The Liao Dynasty: A History of China

The Liao Dynasty: A History of China, PART ONE, takes you on a sweeping journey across the vast northern grasslands where the Khitan rose from scattered clans to forge an empire that stood shoulder to shoulder with the great Song dynasty. This book traces how courage, cunning, and unbridled ambition turned nomadic bands into one of China's most remarkable and enduring states — a chapter of history too often left in the shadows. The tale opens with the origins of the Khitan, a people whose character was carved by wind, sky, and steppe. From those harsh beginnings emerged Yelü Abaoji — the unifier of the tribes and the founder recognized as Liao's first ruler — whose leadership set the Khitan on the path from tribal confederation to imperial state. Under his impetus the Khitan began to develop a written tradition (later manifested in the two Khitan scripts) and to build a structure of government that reached far beyond the grasslands. At his side was Han Yanhui, a brilliant adviser whose diplomatic and administrative talents helped weave Khitan strength together with Chinese institutional wisdom, proving that empire could be built not only by warriors, but by thinkers. Then came Empress Shulü Ping — fierce, unbending, a force of will who pushed her son, Yelü Deguang (Emperor Taizong), into power. Under Taizong the Liao swept their influence deep into the Central Plains, intervening in dynastic struggles, toppling regimes, and redrawing the political landscape of East Asia. His alliances and rivalries — most famously his pact with Shi Jingtang, who leaned on Liao support to found the Later Jin and paid for it with territory and obligations — altered the fate of the whole region. These were not mere names carved in stone; they were living, breathing people who staked everything on survival and glory. History's wheel, of course, kept turning.