As we all know, the Khitans established the Liao State and were glorious for a while, creating a grand territory. However, with the decline of the Liao State, this once powerful nation seems to have disappeared without a trace in the long river of history.
Where did the 1.5 million Khitans go after the fall of Liao? It is a mystery that has puzzled historians and archaeologists for years, and through in-depth research and archaeological discoveries, today we can finally unravel this mystery.
Today, let's trace the footsteps of the Khitan people to understand their fate and see how they continue to write the history of the Khitan people in different regions.
The rise and fall of the Liao State
Since the 10th century, the wars between the Khitan tribes in the northern steppes have been continuous, and the people have suffered from wars.
He was a valiant and wise leader who knew the importance of unification and led the Khitans through a series of battles.
The establishment of the Liao State was not an easy task, and Yelu Abaoji led his subordinates across countless mountains and rivers to conquer one tenacious tribe after another.
In every battle, he personally went into battle and rushed to the front of the team, and his brave spirit inspired the warriors behind him to move forward fearlessly, and finally unified the tribes and established the Liao State after numerous victories, marking the end of the long period of infighting and the beginning of a new era for the Khitans.
After the death of Yelu Abaoji, his descendants continued to rule the Liao State, and the country slowly entered its heyday. The army of the Liao State was well-equipped and had strong combat effectiveness, and its territory was constantly expanding with foreign expansion, and at its peak, the territory stretched from the sea in the east to the quicksand in the west, and the Great Wall in the south and the desert in the north.
In the military, the "dual control system" was implemented, that is, the emperor and the empress jointly managed the affairs of the state, and the military and political division of labor was clear, which was a very advanced system at that time.
The economy also developed rapidly, and the rulers attached importance to agricultural production, built water conservancy, popularized agricultural tools, and encouraged farmers to open up wasteland for farming.
The Liao State inherited and developed the traditional culture of the Khitan people, and at the same time absorbed the essence of the Central Plains culture, and made great achievements in literature, art and architecture.
This also creates the development of handicrafts and commerce, Liao's ceramics, silk, gold and silver handicrafts are very famous, loved by the Central Plains and neighboring countries, Liao people often go to the Central Plains, the Korean Peninsula and Central Asia and other places to trade, goods are exported to all directions, bringing back rich wealth and resources.
Shangjing, the capital of the Liao Kingdom, is one of the most prosperous cities, with magnificent palaces, neat streets, and a dazzling array of goods in the market, full of vitality and vitality.
However, every country has its process of rise and fall, and Liao is naturally no exception. The aristocratic rulers pursued pleasure, profligacy, indulged in luxurious life, neglected the management and defense of the state, and the country's finances became increasingly difficult.
At the same time, the neighboring countries and ethnic groups of the Liao State were also rising, and they were dissatisfied with the oppression and exploitation of the Liao State. In general, after hundreds of years of glory, the invincible Liao State gradually declined.
Wanyan Agu was an eloquent leader who unified the Jurchen tribes, trained powerful armies, and established the Jin state in the Songhua River valley in 1115 AD.
Wanyan Aguta knew that the Liao State had weakened to the bone, and decided to no longer endure its oppression and launched a war against oppression.
In the same year of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he led 20,000 elite soldiers and went straight to Huanglongfu, an important military town of Liao, and Emperor Tianzuo of Liao was obsessed with the pleasures of the palace and was defenseless, and was captured by the Jin army Huanglongfu.
Emperor Tianzuo hurriedly gathered 700,000 troops and went to the front line, but it was a pity that the minister of the country, Yelu Zhangnu, set up a new monarch.
This news was like a thunderbolt from the sky, and Emperor Tianzuo suddenly fell into chaos, and hurriedly ordered the army to retreat, wanting to return to Shangjing to quell the civil strife.
But how could the Jin army give him this opportunity, the Liao army was seized by the Jin army on the way back, and Wanyan Aguta launched a fierce attack, the Liao army was caught off guard and collapsed, and 700,000 Liao troops were beaten to the ground, and the corpses were all over the field.
700,000 troops is not a small number, the Liao State has been in a slump since then, and the defeat of this battle marks the rise of the Jin State and the destruction of the Liao State has been an irrevocable general trend.
When the time came to 1120 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty, which had endured the bullying of the Liao State all the year round, cooperated with Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguta, and the two sides decided to jointly destroy the Liao.
Song Huizong was bent on recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and Jin Guo gave this condition, and he was ecstatic and immediately agreed to the other party's proposal.
Of course, according to the agreement, the Song Dynasty needed to transfer the annual coins originally given to the Liao State to the Jin State in exchange for the return of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and use the money to buy this strategic land, which was obviously a very cost-effective deal
In 1125 AD, the combined forces of the Song and Jin countries launched a north-south attack on the Liao State, and the Liao State quickly collapsed under the double blow of internal and external troubles.
Emperor Yelu Yanxi of Liao Tianzuo was captured by the Jin army on the way to escape, and the Liao state was destroyed, and then the Jin army launched a month-long massacre against the Khitans, and the nobles and civilians of the Liao state suffered unprecedented catastrophe.
