Research On Xijing In Liao And Jin Dynasties

Datong is a city with a long history. It has been a multi-national area inhibited by farmers and nomads since ancient times. After Shi Jingtang in the Later Jin Dynasty ceded Yan-Yun-16-cantons province, Yun zhou (now Datong) was annexed to the Liao Dynasty. In order to resist Xixia, Liao Dynasty made Yunzhou as its second capital called Xijing in the 13th year of emperor Chongxi (1044 A.D.). Later in Jin Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, Datong remained taken as the second capital under the name of Xijing.The special physical geography of Datong has made it a place contested by all strategists since ancient times. During the confrontation of between Liao Dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty and that between Jin Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty, Datong became the most important strategic defensive forward position and strategic offensive outpost. Thus both Liao Dynasty and Jin Dynasty attached great importance to it.Datong (the Xijing) in Liao and Jin Dynasties reached the second most glorious period of her history. She was not only the political and military center of Northern China, but also one of the economic and cultural centers at that time. Thus the present paper attempts to describe and analyze the history of Datong in this period.