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72-508: Lilingyan was built in 250 AD by Liu Jing, a military commander of Youzhou , a prefecture in north China based in Jicheng . Liu Jing was the son of Liu Fu, who had built irrigation systems along the Huai River . As the commander of the local garrison, Liu Jing had to purchase grain from afar due to limited food production locally. To improve local agricultural output, Liu Jing diverted the waters of

144-583: A Turko-Mongolian historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia , Northeast China and the Russian Far East . As a people descended from the proto-Mongols through the Xianbei , Khitans spoke the now-extinct Khitan language , a Para-Mongolic language related to the Mongolic languages . The Khitan people founded and led

216-783: A century before falling to the Mongol Empire in 1218. Other regimes founded by the Khitans included the Northern Liao , Eastern Liao and Later Liao in China, as well as the Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty in Persia. The modern-day Daur people , a recognized minority ethnic group in Northeast China, are the genetic descendants of Khitans. The historical European name for China, Cathay , originates from

288-448: A husband had the right to his married wife while among lower class Jurchens, the virginity of unmarried girls and sex with Khitan men did not impede their ability to marry later. The Jurchens and their Manchu descendants had Khitan linguistic and grammatical elements in their personal names like suffixes. Many Khitan names had a "ju" suffix. Following the fall of the Liao dynasty, a number of

360-542: Is Proto-Mongolic , while others have suggested that it is a Para-Mongolic language. Khitan has loanwords borrowed from the Turkic Old Uyghur language and Koreanic languages . There were two writing systems for the Khitan language, known as the large script and the small script . These were functionally independent and appear to have been used simultaneously in the Liao dynasty. They were in use for some time after

432-504: Is still almost completely unintelligible, it is difficult to create a detailed history of their movements. During the 13th century, the Mongol invasions and conquests had a large impact on shifting ethnic identities in the region. Most people of the Eurasian Steppe did not retain their pre-Mongol identities after the conquests. The Khitans were scattered across Eurasia and assimilated into

504-609: The History of Liao compiled in the 14th century, a "sacred man" ( shen-ren ) on a white horse had eight sons with a "heavenly woman" ( tiannü ) who rode in a cart pulled by a grey ox. The man came from the Tu River (Lao Ha river in modern-day Jilin , Manchuria ) and the woman from the Huang River (modern-day Xar Moron river in Inner Mongolia ). The pair met where the two rivers join, and

576-649: The Eastern Jin , which continued to rule southern China. Northern China was divided into a series of kingdoms , mostly founded by ethnic minorities. Wang Jun in Youzhou remained loyal to the Eastern Jin regime in Jiankang and repelled several attacks by one of Liu Yuan's subordinates, Shi Le , an ethnic Jie . Shi Le then used wealth to buy off Wang Jun's ally, Duan Jilujuan and Duan Mopei. This angered Wang Jun, who arranged for

648-835: The Eastern Turkic Khaganate , the Uyghur Khaganate , and the Tang dynasty . The Khitans were less politically united than the Turkic tribes, but often found themselves involved in the power games between the Turks and the Sui and Tang dynasties. It is estimated the Khitans had only around 43,000 soldiers – a fraction of the Turkic Khaganates. In 605, the Khitans raided the Sui dynasty, but

720-571: The Emperor Yang of Sui was able to convince the Turks to send 20,000 horsemen to aid Sui against the Khitans. In 628, under the leadership of tribal chief Dahe Moui, the Khitan submitted to the Tang dynasty, as they had earlier submitted to the Eastern Turks. The Khagan of the Eastern Turks, Jiali Khan , offered to exchange the rebel Liang Shidu for the Khitans, but Emperor Taizong would not agree to

792-869: The Later Jin (936–947), submitted to the Khitans of the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and ceded the Sixteen Prefectures (You was one of the sixteen) to them. In 938 the Khitans established a secondary capital in You Prefecture and named it Nanjing Youdu Prefecture ( 南京幽都府 ). In 1012 it was renamed Xijin Prefecture ( 析津府 ) and later renamed to Yanjing ( 燕京 ). The name "Youzhou" was never used again. Khitan people The Khitan people ( Khitan small script : [REDACTED] ; Chinese : 契丹 ; pinyin : Qìdān ) were

