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The Liao Dynasty: A History of China
Paperback
Series: History of China, Book 25
Ancient History GeneralChinese History
ISBN13: 9789189998766
Publisher: Hui Wang
Published: Aug 9 2025
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.50
Height: 0.51 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Before the Mongols dominated the northern steppe, the Khitan built one of medieval East Asia's great powers: the Liao dynasty.
The Liao Dynasty: A History of China, Part One follows the Khitan from their legendary origins and tribal confederation through the rise of Yelü Abaoji, the creation of the Liao state, and the political struggles that carried the dynasty into the age of the Northern Song. Along the way, figures such as Han Yanhui, Empress Shulü, Liao Taizong Yelü Deguang, Shi Jingtang, Yelü Wuzhi, Emperor Muzong, and Emperor Jingzong confront an unusually difficult problem: how do you turn a steppe confederation into an empire without destroying the society that made it powerful?
The story moves between the grasslands, Youzhou, Shangjing, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and the strategically vital Sixteen Prefectures. Court intrigue meets cavalry warfare; succession disputes become civil crises; Han officials help shape Khitan government; and rival rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms discover that Liao power can change the balance of the Central Plains.
Written as accessible narrative history rather than a textbook, the book explains complicated politics through the people making the decisions-sometimes wisely, sometimes disastrously, and often for reasons that made perfect sense at the time.
It is a story of state-building, cultural exchange, ambition, family rivalry, military power, and the emergence of a dynasty too important to remain hidden behind the familiar history of the Song.
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