The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

-led

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

(1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, p.22 Based on Khitan's primary sources and other previous official Chinese records, it details the

Khitan people The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

, Khitan's tribal life and traditions, as well as the official histories of the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

and its successor, the Western Liao dynasty.

Main sources

''History of Liao'' of 1344 was compiled using older sources, mainly: * the ''Shilu'' 實錄 (Veritable Records), completed in the Liao dynasty (916-1125) under the direction of Yelü Yan (耶律儼), no longer extant; * a draft ''Liao Shi'', compiled in the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty under the direction of an official named Chen Daren (陳大任), never published and no longer extant; * and several other sources such as the

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

(1080's), Qidan Guo Zhi and other descriptions of the Khitans in the previous dynastic histories ( Wei Shu,

Sui Shu The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead author. ...

, ...). The ''Liao Shi'' contains 116 volumes, including 30 volumes of Imperial Annals, 32 volumes of Records of Institutions, 8 volumes of Tables, 48 volumes of Biographies and Descriptions, and 1 volume of Glossary of National Language 國語解 Guoyijie (the

Khitan language Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, ''Khitai''; , ''Qìdānyǔ''), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao Empir ...

), which is a list of Khitan language words transcribed in Chinese characters. It is found in Chapter 116
遼史/卷116
.

Creation and reliability

Many Chinese scholars of the time argued that the non-

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, "barbarian" Liao dynasty did not merit its own official history, but rather posited that the Liao histories should be an addendum to the history of the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, which was ethnically

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

. This was part of the larger dispute between the Yuan court and the Chinese literati scholars, in which the Chinese political theory whereby only one dynasty could be deemed legitimate at a time clashed with the Mongol's beliefs to the contrary. Due to this dispute between two different political cultures, the ''Liao Shi'', as well as the histories of the concurrent Jin and Song dynasties, was not officially compiled until 1343–1344, when the pro-Chinese Chief Councillor Toqto'a took up the pre-Yuan histories project again. In its final form, this project conceded to the Yuan court's desire to treat the Liao, Jin, and Song as equally legitimate dynasties. The compilation of the ''Liao Shi'' was finished in one year by imperial historians, although without undergoing any but the most minimal of proofreadings. Because of this, the ''Liao Shi'' and the other two pre-Yuan histories are known for their technical errors, lack of precision, inconsistencies in transcribing non-Chinese terms and names, and over-lapping subject matter. Qing scholars

Qian Daxin Qian Daxin (; 1728–1804) was a Qing dynasty scholar-official, historian, and linguist. He served as a commissioner of education and examinations in Guangdong Province. Toqto'a's ''Liao Shi'' is the only extant Chinese-style historical record of the Liao dynasty.

Editions

The work of collation and punctuation have been done several times,Xu Elina-Qian, pp.22-23 by example in the Qianlong edition, the Nanjian edition, the Beijian edition, Baina edition and the Daoguang edition.
The nowadays commonly use edition is the Zhonghua Shuju Press edited ''Liao Shi'', under direction of the Khitan studies' specialists

Feng Jiasheng Feng may refer to: *Feng (surname), one of several Chinese surnames in Mandarin: **Féng (surname) ( wikt:冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname **Fèng (surname) ( wikt:鳳 fèng 4th tone "phoenix"), relatively common Chinese fa ...

and Chen Shu, and based on the Baina edition. This Zhonghua Shuju Press version and its annotations also refer to other historical sources such as the

Cefu Yuangui ''Cefu Yuangui'' (冊府元龜) is the largest ''leishu'' (encyclopedia) compiled during the Chinese Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279). It was the last of the '' Four Great Books of Song'', the previous three having been published in the 10th cen ...

Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian The ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian'' ("Extended Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") is an 1183 Chinese history book by Li Tao which chronicles the history of Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127). The book took Li Tao about 40 years to complete and ...

, Jiu &

Xin Tangshu The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

, Jiu &

Xin Wudai Shi The ''Historical Records of the Five Dynasties'' (''Wudai Shiji'') is a Chinese history book on the Five Dynasties period (907–960), written by the Song dynasty official Ouyang Xiu in private. It was drafted during Ouyang's exile from 1036 to 1 ...

, Song Shi,

Jin Shi The ''History of Jin'' (''Jin Shi'') is a Chinese historical text, one of the ''Twenty Four Histories'', which details the history of the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens in northern China. It was compiled by the Yuan dynasty historian and m ...

, Qidan Guo Zhi and

Liao Wenhui Liao may refer to: Chinese history * Liao (Zhou dynasty state) (蓼), two states in ancient China during the Spring and Autumn period in the 8th and 7th centuries BC * Liao of Wu (吳王僚) (died 515 BC), king of Wu during ancient China's Spring ...