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864-512: The Later Jin dynasty and, in exchange for their support, the Khitans gained sixteen new prefectures . The Later Jin dynasty remained a vassal of the Khitans until the death of Shi Jing Tang in 942, but when the new emperor ascended, he indicated that he would not honor his predecessor's arrangement. The Khitans launched a military invasion against the Later Jin in 944. In January 947, the Emperor of

936-621: The Liao dynasty (916–1125), which dominated a vast area of Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China . The Khitans of the Liao dynasty used two independent writing systems for their language: Khitan small script and Khitan large script . After the fall of the Liao dynasty in 1125 following the Jurchen invasion , many Khitans followed Yelü Dashi 's group westward to establish the Qara Khitai or Western Liao dynasty, in Central Asia , which lasted nearly

1008-467: The Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. Fleeing from the Mongols , in 1216 the Khitans invaded Goryeo and won several battles, even reaching the gates of the capital, but were defeated by Goryeo General Kim Chwi-ryeo who pushed them back north to Pyongan , where the remaining Khitans were finished off by Goryeo forces in 1219. The Khitan language is now extinct. Some scholars believe that Khitan

1080-550: The Sixteen Kingdoms period, several of the kingdoms that ruled northern China used "You" to name commandery-sized prefectures in their domain. When northern China was unified under a single sovereign during the Northern dynasties , You became a commandery-sized prefecture based in modern Beijing. During the Sui dynasty , prefectures were not used as a level of administration, and You was renamed Zhuo Commandery ( Zhuojun ). You

1152-747: The State of Yan , one of the seven powers of the Warring States era. Youzhou was first instituted as an administrative unit in 106 BC during the Han dynasty . In 106 BC, Emperor Wu of Han organized the Western Han dynasty into 13 province-sized prefectures, each administered by a cishi ( 刺史 ) or inspector. You Prefecture comprised the Shanggu , Zhuo , Guangyang , Dai , Bohai , Yuyang , Right Beiping , Liaoxi , Liaodong , Xuantu and Lelang Commanderies. Altogether

1224-747: The Tuoba Xianbei from the west to attack the Duan Xianbei, but the latter prevailed. In 314, Shi Le pretended to surrender to Wang Jun, who fell for the ruse and lowered his guard. Shi Le then captured and killed Wang Jun, but You Prefecture fell to the control of Duan Pidi , of the Xianbei Duan clan. In 319, Shi Le, founded his own kingdom, the Later Zhao , in Xiangguo (modern day Xingtai , Hebei Province ), defeated Duan Pidi and captured You Prefecture. In 349,

1296-790: The Twelve Provinces of Ancient China . Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian , written from 109 to 91 BC explains that Shun , sovereign who relinquished power to Yu the Great, felt the domain in north was too vast and created three new prefectures including Youzhou from Yanzhou. The Book of Han , completed in AD 111, also lists Youzhou as one of the Twelve Ancient Provinces. All of these texts described Youzhou as essentially equivalent to

1368-645: The Xi people " or "the people who inhabit among the Xi people". Due to the dominance of the Khitans during the Liao dynasty in Manchuria and Mongolia and later the Qara Khitai in Central Asia where they were seen as Chinese, the term "Khitai" came to mean "China" to people near them in Central Asia, Russia and northwestern China. The name was then introduced to medieval Europe via Islamic and Russian sources, and became " Cathay ". In

1440-477: The Xianbei and Wuhuan . Wang Jun's support for Emperor Sima Lun against other princes earned the enmity of Sima Ying , who in 304, arranged to appoint He Yan as the governor of You Prefecture and instructed He Yan to eliminate Wang Jun. He Yan then conspired with a Wuhuan chieftain, Shen Deng, to assassinate Wang Jun during a field trip to the Qingquan River just south of Ji. However, during their trip,

1512-451: The 22nd century BC, but You Prefecture was used in actual administration from 106 BC to the tenth century. As is standard in Chinese , the same name "Youzhou" was also often used to describe the prefectural seat or provincial capital from which the area was administered. You was first created in 106 BC as a province-sized prefecture during the Western Han dynasty to administer a large swath of

