Chinese Online Class – Nanjing of Liao Dynasty (938 – AD 1123) – Learn Chinese

During the Five Dynasties period, the ethnic minority Khitan expanded its influence sphere into the North Plains of China. The Tang Dynasty general of Hedong region Shi Jingtang betrayed his old master and sought for assistance from Khitan king Yelu Deguang, promising to cede territory and acknowledge allegiance to Yelu Deguang after his successful rebellion.
The Khitan troops rode south and overthrew the Tang dynasty, then supported Shi Jingtang in ascending the imperial throne of the Jin Dynasty. In the third year of Tianfu (AD 938), Shi Jingtang, Emperor Gaozu of Latter Jin ceded out sixteen counties of Youzhou and Yunzhou to the Khitan. In the first year of Huitong (AD 938), after he received Youzhou, Yelu Deguang renamed Youzhou as Nanjing, also called Yanjing (modern day Beijing) to be his secondary capital. Latter, he set up Xijin prefecture, with Xijin and Wanping as the governmental location. Nanjing city had eight gates altogether: Andong and Yingchun in the east, Kaiyang and Danfeng in the south, Xianxi and Qingjin in the west, Tongtian and Gongchen in the north, with the imperial city in the southwest corner.
Inside the city, there was a summer palace on the highland of the west district, a corner watch tower in the northeast, market in the south, and Shuiping Hall in the east. At that time, Liao and Song (two feudal states) came into conflict. When the Song army marched north to the the Yanjing city, they failed to break in and had to return unsuccessful. In the first year of Jingde (AD 1004) of Song dynasty, the two sides signed a treaty named The Oath of Chanyuan. The Annals of Khitan recorded “Nanjing city has a population of 300,000, and the imperial city is magnificent. There is a market in the north of the city, with various goods from both the sea and the land. The monasteries are the greatest in the north, silk and textiles are the finest under heaven.”
There were 26 residential areas in the city. The housing blocks and streets were well planned. The techniques of Buddhist scripture carving and book printing were rather advanced, examples of which are the Tripitaka in Khitan lanuage – Khitan Scriptures, and the colored Figure of Namo Sakyamuni printed at that time. The stores and markets were concentrated on six streets and in the north market. Liao emperors advocated Buddhism, so temple construction and Buddha worship were rather popular. Dajue Temple, Jietai Temple, the pagoda of Tianning Temple, and the mosque on Niujie Street are all cultural relics left from Liao dynasty. Khitan people also invented their own language in capital and lowercase, and civil examinations were held in Nanjing to seek talented individuals. Consequently, Nanjing of Liao dynasty became the culture and education center of north China.