A Study On The Liao Dynasty Society Described By Envoys In The Northern Song Dynasty

The coexistence of song and Liao dynasties is an important period of national exchange and identity in Chinese history.During this period,the diplomatic between Song and Liao dynasties created a model of equal communication between co-existing regimes.Both sides exchanged envoys,exchanged greetings and negotiated issues,thus maintaining peaceful and friendly relations.The envoys of the Song Dynasty who went to Liao Dynasty are the key groups in the diplomatic between Song and Liao Dynasty.Their recorded and created ambassador-to-Liao quotations and ambassador-to-Liao poems are important historical materials for studying the social situation of Liao Dynasty,which deserves researchers’ attention.For a long time,the academic circles have paid more attention to the diplomatic between Song and Liao Dynasties and the ethnic exchanges at that time,with fruitful results.However,on the whole,the researchers are still insufficient in digging and using the quotations and poems of the envoys of the Song Dynasty who went to Liao,especially in the perspective of Song Dynasty envoy "the other" to see the exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups in the social development of Liao Dynasty,which has not yet formed a deep and systematic research result.Therefore,making full use of historical books and archaeological materials,such as ambassador-to-Liao quotations,ambassador-to-Liao poems,《History of Liao Dynasty》《The Long Draft Edition of Continuing History as a Mirror》etc,combining with the research methods of archaeology,ethnology,anthropology,geography and other disciplines,and based on the previous research results,it is necessary for academic discussion to investigate and study the ethnic blending situation in Liao Dynasty society,and it can also provide historical support for the important proposition of "building a strong sense of Chinese national community".Firstly,this thesis briefly sorts out and evaluates the research results of domestic and foreign researchers on the diplomatic between Song and Liao,ambassador-to-Liao quotations and ambassador-to-Liao poems,and exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty,etc.Then,this thesis sorts out and discriminates the historical materials related to the diplomatic between Song and Liao Dynasties and exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty,counts and identifies the existing ambassador-to-Liao quotations and ambassador-to-Liao poems as comprehensively as possible,and finds that they contain rich contents such as the Journey to Liao’s Post Road,the geographical environment of Liao border,the social life of Liao people and the mentality of scholars in Northern Song Dynasty towards Liao,etc.and have the value of filling up the gaps and proving each other compared with other historical materials related to Liao Dynasty.In addition,some historical books,local chronicles,notes of the Song people,murals of Liao tombs,stone carvings relics are also important historical materials to reveal the exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty,which can be mutually verified with ambassador-to-Liao quotations and ambassador-to-Liao poems.In the vision of Song Dynasty envoy who went to Liao,there are various geomorphic type in Liao,and there are significant regional differences in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.Due to the migration of population,the mixed residence of immigrants and the emphasis on the coordinated development of agriculture and animal husbandry,the mutual recognition of production technology exchanges and livelihood styles among all ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty has been continuously strengthened,gradually forming a harmonious ethnic relationship.Industrial integration and residential integration made the communication between ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty increasingly close,and the exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups became the main trend of social development at that time.At the same time,this kind of communication and blending has also been fully reflected in the fields of fishing and hunting,handicrafts,commerce and so on.The fishing and hunting products of Liao Dynasty are treasures of state banquets that receive and present envoys from various countries,and their fishing and hunting customs have also had an important influence on later generations,reflecting the horizontal transmission and vertical inheritance of production culture.The inter-spatial and inter-ethnic spread of handicraft production technology in Liao Dynasty showed the ethnic cultural individuality and ethnic integration characteristics.The grassland Silk Road and currency circulation in Liao Dynasty highlighted the mutual influence of East and West economy and culture,and the mutual communication between northern ethnic groups and Han ethnic group.The social life of Liao Dynasty,as seen by the envoys of Song Dynasty who went to Liao,has the outstanding characteristics of exchange and interaction among different ethnic groups.In terms of clothing,the trend of Khitanization of Hanfu clothing and Sinicization of minority clothing is obvious,which reveals the fact that ethnic clothing cultures absorb and learn from each other.On the diet,the food structure,catering utensils,banquet etiquette,etc,all show the mutual influence of different ethnic groups,with distinct ethnic communication imprint;In terms of living and traveling,the yurt dome and tile hut coexist,and "horses" and "Wooden cart of Xi ethnic group" are used together,reflecting the mutual embedding of nomadic and farming.In addition,constitution integration in marriage customs and cultural integration in festivals and entertainment are also important witnesses of cultural integration of all ethnic groups in Liao Dynasty.What the Song Dynasty emissaries who went to Liao saw and heard about the Post road traffic,climate and environment,economy and industry,social life,and the process of diplomatic in Liao Dynasty gave birth to the historical memory of the Song-Liao border and the emotional expression of "great power thought".They assumed the homesickness psychology of Han people in Yanyun area,paid attention to the "China" consciousness of Liao Dynasty society,rejected the increasingly strong orthodox ideas of Liao Dynasty,and proved from the perspective of "observer" that "China" was a name with strong appeal,cohesion and symbiosis in history,and was a historical concept that was jointly enriched by various political powers in different periods.The experience records and emotional expressions of the envoy of the Song Dynasty who went to Liao reflected the formation of the community consciousness characterized by "the integration of the Han ethnic group and ethnic minorities" in Liao Dynasty,and reflect the historical facts of social and ethnic integration in Liao Dynasty and promoting the further consolidation and development of Chinese national community.