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1584-590: The DNA of 3 Khitan burials from Bulgan Province , located in Northern Mongolia . The Khitan burials were found to be of predominantly Northeast Asian origin, with less than 10% West Eurasian ancestry. The two male specimens belonged to the West Eurasian paternal haplogroup J2 . All three specimens carried maternal haplogroups associated with Northeast Asia , including haplogroups A24 , D4 and haplogroup Y1 . During

1656-795: The Former Yan due to court intrigue. In 383, after the Former Qin was defeated by the Eastern Jin in the Battle of Feishui , Murong Chui founded the Kingdom of Later Yan , which occupied much of the territories of the Former Yan , including You. To the west, the Tuoba Xianbei founded the Kingdom of Northern Wei in 386 and invaded the Northern Yan in 396, capturing Yuyang, Ji and other cities in You Prefecture. By 439,

1728-612: The Han during the Song dynasty . The Khitan practiced polygamy and generally preferred marriage within the tribe, but it was not unknown for an Emperor to take wives from other groups, such as the Han, Koreans , and Turkic tribes . A 2015 study postulated that Khitan males may have belonged to haplogroups C3c or N1 , based on the distribution of these haplogroups in modern-day Eastern and Central Asian populations. A 2020 study published in Cell analyzed

1800-597: The Jin were similarly entertained by singing girls in Guide, Henan. There is no evidence that guest prostitution of unmarried Jurchen girls to Khitan men was resented by the Jurchens. It was only when the Khitans forced aristocratic Jurchen families to give up their wives as guest prostitutes to Khitan messengers that the Jurchens became resentful. This suggests that in Jurchen upper classes, only

1872-546: The Jurchens. The Liao dynasty eventually fell to the Jin dynasty of the Jurchen in 1125, who defeated and absorbed the Khitans to their military benefit. The Khitans considered the Khamag Mongols as their last hope when the Liao dynasty was invaded by the Jin, Song dynasty and Western Xia Empires. To defend against the Jurchens and Khitans, a Long Wall was built by Goryeo in 1033–1034, along with many border forts. One of

1944-458: The Khitan nobility escaped the area westwards towards Western Regions , establishing the short-lived Qara Khitai or Western Liao dynasty. After its fall, a small part under Buraq Hajib established a local dynasty in the southern Persian province of Kirman . These Khitans were absorbed by the local Turkic and Iranian populations, Islamized and left no influence behind them. As the Khitan language

2016-400: The Khitan tribes, founded the Liao dynasty in 907. The Liao territory included modern day northern and northeastern China, Mongolia, and parts of Central Asia and Siberia. Although transition to an imperial social and political organization was a significant change for the Khitans, the Khitan language , origin myth, shamanic religion and nomadic lifestyle endured. China was in chaos after

2088-524: The Khitans would have preferred to attack China, they invaded Goryeo in 993. Khitan forces failed to advance beyond the Chongchon River and were persuaded to withdraw, though Khitan dissatisfaction with Goryeo's conquest of the Jurchen prompted a second invasion in 1010. This time the Khitans, led by their emperor, sacked the capital city Kaesong . A third and final invasion in 1018 was repelled by Goryeo's forces, bringing an end to 30 years of war between

2160-461: The Later Jin dynasty surrendered to the Khitans. The Khitan emperor left the conquered city of Kaifeng and unexpectedly died from an illness while travelling in May 947. Relations between Goryeo and the Khitans were hostile after the Khitans destroyed Balhae . Goryeo would not recognize the Liao dynasty and supported the fledgling Song dynasty , which had formed south of the Khitans' territory. Though

2232-649: The Later Liang and founded the Later Tang dynasty in 923, but by 926 the former allies had grown apart. In 934 Yelü Bei , Abaoji's son, wrote to his brother Emperor Taizong of Liao from the Later Tang court: " Li Cong Ke has slain his liege-lord , why not attack him?" In 936, the Khitans supported Shi Jing Tang ' s rebellion against the Later Tang Emperor Li Cong Ke. Shi Jing Tang became emperor of

