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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 earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan tribal confederation in 907 when
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 ...
was made khagan. In 916, Abaoji founded 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 ...
. After the fall of the Liao dynasty in 1125, members of the Yelü family continued to play significant roles in history, most notably for ruling the
Western Liao 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 ...
and during the
Mongols 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 membe ...
era of conquest in the 13th century.
Yelü Chucai Yelü Chucai (; mn, Urtu Saqaltu "Longbeard", written in Chinese characters as "", July 24, 1190 – June 20, 1244), courtesy name Jinqing (), was a Khitan statesman from the imperial clan of the Liao dynasty, who became a vigorous adviser and ...
, the last recorded person to be able to speak and read 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 ...
, is notable for advising
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
in the
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
tradition. The Yelü clan established numerous dynastic regimes in Chinese history: the Liao dynasty,
Northern Liao The Northern Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a dynastic regime of China, distinct from the Liao dynasty, established by the Khitan Yelü clan in northern China. The state only existed for a short period of time between 1122 and 1123. ...
, Western Liao,
Eastern Liao Eastern Liao () was a 13th-century kingdom in what is now Northeast China, established by the Khitan Yelü clan in an attempt to resurrect the Liao dynasty. Its capital was situated in modern-day Kaiyuan, Liaoning. Establishment Yelü Liuge, a d ...
, and
Later Liao Later Liao () was a short-lived dynastic regime in Northeast China that existed between 1216 and 1219. It was ruled by the House of Yelü and was the last regime that sought to revive the Liao dynasty in China (the Eastern Liao had by this time ...
. In particular, the Liao dynasty and Western Liao were powerful empires that had significant impact on regional history.


Rise to power

Abaoji, born in 872, was the son of the chieftain of the Yila tribe. At this time, the Yaolian clan had led the Khitan people since the mid-eighth century, and were the only Khitan family to have adopted a surname at this point as this was seen as a mark of
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 ...
culture and not befitting of peoples of the steppe. In 901, Abaoji was elected chieftain of the Yila tribe and in 905 forged relations with
Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
of the
Shatuo Turks The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
. In 907, he was chosen leader of the Khitans, the first outside the Yaolian lineage to be chosen in more than a century and a half. From this, Abaoji and his successors developed the Liao dynasty, which would conquer all of
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
, the northern fringe of the Central Plain known as the
Sixteen Prefectures The Sixteen Prefectures () comprise a historical region in northern China along the Great Wall in present-day Beijing, Tianjin, and northern Hebei and Shanxi. Name It is more specifically called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun or the Six ...
and adjacent areas of northern
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, eastern
Mongolian Plateau The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to th ...
and parts of far-eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
.


Liao dynasty

Every monarch 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 ...
was from the Yelü clan, which adopted the surname sometime in the 930s, after the death of
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 ...
(Emperor Taizu). The clan directly governed the southern half of the empire while the Xiao
consort clan The consort kin ({{zh, c=外戚, p=wàiqì) was the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or ...
governed the north. The Southern Chancellory was charged with governing the
sedentary Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soci ...
population of the empire, mostly ethnic
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 ...
and residents of the conquered kingdom of Bohai. As such, there is evidence of at least limited
Sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...
on the part of the Yelü clan. Even as late as 1074, a proposal was brought before the Liao emperors to adopt surnames throughout the empire. This was rejected as an idea that would disrupt the traditional Khitan social order. The Liao dynasty fell to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in 1125, but a branch of the Yelü imperial clan survived and established another dynastic empire in the
Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more spe ...
known as the
Western Liao 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 called the Qara Khitai.


Yelü leaders


Liao dynasty


Western Liao dynasty


See also

*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Northern Liao The Northern Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a dynastic regime of China, distinct from the Liao dynasty, established by the Khitan Yelü clan in northern China. The state only existed for a short period of time between 1122 and 1123. ...
*
Western Liao 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 ...
*
Eastern Liao Eastern Liao () was a 13th-century kingdom in what is now Northeast China, established by the Khitan Yelü clan in an attempt to resurrect the Liao dynasty. Its capital was situated in modern-day Kaiyuan, Liaoning. Establishment Yelü Liuge, a d ...
*
Later Liao Later Liao () was a short-lived dynastic regime in Northeast China that existed between 1216 and 1219. It was ruled by the House of Yelü and was the last regime that sought to revive the Liao dynasty in China (the Eastern Liao had by this time ...


References

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yelu clan Khitan history Liao dynasty * Chinese clans Individual Chinese surnames