.遼史, 脱脱, 中华书局, 1974. The History of Liao was translated into

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

as (Wylie: ''Dailiyoo gurun i suduri'', Möllendorff: ''Dailiyoo gurun i suduri''). The

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Qianlong Emperor erroneously identified the Khitan people and their language with the Solons, leading him to use the

Solon language Evenki (Ewenkī), formerly known as Tungus or Solon, is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and the more closely related Oroqen language. The name is sometimes wrongly gi ...

to "correct" Chinese character transcriptions of Khitan names in the History of Liao in his "Imperial Liao Jin Yuan Three Histories National Language Explanation" (欽定遼金元三史國語解 Qinding Liao Jin Yuan sanshi guoyujie) project. Qianlong's "corrections" ended up compounding the errors and making the transcription of some foreign words even worse. Marshall Broomhall wrote that ''So unscientific was this work that the K'ien-lung editions of the Liao, Kin, and Yüan histories are practically useless.''

Emil Bretschneider Emil Bretschneider ( in Bankaushof (now Benkavas muiža, Saldus novads, Latvia) – in Saint Petersburg) was a sinologist of Baltic German ethnicity and a correspondent member of the Académie française. He operated in the Russian Empire. H ...

demonstrated how the etymologies in the Qianlong edition were incorrect.

Content

The annals are covered in Volumes 1-30 beginning with founder

Abaoji Abaoji (872–6 September 926), posthumously known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Liao, was a Khitan leader and the founding emperor of the Liao dynasty of China, ruling from 916 to 926. He had a sinicised name, Yelü Yi; some sou ...

(Taizu) in volumes 1–2. Volume 30 covers

Yelü Dashi Yelü Dashi (; alternatively ), courtesy name Zhongde (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao (), was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). He initially ruled as king from 1124 to 1132, then as e ...

, who fled and founded of the state of

Qara Khitai The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...

also known as the Western Liao at the dissolution of the Liao dynasty. Biran describes volume 30 of the text as the one of the most important sources for the history of the Qara Khitai. Treatises are covered in volumes 31–62. The administrative divisions of the Liao are described in volumes 37 through 41 under the title Geography (地理), organized by the five primary level circuits (道). Official posts (百官) are described in volumes 45–48. Standen gives English translations for some of the official posts in a glossary. Volumes 63-70 are tables including the lineage of the ruling

Yelü The Yelü clan ( Khitan: , spelled ''ey.är.uu.eld'', pronounced ''Yäruuld''; ), alternatively rendered as Yila () or Yarud, was a prominent family of ethnic Khitan origin in the history of China. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan tribal ...

clan as well as other clans in volume 63, tribes (部族) in volume 69, and vassal states (屬國) in volume 70. Notable figures included in the Biographies section include Han Yanhui, Liao chancellor of Han origin in volume 74;

Zhao Yanshou Zhao Yanshou () (died November 10, 948'' History of Liao'', vol. 5.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Liu Yanshou (), formally the Prince of Wei (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, and politician. He served as ...

general from the Later Tang who also served the Liao in volume 76; and Wang Jizhong 王繼忠, who helped broker the

Chanyuan Treaty The Chanyuan Treaty () was signed between the Northern Song dynasty and the Liao dynasty in 1005, and marked a pivotal point in Chinese history and in the relations between the two dynasties. The treaty laid the foundation for approximately a cent ...

of 1004–1005 in volume 81.

Legacy

The debate about the legacy of the Liao as a legitimate dynasty continued after the completion of the text. Around the time of publication Yang Weizhen stated that only the Song was a legitimate dynasty and the Liao and Jin were usurpers. He continued to argue this point and composed an essay titled 'On legitimate Succession' 正統辯. Ming scholar Wang Zhu 王洙 wrote an alternative history of the Song titled ''Verified History of the Song'' 宋史質 in which the Liao and Jin states were relegated to treatises on foreign states. However, Wang Chu's text received criticism itself from Qing scholars who viewed it as an intentional distortion of history. In addition, the text ''Great Outline of Historical Records'' by Ming scholar Shao Jingbang 邵經邦 (1491-1561) gave the Liao and Jin the status of alien usurpers.

References

Citations

Sources

* * Marsone, Pierre. ''La Steppe et l’Empire : la formation de la dynastie Khitan (Liao)'', Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2011. * Hok-lam Chan. ''China & the Mongols: History and Legend under the Yuan and Ming''. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 1999. * ''Liao Shi'' (LS) 遼史 (History of Liao). Tuotuo 脱脱 et al. eds. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju 中华书局, 1974. * *

External links

''History of Liao'' 《遼史》
Chinese text with matching English vocabulary {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Liao Twenty-Four Histories 14th-century history books Khitan history Yuan dynasty literature History books about the Liao dynasty