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2304-685: The Later Zhao and Ran Wei in the name of restoring northern China to Jin rule. They quickly captured You. In 352, Murong Jun declared himself emperor and moved the capital from Jicheng ( 棘城 ) in modern Liaoning to Jicheng ( 蓟城 ) in You Prefecture. Five years later the capital of this kingdom moved south to Ye. In 370, the Former Yan Kingdom was conquered by the Former Qin Kingdom, led by Fu Jiān an ethnic Di and his general, Wang Meng . They were assisted by Murong Chui, who defected from

2376-442: The Later Zhao regime was subverted by Ran Min , which founded the Ran Wei regime in southern Hebei. During this turmoil, the Murong clan of the Xianbei from the Liaodong region launched a southern invasion. The Murong clan had founded the Kingdom of Yan ( Former Yan ) in 337 but remained a vassal of the Eastern Jin dynasty. In 350, Murong Jun , the Prince of Yan, at the suggestion of his half brother Murong Chui , attacked

2448-419: The Liao dynasty still undertook hunting campaigns in late summer in the tradition of their ancestors. After the fall of the Liao dynasty, the Khitans returned to a more nomadic life. The Khitans practiced shamanism in which animals played an important role. Hunters offered a sacrifice to the spirit of the animal they were hunting and wore a pelt from the same animal during the hunt. There were festivals to mark

2520-484: The Nine Provinces to describe the geographic division of China during the two earliest Chinese dynasties, the Xia (2070–1600 BC) and the Shang (1600–1046 BC). The "Book of Xia" in the Classic of History from the earlier Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC) states that Yu the Great , founder of the Xia dynasty, divided China into Nine Provinces—Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou and Yongzhou—and does not mention Youzhou as one of

2592-440: The Northern Wei extinguished the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms and unified northern China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439), in addition to the You Prefecture in northern Hebei, which was successively controlled by the Later Zhao, Former Yan, Former Qin, Later Zhao and Northern Wei, several other kingdoms in other parts of China also named administrative divisions within their domain "Youzhou". When Liu Yuan ruled

2664-469: The Northern Wei split in half along the Yellow River into the Western Wei and Eastern Wei , which controlled You Prefecture. The Eastern Wei continued for 16 years before it was replaced by the Northern Qi . Though Northern Qi held only half the territory of the Northern Wei, it had 105 prefectures. The Sui dynasty united China in 589 and did not use prefecture as a unit of administration. All prefectures were converted to commanderies. You Prefecture

2736-402: The Principality of Liaodong. Collectively, You Prefecture had 90 counties. The City of Ji in Yan Principality , continued to serve as prefectural capital. Toward the end of the Han dynasty, Yellow Turban Rebellion erupted in Hebei in AD 184 and briefly seized You Prefecture's administrative seat at Ji. The court relied on regional militaries to put down the rebellion and You Prefecture

2808-403: The Turks used it to launch their own raids into Hebei. Like the Tuyuhun and Tangut , the Khitan remained an intermediate power along the borderlands through the 7th and 8th centuries. The Khitans rose to prominence in a power vacuum that developed in the wake of the Kyrgyz takeover of the Uyghur Khaganate, and the collapse of the Tang dynasty. Abaoji , who had been successful in uniting

2880-543: The Wuhuan. Cao Cao eventually defeated the Wuhuan in AD 207 and pacified North China. During the Three Kingdoms , the Kingdom of Wei founded by Cao Cao's son, controlled ten of the Han dynasty's prefectures including You Prefecture and its capital Ji. Within the jurisdiction of You Prefecture were eleven commanderies, Fanyang, Yan Principality, Beiping, Shanggu, Dai, Liaoxi, Liaodong, Xuantu, Lelang, Changli and Daifang, which collectively ruled 60 counties. In 238, Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign against Gongsun Yuan extended

2952-447: The Xiongnu folk for this war. Back in Shanxi, Liu Yuan built a multi-ethnic army and broke free from the Jin dynasty. In 308, he declared himself emperor of the Han, a kingdom later named Zhao and known to historians as the Former Zhao . In 316, Liu Yuan's adopted son Liu Yao captured Emperor Min of Jin in Luoyang , ending the Western Jin dynasty . Sima Rui resurrected the dynasty in Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing ), known as

