1994/11/25 by Denis Twitchett, Klaus-Peter Tietze · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Chinese history and philosophy #Eurasian Exchange Networks #China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations #Reign #Ancient history #Annals #Throne #China #Spring and Autumn period #History #Period (music) #Tribe #Dominance (genetics) #Geography #Archaeology #Politics #Philosophy #Law #Political science
paper · doi:10.1017/chol9780521243315.003
openalex publication_date 1994/11/25 · openalex created_date 2022/02/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The founding of the Liao dynasty at the beginning of the tenth century opened a second period of extensive foreign dominance in China. The name of the Khitan, the founders of the Liao dynasty, became a synonym for China. In 906 or 907 when the last Yao-lien khaghan, Hen-te-chin or Ch'in-te, was deposed because of his ineffectual leadership, the leaders of the eight tribes elected in his place the commander in chief of the confederation's forces, A-pao-chi, the chieftain of the I-la tribe. The basic annals of the Liao shih tell us that A-pao-chi "ascended the imperial throne" and founded a dynasty of his own in 907. For the Liao, their state was an invaluable buffer zone and a strategic stronghold from which any attempt by the Sung to strike into the occupied prefectures of northern Ho-pei could easily be outflanked. The reign of Sheng-tsung was the crucial period in the development of the Liao.