Liao Dynasty 

Liao dynasty (916 - 1125) and Jin Dynasty (1115 - 

1234)

 

 

The Chinese wall was not made for fun. The nomads from north had been a real treat that had shaked Chinese rules for hundreds of years. The Wall had been maintained and expanded all up to the Song Dynasty but gradually lost its importance due to military tactics and strategies. Although a useful deterrent against raids, at several points throughout its history the Great Wall failed to stop enemies.

The Khitan people under the successful leadership of Abaoji, had already established a Liao-state during the collapse of Tang China in the 9th century. Almost immediately after its founding, the Khitan Empire began a process of territorial expansion. The Liao dynasty  was going to be the first Mongolian invasion into the northern part of China. However the southern part of China was not  taken and continued as the Southern Song Dynasty until the final capture by the Mongols in 1279.

Tension between traditional Khitan social and political practices and Chinese influence and customs was a defining feature of the dynasty. This tension led to a series of succession crises; Liao emperors favored the Chinese concept of primogeniture,while much of the rest of the Khitan elite supported the traditional method of succession by the strongest candidate. So different were Khitan and Chinese practices that Abaoji set up two parallel governments. The Northern Administration governed Khitan areas following traditional Khitan practices, while the Southern Administration governed areas with large non-Khitan populations, adopting traditional Chinese governmental practices.

Differences between Chinese and Khitan society included gender roles and marital practices: the Khitans took a more egalitarian view towards gender, in sharp contrast to Chinese cultural practices that segregated men's and women's roles. Khitan women were taught to hunt, managed family property, and held military posts. Many marriages were not arranged, women were not required to be virgins at their first marriage, and women had the right to divorce and remarry.

 

There are no good images of Liao rulers, but this tomb painting expresses how a Kithan man looked like.

The Liao dynasty was destroyed by the Jurchen people of the Jin dynasty in 1125. Although cultural achievements associated with the Liao dynasty are considerable, and a number of various statuary and other artifacts exist in museums and other collections, major questions remain over the exact nature and extent of the influence of the Liao Khitan culture upon subsequent developments, such as the musical and theatrical arts. The Jin dynasty, officially known as the Great Jin, lasted from 1115 to 1234 as one of the last dynasties in Chinese history to predate the Mongol invasion of China.