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3024-413: The Yongding River, which flowed south of Jicheng to irrigate the plains to the north of the Yongding River. He deployed soldiers to dam the Yongding in the hills west of Ji and channeled the water eastward along the Chexiangqu into the Beijing Plain. The dam was 2.4 meters high and piled from woven baskets of stone. To withstand the flash flood of theYongding as the river flows out of the Western Hills ,

3096-548: The bones would be cremated. The Khitan believed that the souls of the dead rested at a place called the Black Mountain, near Rehe Province . Khitan tents always faced east, and they revered the sun, but the moon did not have a large role in their religion. They also practiced a form of divination where they went to war if the shoulder blade of a white sheep cracked while being heated ( scapulimancy ). Khitan women hunted, rode horses and practiced archery . They did not practice foot binding , which started becoming popular among

3168-420: The catching of the first fish and wild goose, and annual sacrifices of animals to the sky, earth, ancestors, mountains, rivers, and others. Every male member of the Khitan would sacrifice a white horse, white sheep, and white goose during the Winter solstice . When a Khitan nobleman died, burnt offerings were sacrificed at the full and new moons. The body was exposed for three years in the mountains, after which

3240-559: The causes of the Jurchen rebellion and the fall of the Liao was the custom of raping married Jurchen women by Khitan envoys, which caused resentment from the Jurchens. The custom of having sex with unmarried girls by the Khitans was itself not a problem, since the practice of guest prostitution – giving female companions, food and shelter to guests – was common among Jurchens. Unmarried daughters of Jurchen families of lower and middle classes in Jurchen villages were provided to Khitan messengers for sex, as recorded by Hong Hao. Song envoys among

3312-461: The chest, in a similar fashion to the related Kumo Xi , Shiwei , and Xianbei whom they are believed to be descended from. During their early history the Khitan were composed of eight tribes. Their territory was between the present-day Xar Moron River and Chaoyang, Liaoning . The Khitan's territory bordered Goguryeo , the Central Plains , and the lands of the Eastern Turks. Between the 6th and 9th centuries, they were successively dominated by

3384-427: The dam was 72 meters thick and gently sloped so that flood water can flow over the dam. The Chexiangqu made use of the old river bed of the Yongding, which used to flow north of Jicheng before it changed course and flowed south of the city. In 262, a sluice gate was added to control the flow of water into the diversion channel. The irrigation system greatly improved agricultural output of the region and helped increase

3456-430: The dynasty's northern frontier that stretched from modern-day Shanxi Province in the west and Shandong Province in the south, through northeastern Hebei Province , southern Liaoning Province and southern Inner Mongolia to Korea . The prefectural capital was the City of Ji in modern Beijing . This prefecture continued to be centered in northern Hebei through the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin dynasty . In

3528-430: The eastern reach of You to Liaodong. In 244–45, Guanqiu Jian launched the Goguryeo–Wei Wars against Goguryeo from Xuantu Commandery (modern-day Shenyang ). The Wei court instituted offices in You Prefecture to manage relations with the Wuhuan and Xianbei. To help sustain the troops garrisoned in Youzhou, the governor in AD 250 built the Lilingyan , an irrigation system that greatly improved agricultural output in

3600-503: The eight sons born of their union became eight tribes. The earliest written reference to the Khitan is from an official history of the Xianbei -led Northern Wei dynasty dating to the period of the Six Dynasties . Most scholars believe the Khitan tribe splintered from the Xianbei , and some scholars believe they may have been a mixed group who also included former members of the Xiongnu tribal confederation. The Khitan shaved their heads, leaving hair on their temples which grew down to

3672-545: The eleven commanderies contained 173 counties. The prefectural seat was the City of Ji in Guangyang Commandery, which is part of modern Beijing Municipality . Youzhou was bordered by Bingzhou (present-day eastern and northern Shanxi ) in the west, Jizhou (southern Hebei) and Qingzhou (northern Shandong) in the south, Korea in the east and the steppes in the north. In the Eastern Han dynasty , You Prefecture had ten commanderies—Zhuo, Dai, Shangu, Yuyang, Right Beiping, Liaoxi, Liaoning, Xuantu, Lelang and Guangyang, as well as

