The Battle of Gaoliang River () was fought in 979 between the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan language, Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that exi ...

and

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

in present-day

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. The Liao victory ended a Song campaign to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures in North China. After founding the Song dynasty in 960, the

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founder and first emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguish ...

sought to capture the Sixteen Prefectures, which the Liao dynasty acquired in 936 from the Later Jin dynasty. His successor, the

Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Jiong (20 November 939 – 8 May 997), known as Zhao Guangyi from 960 to 977 and Zhao Kuangyi before 960, also known by his temple name Taizong after his death, was the second emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 976 to h ...

, personally led a military expedition that reached

Youzhou You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture ('' zhou'') in northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces ...

in 979, and laid siege to the city. The city's walls, some 16 km in circumference withstood the siege for three months. Defenders were bolstered by Liao reinforcements who were able burrow under the Song siege and into the city itself. A large Liao reinforcement arrived and defeated the Song Army north of Youzhou, just west of

Xizhimen Xizhimen () was a gate in the Beijing city wall and is now a transportation node in Beijing. The gate was the entrance of drinking water for the Emperor, coming from the Jade Spring Hills to the west of Beijing. The gate was demolished in 196 ...

, in present-day Beijing.(Chinese
北京的辽代古城遗迹：辽宋大战的高粱河(图)
Accessed 2010-10-18 More than 160 years after this defeat, the Song briefly took control of modern-day Beijing in 1123 when the Song–Jin alliance defeated the Liao and the city was ceded by the Jin dynasty to the Song. However, two years later, the Jin invaded the Song and retook Yanshan.

References

{{coord, 39.904214, 116.407413, display=title Gaoliang River Gaoliang River Gaoliang Gaoliang River 979 10th century in China

See also

References