Exploration Of The National Consciousness Of Liao Dynasty

Under the rule of the Liao Dynasty, a multi-ethnic regime built by the Khitan people, the Han, the Xi and the Bohai people were the major ethnic groups in its territory in addition to Khitan people. These ethnic groups had frequent and close communications and exchanges with each other and jointly promoted the social development and the national amalgamation.The early Liao Dynasty was during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period with a separated and divided Central China. The divided status provided all the northern ethnic groups with the opportunities and conditions of rapid de velopment. The prosperity replacement was the m ain characteristics in the development of the northern ethnic groups at that time, and was also a factor influencing the significant changes of the national consciousness.Under the rule of t he Liao Dynasty, the national consciousness of all peoples showed both ethnic difference and gradual convergence. Among the many nationalities of Liao Dynasty, the Khitan and Han people made the highest influence, and exploring the ethnic consciousness of the Khitan and Han peoples is meaningful for the development and national amalgamation of all these nationalities. The ethnic consciousness or national concept among the Han people showed a gradually weakening trend, gradually turned from the initial boycott to acknowledgement and support to the Liao regime. Since the different sources and ingredients of the H an people within the territory of Liao D ynasty, their own national consciousness and attitudes towards the Liao regime was also varied a lot. To sum up, it can be divided into the national consciousness of the Han officials and that of the ordinary Han people in the discussion below. The Khitan people had a growing awareness of ethnic, gradually established the national "orthodox view", and paid more attention to the self-protection awareness, and the national self-confidence and pride were deeply rooted among them. Other ethnic groups affected by the Han and the Khitan people had gradually increased the Khitan factors in their ethnic consciousness and had improved amalgamation consciousness.The gradual weakening of the n ational consciousness among the Han people ruled by the Liao Dynasty and the gradual increasing of the national consciousness among the Khitan had promoted the formation and development of the open and tolerant national spirit of Liao. The communications, exchanges and mutual amalgamation among various ethnic groups of Liao had made important contributions to the formation and t he construction of the northern territory of China, which also demonstrates the theory of the unity with diversity of Chinese nation.