There are 56 ethnic groups in China, of which the Han chinese occupy the main position, in the 5,000 years of history, there are very few dynasties ruled by ethnic minorities, of which the two most famous dynasties are the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. One of them was ruled by the Mongols and the other by the Manchus. In fact, a long time ago, there was another dynasty that was also established by ethnic minorities, and this dynasty was the Liao, which was the world laid down by the Khitans. Now let's talk about why the Khitan people, who were once brilliant at that time, have disappeared now.
The Khitans, tracing back to their roots, belong to an ancient nomadic people called the Donghu family. It was one of the tributaries of the Xianbei tribe, and most of them had long lived near Kumoxi, and the various tribes were very dispersed among themselves, which weakened their power and was later defeated by the Northern Wei. This is also why their figures are recorded in the Book of Wei. They then retreated to Huangshui, which the Khitans called the Sillamulun River, a river that rushes down from the southern end of the Daxing'an Mountains.
Since the Khitan people retired, they have always paid attention to recuperation, and all aspects have been accumulated, and great progress and development have been made. During this period, he also maintained good relations with the Central Plains, and paid tribute to the Northern Wei every year. such
After a long time, in the Sui Dynasty, the Khitans formed a tribal alliance led by the Great He clan, and the national cohesion was enhanced. There has been a great change in the political system, and the ability of national defense has also been greatly improved. Nevertheless, during the Tang Dynasty, they chose to submit. In this way, he gained the trust and recognition of Tang Taizong Li Shimin to the Khitan tribes, and his power was fully developed again. As a result, many other tribes at that time did not dare to invade easily. As their power gradually increased, they were no longer satisfied with the status quo of dependence on the Tang Dynasty. As a result, he often clashed with the Tang Dynasty on the border and wanted to gain independence. At this time, the internal affairs leaders also changed, and the leadership group led by the Ōga clan gradually weakened until it was replaced by the Haruka clan.
Immediately afterward, Yelü Abaoji established the Khitan state, known in history as the "Great Liao". But in the beginning, like the Central Plains people, he began to establish the era name, and set the name of the country as "Khitan" and the capital as Inner Mongolia. Later, when he went south to the Central Plains, he captured Beijing, and only then did he change the name of the country to "Liao" and the era name to "Datong". After the establishment of the Liao Dynasty, the focus was still on ethnic development, and the nomadic and agricultural peoples were managed separately. In order to inherit its own culture, it still chose to retain the Khitan script and unique customs and habits, such as "mountain sacrifice ceremony", "regeneration instrument", "ghost archery", etc.; in order not to be complacent, it constantly absorbed the essence of the western region countries and the central plains culture, so that the Liao state at that time
Strong for a while. For example, learn from the Central Plains people to build Buddhist temples and Confucius temples. Therefore, after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, foreigners in Asia and Europe considered the Khitans to be orthodox Central Plains people. I still call Chinese "Khitan" in Russia, which is enough to witness the depth of the influence.
However, the liao entered its heyday under empress xiao's rule. At the time of Liaojingzong's death, in order to assist Liao Shengzong, who was still 12 years old at the time, the 30-year-old Empress Xiao participated in the regency. During her reign, she began to reform, reduce the people's taxes, pay attention to nongsang, build water conservancy, and train the army, so that during her 27-year reign, the country was rich and the people were safe, and there was no external enemy dispute and no internal troubles. In terms of ethnic conflicts, a peace treaty was reached with the Song Dynasty, and a century of friendship was obtained, which made the Liao, Western Xia, and Song Dynasty form the trend of the three kingdoms.
Until the Yuan Dynasty, when the Mongols established their own large empire, the Khitans, who frequently used troops, were conquered and scattered everywhere. After constant migration, the Khitans were constantly assimilated. It was not until the end of the 14th century that the Khitans basically disappeared from the historical record. They were mainly scattered among the Han, Jurchen, Mongol and other ethnic groups, while the Khitans, who remained relatively pure, were most likely to become the current "Daur". This "Daur ethnic group" is one of the 56 ethnic groups in China, mainly distributed in the Qiqihar area of Heilongjiang Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and a few in Xinjiang and Liaoning. According to historians and modern scientific means can prove that "da
The "Huer" is derived from the Khitan language. Historians believe that the production, life, customs, religion, language and writing of the "Daur people" are inextricably linked to the Khitans. Geneticists have also confirmed through DNA technology that the "Daur people" have a similar genetic relationship with the Khitan people.
In summary, the rise and fall of the Khitan people is very lamentable. Unlike the Mongols and Manchus, it has been able to maintain a relatively intact ethnic group to this day. Instead, it is like fireworks, after a moment of brilliance, it leaves people with a brilliant impression, but it disappears in the blink of an eye, hidden in the curtain of the night. We cannot deny its existence, but we have to admit that it has indeed disappeared, leaving only faint traces in the air.