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3744-422: The exchange. During the reign of Empress Wu , nearly one century later, the Second Turkic Khaganate raided along northern China's borderlands. The Tang Empress, in what scholars consider a major strategic error, formed an ill-fated alliance with the Turkic leader Qapaghan Qaghan to punish the Khitan for raiding Hebei province . Khitan territory was much closer to northern China proper than Turkic lands, and

3816-439: The fall of that dynasty. Examples of the scripts appeared most often on epitaphs and monuments , although other fragments sometimes surface. The Khitan scripts have not been fully deciphered and more research and discoveries will be necessary for a proficient understanding of them. Nomadic Khitans originally engaged in stockbreeding , fishing , and hunting . Looting Chinese villages and towns as well as neighboring tribes

3888-415: The fall of the Tang dynasty in 907. Known as the Wudai Shiguo period , Five Dynasties ruled northern China in rapid succession with only nominal support from the Ten Kingdoms of southern China. The Tang dynasty had been supported by Shatuo Turks until Zhu Wen murdered the last Tang emperor and founded the Later Liang dynasty. The Shatuo Turks, who had been allied with the Khitans since 905, defeated

3960-409: The fourth century, there were four You Prefectures in northern China, in Northern Yan , Southern Yan, Xia and Northern Wei . In 497, You was one of about 41 prefectures of the Northern Wei dynasty, which at the time ruled much of north and central China. You Prefecture's territories was largely confined to the southern part of modern-day Beijing Municipality. Its capital remained at Ji . During

4032-423: The frontier towns to Hebei, where a local famine quickly prompted the migrants to rebel again under the leadership of Du Luozhou in 525. Du Luozhou led the rebels from Shanggu (modern-day Huailai ) south through the Juyong Pass and defeated Wei troops north of Youzhou and eventually captured the city. In 528 Wei troops under Erzhu Rong 's subordinate, Hou Yuan, retook the city from rebel leader Han Lou. In 534,

4104-430: The kingdom of Former Zhao , the You Prefecture of Former Zhao was based in present-day Lishi, Shanxi . When Liu Yao ruled the kingdom, the You Prefecture of Later Zhao was moved to present-day Beidi, Yao County , Shaanxi . The You Prefecture of Southern Yan was based in present-day Liaocheng , Shandong , and the You Prefecture of Xia was based in present-day Hanggin Banner of Inner Mongolia . At one time in

4176-440: The land irrigated by the Lilingyan is now under urban Beijing, after the city shifted northward from Jicheng to Dadu in the 13th century. 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 of China around

4248-449: The late Northern Wei, many groups rose in rebellion against the dynasty in and around Youzhou. Wang Huiding's rebellion of 494 lasted one month. In 514, Shramana Liu Shaozeng led a Buddhist rebellion in You Prefecture. In 524, Xianbei military families in the Six Frontier Towns rebelled against the Northern Wei and were crushed with the assistance of Rouran chieftain Yujiulü Anagui . The Northern Wei resettled 200,000 residents from

4320-455: The modern era, words related to Khitay are still used as a name for China by Turkic peoples, such as the Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region and the Kazakhs of Kazakhstan and areas adjoining it, and by some Slavic peoples, such as the Russians and Bulgarians . The Han Chinese consider the ethnonym derived from Khitay as applied to them by the Uyghurs to be pejorative and the Chinese government has tried to ban its use. According to

4392-416: The nine. But the Erya from about the third century BC includes Youzhou and Yingzhou instead of Qingzhou and Liangzhou; the Lü's Annals of the Spring and Autumn Annals , compiled in 239 BC, includes Youzhou instead of Liangzhou; and the Rites of Zhou from the middle of the second century BC includes Youzhou and Bingzhou in place of Xuzhou and Liangzhou. Subsequent texts describe as Youzhou as one of

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4464-410: The northern frontier. In AD 270, the imperial court appointed Wei Guan as the governor of the prefecture. Wei Guan was succeeded by Tang Bin (appointed 282) and Zhang Hua (appointed 291). By the time of the Rebellion of the Eight Princes , You Prefecture was controlled by Wang Jun, who secured alliances with nomadic tribes north of it by arranging marriages of his daughters to tribal chieftains of

