[18]There were eight Khitan tribes: the Xiwandan, Hedahe (Adahe), Fufuyu (Jufufu), Yuling (Yuyuling), Rilian, Piqie (Pilier), Li (black), and Tuliuhan (Tuliuyu).

Kuge was appointed the Governor-general of Songmo and several prefectures were set up for Khitan tribes: Qiaoluo for the Daji, Tanhan for the Hebian, Wufeng for the Duhuo, Yuling for the Fenwen, Rilian for the Tubian, Tuhe for the Ruixi, Wandan for the Zhuijin, Pili for the Fu.

[28] The Tang emperor bestowed the Chinese surname Li on the Dahe and appointed their leader to a governorship that was "an office specifically created for the indirect management of the Khitan tribes".

An had a Khitan eunuch named Li Zhuer who worked for him as a teenager but An Lushan used a sword to sever his genitals and he almost died after losing multiple pints of blood.

Two years later, the Liao court was moved to the "Supreme Capital" (Shangjing), a newly built walled city with a grand park and imperial tents where the Chinese palaces would normally be located.

[55] In a conversation with Yao Kun, an envoy from Later Tang, Abaoji said he spoke Chinese but did not speak it in the presence of other Khitans, because he feared that they would emulate the Han and grow soft.

Chinese-style primogeniture was also not a custom among the Khitans, who had elected their leader since the time of the Dahe Confederation, which was why Abaoji had them swear allegiance to Yelü Bei when he announced him as heir apparent.

[64] Bei's mother, Shulü Ping, who was exceptionally powerful in her own right, commanding thousands of horsemen and leading troops on campaign, took control of all military and civil affairs as regent, after having cut off her right hand to be buried with her husband.

Having brought inadequate supplies, the Khitans wantonly looted the city and plundered the countryside provisions, and imposed harsh levies on the local populace, causing them to become resentful and attack them.

Rather than stay and govern the conquered city, the Khitans decided to ship everything of value, from Jin officials and palace women to maps and music instruments, back to the Supreme Capital.

The deadlock was resolved by a royal cousin named Yelü Wuzhi and ultimately Lihu, who the Khitan nobility viewed as cruel and spoiled, was unable to gain enough support to further challenge Shizong.

Although ruling for only four years, Shizong oversaw the formalization of the dual government system, which brought the structure of the Southern Establishment closer to the model used by the Tang dynasty.

In 986, Emperor Taizong of Song conducted a three-pronged invasion and quickly overwhelmed the Khitan border defenses, but the tide turned as they ventured deep into enemy territory.

After the initial battles, the Khitans made steady southward progress before reaching the Cheongcheon River, at which point they called for negotiations with Goryeo military leadership.

In January 1005, the two sides signed the Chanyuan Treaty, which stipulated that the Song would give the Liao 200,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 ounces of silver each year, that the two emperors would address each other as equals, that they would finalize the location of their disputed border, and that the two dynasties would resume cordial relations.

He imprisoned minister Xiao Xiaoxian and his wife, killed the tax commissioners and chief military commander, and declared his own Xing Liao dynasty.

For his part in defeating the coup, Zhongyuan was given the title of "Imperial Younger Brother" and filled a succession of high ranking posts: commander in chief, northern commissioner of military affairs, and viceroy of the Southern Capital.

In the late 1030s, Xingzong asked his ministers for advice on dealing with growing distress, impoverishment, internal discontent, and banditry due to excessive demands for corvée and military service.

The Khitans blamed Yuanhao for instigating the rebellion and immediately sent an invasion force led by Zhongyuan and the northern commissioner for military affairs Xiao Hui.

[128] Vast territory, few people, only an occasional hostel stop.Mountains and scenery much unlike the splendour of the Central Kingdom.Along the road of white sands leading away from Yuanyangpo,The flowers and shrubs, though fragrant, give us no joy.Envoys of Han, nightly we sleep in the lamplight of felt tentsWhile the rocky cliffs of these borderlands inspire the flautists.During our return I take up a mirror to view my countenanceAnd tremble to discover more greying hair at my temples.

For the next 15 years, Yixin exercised unrivaled influence in court and acted opportunistically to advance self-interest, selecting corrupt and worthless men for office, taking bribes, and allowing the military to do anything they wanted.

In 1074 the scholarly official Yelü Shuzhen suggested adopting Han style surnames for all Khitan tribes, which Daozong rejected, declaring that "the old order should not be changed suddenly".

After I crossed the border with my retinue [while on a diplomatic mission], I witnessed [Liao's] wise, old officials … all speaking of our [two courts’] friendship, with a deep sigh, as something unprecedented since antiquity.

One of the reception officials was [promoted to] deputy Hanlin commissioner even before we reached the Great Tent [of the Liao emperor] … Everybody said it was in recognition of his work receiving the southern envoy.

The situation on the northwestern borderland was less stable and events toward the end of Daozong's reign would see the subjugation of the Zubu tribes, some of whom lived in Liao territory but had long resisted Khitan rule.

In early 1116 another rebellion occurred at the Eastern Capital when a Balhae officer named Gao Yongchang declared himself emperor of the Yuan dynasty and requested aid from the Jin.

In 1118 Tianzuo initiated peace negotiations, but the Jin demands were so onerous, requesting half of the Liao empire in addition to payments of silk and silver, that they were impossible to meet.

[206] The influence of the Liao dynasty on subsequent culture includes a large legacy of statuary art works, with important surviving examples in painted wood, metal, and three-color glazed sancai ceramics.

[207][208] Another influence of the Liao cultural tradition is seen in the Yuan dynasty's zaju (雜劇) theater, its associated orchestration, and the qu (曲) and sanqu (散曲) forms of Classical Chinese poetry.

[210]The Chinese state news agency Xinhua announced in January 2018 that the ruins in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, of an ancient palace that served as the summer retreat for the royal family and retinue of the Liao dynasty, had been discovered.