''Qidan Guo Zhi'' ("Records of the Khitan State") is a 13th-century Chinese book chronicling the history of 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 ...

(916–1125) and the Khitan people. It was written by Ye Longli of the Southern Song dynasty, probably published 1265–1274 during

Emperor Duzong Emperor Duzong of Song (2 May 1240 – 12 August 1274), personal name Zhao Qi, was the 15th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the sixth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He was a nephew of his predecessor, Emperor Lizong, and reign ...

's reign, even though the preface claimed it was submitted to the throne in 1180. Ye Longli did not pass the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

until 1247.

Consisting of 27 chapters (卷), the book includes history about the Khitan people before the foundation of the Liao dynasty, although this section is laden with superstition. The book primarily relies on sources from the

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 ...

and thus differs from the ''

History of Liao The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, ...

'' which is mainly based on

official records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

from the Liao dynasty itself.

References

Chinese history texts 13th-century history books Song dynasty literature History books about the Liao dynasty 13th-century Chinese books {{China-hist-book-stub

Contents

References