Song envoy to ...... The ministers stand up, the imperial tea comes out, the emperor rises, enters the cabinet, and leads the ministers to the east and west steps down the hall...... The ministers bow and worship, saying long live, praise: each sitting, praise! (praise: that is, praise) The two corridors are the same from the people, and the line is single (dòn, thick meaning, by extension, thick) tea, wine, food, and fruit. ”

In 1994, the Liao tomb group was found in the Xuanhua area of Hebei Province, among which the murals of the No. 6, 7 and 10 tombs were painted with tea ceremony procedures for grinding tea, boiling tea, and serving tea, which proved that the Khitan nobles were very fond of tea.

During the Five Dynasties, Liao and the Southern Tang Dynasty had the closest contacts. In 938 (the first year of the meeting), Liao sold 30,000 sheep and 200 horses to the Southern Tang Dynasty, and bought back Luo, Xuan, tea, medicine and other materials at their value. The two sides also traded frequently by water and land, and exchanged a lot of tea, but unfortunately there is no exact record in history. Later Tang opened horse markets in Dengzhou (present-day Penglai, Shandong) and other places to trade with Liao. In 931 (the second year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty), the Khitan "Heishui Waerbu went to Dengzhou to sell horses" to exchange the tea needed.

The trade between Liao and Song began to be carried out intermittently in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty. The tea needed by Liao was obtained through gifts and trade channels from the Song side. According to the "Khitan National Chronicles": Song "to Beizhou (Hebei) to give tea and medicine a silver box", while Liao "non-group tea is not accepted, non-small group is not expensive".

After the Liao and Song Dynasty entered a period of peace, the two sides reached an agreement to open four fields on the border of Hebei: Xiongzhou (Xiongxian), Bazhou (Baxian), Ansu Army (Xushui), and Guangxin Army (northwest of Baoding), with Xiongzhou Rongchang being the most important. The commodities exported by the Song Fang include: tea, porcelain, linen, lacquerware, silk, incense, sumu and so on. The commodities exported by the Liao side are: sheep, horses, camels, etc. The Song Dynasty adopted a preferential policy of "slightly better value for Liao's trade". The Song side exported processed products, and the Liao side was mostly livestock husbandry, so the trade of the field was beneficial to the Song side, and the monopoly tax collected from the field reached 1.5 million yuan every year. Big profit. The Liao side of the "Three Dynasties and Northern Alliance" also received a large amount of tax revenue in trade, and both sides benefited. In addition to official trade, the private smuggling trade is also active, and although there are bans, they do not stop.

The Khitan people treat guests with "soup first and then tea", which is the opposite of the Song people's "sip tea when guests arrive, and sip soup when they go". The soup is made with a decoction of licorice in traditional Chinese medicine, and the group tea is sawed and broken "with silver and copper pots to simmer directly on the stove mouth" to boil and drink, and the rich and poor cannot go without tea for a day. [69]