4536-464: The plains around Ji. In the Western Jin dynasty (265–316), You Prefecture had seven commanderies and 34 counties. The capital was moved from the City of Ji to Fanyang Commandery in what is today Zhuozhou . The Western Jin expanded the number of counties from 19 in 265 to 31 in 291. Five commanderies and 26 counties in modern Liaoning that used to belong to You Prefecture were carved out to create Pingzhou. You remained an important prefecture on

4608-474: The population of Ji. In 295, Liu Jing's son, Liu Hong, repaired and expanded the irrigation system by extending the aqueduct further east to modern-day Tongzhou . During the Northern Qi dynasty , the irrigation system was repaired in 519 and further expanded in 565 by connecting channels to the Sha River further north. The system was again repaired in 650-655 during the Tang dynasty , and later became part of subsequent irrigation systems of Beijing. Much of

4680-464: The rivals. The Liao dynasty proved to be a significant power north of the Chinese plain , continuously moving south and west, gaining control over former Chinese and Turk-Uyghur territories. In 1005 Chanyuan Treaty was signed, and peace remained between the Liao dynasty and the Song dynasty for the next 120 years. During the reign of the Emperor Daozong of Liao , corruption was a major problem and prompted dissatisfaction among many people, including

4752-491: The travelers encountered a rainstorm and their weapons rusted. Shen Deng believed the rain storm was divine intervention in favor of Wang Jun and disclosed the plot. Wang Jun then killed He Yan and regained control of You. He and his allies Sima Teng , Duan Wuwuchen of the Duan Xianbei clan, and the Wuhuan then attacked Sima Ying in southern Hebei. Sima Ying permitted Liu Yuan , an ethnic Xiongnu commander to leave Ye in southern Hebei and return to Shanxi to mobilize

4824-428: The word Khitan. There is no consensus on the etymology of the name of Khitan. There are basically three speculations. Feng Jiasheng argues that it comes from the Yuwen chieftains' names. Zhao Zhenji thinks that the term originated from Xianbei and means "a place where Xianbei had resided". Japanese scholar Otagi Matsuo believes that Khitan's original name was "Xidan", which means "the people who are similar to

4896-444: Was also a helpful source of slaves , Chinese handicrafts, and food, especially in times of famine. Under the influence of China, and following the administrative need for a sedentary administration, the Khitans began to engage in farming, crop cultivation and the building of cities. Unlike the Chinese and Balhae farmers, who cultivated wheat and sorghum millet , the Khitan farmers cultivated panicled millet. The ruling class of

4968-435: Was based in Ji and became one of the "three revolting garrisons of Hebei" after the Anshi Rebellion . After the war, the Lulong Jiedushi retained semi-independence from Tang. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), the warlord Liu Rengong established his base in Youzhou and declared himself "King of Yan" ( 燕王 ). His regime was ultimately toppled by the Later Tang (923–936). Shi Jingtang , founder of

5040-457: Was controlled successively by warlords Liu Yu , Gongsun Zan , Yuan Shao , Yuan Xi and Cao Cao . In 192, Liu Yu was overthrown by his subordinate Gongsun Zan. Two years later, Gongsun Zan was driven out of Ji by Yuan Shao with the help of Wuhuan and Xianbei allies from the steppes. After Yuan Shao lost supremacy of North China to Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu in AD 200, his son Yuan Xi held You Prefecture until 204 before fleeing to

5112-399: Was renamed Zhuo Commandery ( Zhuojun ), one of 190 commanderies in Sui China. The Tang dynasty re-adopted the prefecture but used it as replacement for commandery. Zhuojun reverted to You, which in 640 was one of 360 prefectures of the dynasty. The capital of You Prefecture remained in Ji. The Tang also instituted 10 frontier command garrisons called jiedushi . The Fanyang Jiedushi

5184-571: Was revived during the Tang dynasty as a smaller, commandery prefecture; its capital Youzhou was within present-day Beijing. In the Five Dynasties period, You was one of Sixteen Prefectures ceded to the Khitans of Manchuria. Thereafter, the name You Prefecture was no longer used. According to several ancient texts from the Warring States period (475–221 BC), You was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China . Ancient Chinese histories use

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