After the fall of the Liao State, where did the Khitans go
After the fall of the Liao State, the fate of the Khitans was full of tragedy, a large number of Khitans were slaughtered by the Jin army, and some fled all the way west with Yelu Dashi.
Yelu Dashi was an outstanding Khitan general who led his subordinates all the way west through many hardships, and finally established the Western Liao regime on the banks of the Chuliu River in Central Asia, marking the resurgence of the Khitans in Central Asia.
Western Liao also played an important role in the history of Central Asia, maintaining close ties with neighboring countries and peoples, but did not escape the conquest of the Mongolia Empire, and the Khitan people seem to have disappeared from history.
Strictly speaking, the Khitans did not really disappear, but lived in a different way. After the fall of the Liao Kingdom, the Khitans who remained in Liao faced a complicated situation, some surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, and some fled to Mongolia.
After the rise of Mongolia, a more tolerant ethnic policy was adopted towards the Khitans, allowing them to retain their own culture and customs, and many people joined the Mongolia army.
With the expansion of the Mongolia Empire, the Khitans also fought in the south and north, becoming an important force in the Mongolia army. When the Mongolia conquered the Central Plains, a large number of Khitans went south with the army, and after Yunnan was pacified, they were arranged in various parts of Yunnan.
At this time, they were no longer nomads, but changed the original nomadic production structure and became a member of the farming culture. With the passage of time, the Khitan people and the local people of Yunnan continued to intermarry, live together and merge, and became part of the local ethnic group.
According to the research of some historians, these Khitan descendants mainly live in Shidian, Baoshan, Dali, and Lincang, but the number is not very large, about 150,000 people, and they also claim to be "themselves".
In the western Yunnan region, these Khitan descendants gradually changed their surnames to adapt to the new living environment, and their surnames mainly include "A", "Mang", "Jiang", etc., and the changes in these surnames also have a profound historical background.
At first, these Khitans took the surname "A", mainly to commemorate the ancestor Yelü Abaoji, and later they followed the Mongolia army to make continuous achievements, and changed to Mang in order to adapt to the development of the situation.
During the Ming Dynasty, Khitan descendants narrowed the distance between them and the local people in Yunnan by changing their surnames, which was convenient for management and integration.
Later, with the Ming Dynasty's policy of changing the land and returning to the stream, the Khitan descendants further changed their surnames to cooperate with the policies of the imperial court and gradually integrated into the society of the Han and other ethnic minorities.
In this case, a large number of Khitan descendants changed their surnames to Jiang, in fact, whether it is the surname A, the surname Mang, or the surname Jiang, in fact, they are all to better adapt to the local social environment and reproduce, so the Khitan descendants in Yunnan have been retained and become a part of the Yi, Brown, Wa and other ethnic groups.
Another descendant of the Khitans, the Daur people
In addition to the Khitan descendants in the western Yunnan region, the Daur people are also considered to be the descendants of the Khitan people, because this ethnic group has many similarities with the Khitan people in terms of language, living customs, religious beliefs, etc.
The name Daur comes from the Khitan, followed by the homonym of "Daheshi", one of the eight ancient Khitan divisions, and these materials show that there is a great relationship between the two. So, how did this Khitan descendant survive?
It is said that their ancestors moved from the Inner Mongolia Bahrain Left Banner to the Heilongjiang region under the leadership of a leader named Sajir Di Khan, and settled in the area ever since.
In addition to their historical origins, in terms of living customs and religious beliefs, the Daur people also retain many traditional Khitan hunting and fishing methods, and their marriage customs also have the shadow of Khitan traditions.
In recent years, science and technology have continued to develop, and scientists will also use molecular archaeology techniques to study history, and through DNA testing and archaeological research, it has been confirmed that the Daur people have a very close genetic relationship with the Khitan people.
Scientists took some samples from the ancient tombs of the Liao Kingdom and compared them with the descendants of the Khitan and the Daur people in Yunnan, and the results showed that the three parties only had a very close genetic relationship, and the mystery of the Khitan descendants was completely revealed.
In general, the fate of the Khitans underwent great changes after the fall of the Liao State, and some Khitans moved westward to Central Asia to establish the short-lived but glorious Western Liao regime, and eventually merged with the various ethnic groups of Central Asia.
The other part returned to the Jin Dynasty or fled to Mongolia, where they continued to live and multiply in new lands, and later migrated to Yunnan and Yunnan, or the Heilongjiang region, where they became ethnic minorities in Yunnan and the Daur people in Heilongjiang.
Scientific research further confirms these connections, revealing how the Khitan people merged with other ethnic groups in the torrent of history, became part of the Chinese nation, and witnessed the continuation of Khitan culture.
The story of the Khitan people is not only the history of the rise and fall of a nation, but also a vivid embodiment of the diversity and inclusiveness of the Chinese nation, which may be the charm of historical development. What do you think differently about this?
Reference: Daur people, descendants of the Khitan | China National Geographic Network (dili360.com)
What are the "Yunnan Khitans"? _The Paper· The Paper