The Liao Dynasty: A History of China

The Liao Dynasty: A History of China, PART TWO, plunges you into the lives of the people who built — and eventually lost — one of China's most remarkable empires. I wrote this book to breathe life back into their world: the Khitan steppe warriors who rode the open grasslands, the cunning ministers who navigated palace intrigue, the powerful empresses whose wills shaped policy — all the characters who turned the Liao from a frontier confederation into a dynasty that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Song. At the center of this story is Empress Xiao Yanyan, remembered both as a brilliant strategist and a ruler to be feared. As regent she took the reins during the crisis that led to the Peace of Chanyuan (1005), and her leadership in those years altered the course of East Asian politics. Beside her stands Emperor Shengzong — Yelü Longxu — who began life on the throne as a child and grew into a ruler of measured balance and endurance. Together their partnership shows how intellect and resolve guided an age defined by power, fragile peace, and ceaseless intrigue. But the empire's greatness came at a price. Inside the royal court, ambition and betrayal ran deep. A palace uprising led by a powerful grand-uncle, and the rise — then spectacular fall — of Yelü Yixin, a man as gifted as he was dangerous, show how private rivalries and calculated treachery could shake a dynasty to its core. In these pages you will meet the generals and schemers, the steadfast loyalists and the opportunists, each choice tipping the empire either toward protection or ruin. Then the tide turned. The rise of the Jurchen Jin and a fragile, short-lived alliance between Song and Jin against the Liao marked the beginning of the end for the Khitan world. When the Liao state crumbled, one commander refused to bow to history's current — Yelü Dashi.