FILE PHOTO: A bronze token engraved with Khitan script, translated as “Tianyun Army,” meaning that it was used for the mobilization of the Tianyun Army by the Khitan court

The Liao Dynasty (916–1125), established by the Khitan people who were descended from the Xianbei, endured for 218 years under the reign of nine emperors. In 907, Yelü Abaoji became the leader of the Khitan tribal confederation; by 947, Liao forces had moved south to the Central Plains, capturing Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng, Henan). Yelü Deguang ascended the throne in Bianjing and renamed the country “Greater Liao.” This dynasty was ultimately overthrown by the Jin Dynasty in 1125. At its height, the Liao’s territory extended from the Sea of Japan in the east, to the Altai Mountains in the west, from the Greater Khingan Mountains in the north, and to southern Hebei in the south.

Khitan scripts and Buddhism

The Khitan scripts are among the most difficult ancient scripts to decipher in China, primarily due to the absence of living linguistic resources. After the 14th century, the Khitan people had ceased to exist as a distinct ethnic group, and their language had long since vanished. Today, researchers studying the Khitan scripts often rely on related languages from the Altaic language family. However, extensive interpretative practices suggest that Khitan was an independent language, exhibiting significant differences from any known language within the Altaic family.

The Yuan attributed the fall of the Khitan state entirely to the influence of Buddhism, which, though somewhat exaggerated, highlights the significant impact Buddhism had on this minority regime over its more than 200 years of existence. In the early Liao Dynasty, the Khitan emperor sought to solidify his rule by effectively integrating various ethnic groups, especially the numerically larger Han Chinese population. Thus, Buddhism emerged as a unifying psychological bond among diverse ethnicities. The Khitan nobility displayed a great reverence for Buddhism, providing substantial financial support and granting privileges to monasteries and monks. Monastic groups became a special social class, enjoying respect and high status.

Sinicization of the Khitan people

As one of China’s ancient northern ethnic groups, the Khitan had contact with the Han people as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, gradually absorbing and being influenced by Central Plains culture. By the Liao period, the Khitan’s assimilation into Central Plains and Confucian culture reached its zenith, fostering substantial developments in politics, economics, and culture.

Before adopting Han culture, the Khitan were nomadic people. The increasingly frequent mid-Tang rebellions provided the Khitan an opportunity for growth. Simultaneously, many Han people, unable to withstand the turmoil, migrated across the Great Wall into the Khitan’s traditional territory along the Liao River, leading to the emergence of agricultural production within Khitan society. Abaoji initiated a transformation of the Khitan’s traditional pastoral lifestyle by learning from agrarian societies, implementing a series of reforms to the Khitan’s nomadic rule, and establishing urban systems. He emulated Han culture by introducing surnames and encouraging intermarriage with Han people, along with employing Han intellectuals to carry out a series of Sinicization reforms.

Folk customs

The nomadic Khitan people traditionally lived in tents, a practice developed over their long nomadic lifestyle that allowed for easy relocation. Around 1008, Lu Zhen, on a diplomatic mission to the Khitan, observed that in Liao Zhongjing capital [in present-day Chifeng, Inner Mongolia], there were no fixed residences. As a result, he and his delegation had to stay in tents just outside the city during their mission.

Khitan diets primarily consisted of dairy, beef and mutton, with wild boar, deer, rabbit, goose, and fish also serving as significant food sources. Cow and sheep milk, along with dairy products, were their main beverages and staples.

The Liao period included many festivals closely tied to religion and nomadic life. The day of “Fang Tou,” also known as the “Stealing Day,” was a unique ethnic celebration during the Liao and Jin periods, occurring from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month, during which citizens were allowed to steal up to a specified amount without penalty.

One notable marriage custom among the Khitan was that unions between close relatives were not prohibited. Historical records indicate that within the intermarriages of the two major Khitan clans, Yelü and Xiao, marriages between uncles and nieces, as well as cousins of various generations, were quite common. For example, Yelü Abaoji and his wife, Empress Chunqin, had a daughter named Zhigu. It is recorded that Zhigu was married to her uncle Xiao Shilu, the younger brother of Empress Chunqin. In 1018, a Liao Dynasty princess died at the tender age of 18 and was laid to rest beside her husband. Their resting place was discovered by archaeologists in 1986. Research suggests that the princess, whose paternal grandfather was the fifth emperor of Liao, was also married to her maternal uncle, Xiao Shaoju.

According to Confucian ethics, such marriages would be considered incestuous and strictly prohibited. However, over time, Han people in Liao territory, influenced by Khitan marriage customs, gradually accepted this practice.

Another prevalent marriage tradition among the Khitan stipulated that a man could marry multiple sisters either simultaneously or successively. This custom evolved such that a widower, upon remarrying, must marry the unmarried sister of his deceased wife; likewise, the unmarried sister of a wife must marry her sister’s husband. This custom also influenced the Han people in Liao territory and continued to influence Han populations in northeastern China centuries after the fall of the Liao.