Liao dynasty

The Great Khitan State (Chinese: 大契丹; pinyin: Dà Qìdān) was founded in 907 by Abaoji (Emperor Taizu of Liao). In 938 or 947 Abaoji's successor, Emperor Taizong of Liao, officially renamed the dynasty as Great Liao (Chinese: 大遼; pinyin: Dà Liáo). This was probably due to the inclusion of non-Khitan peoples in the state. The name was changed back to Great Khitan in 983 during the reign of the Emperor Shengzong of Liao due to a re-assertion of Khitan identity. In 1066 Emperor Daozong of Liao reintroduced the dynastic name Great Liao, and the title remained in official use until the dynasty's collapse. Both Great Khitan and Great Liao enjoyed about 100 years of usage.

In the Khitan script, the state's name included the words Khitan and Liao, but their order was reversed depending on which took precedence. When the state was called Great Khitan in Chinese, the corresponding Khitan language name was Great Khitan Liao (Great Qidun Hura), whereas when it was known as Great Liao in Chinese, the corresponding Khitan name was Great Liao Khitan (Great Hura Qidun). The full name in the Khitan language was thus either Great Central Khitan Liao State (Great Tiaudu Qidi Xura Guren) or Great Central Liao Khitan State (Great Tiaudu Xura Qidi Guren). It is uncertain what the word Liao (Hura) actually meant in the Khitan language. There are several theories for its possible meaning including black, broad, country, the Liao River, or simply a prestigious term whose original meaning had been lost.

In 1124 the successor state established by Yelü Dashi in the Western Regions also officially adopted the dynastic name Great Liao. In historiography, however, this regime is more commonly called the Western Liao or Qara Khitai. The Qara Khitans used neither Western Liao or Qara Khitai to refer to themselves. They regarded themselves as the legitimate continuation of the Liao dynasty and continued to use the Khitan name, Great Liao Khitan (Great Liao in Chinese), as their self-designation. Western Liao is a Chinese designation and Qara Khitai is a Turko-Mongol term. Qara Khitai cannot be found in any Muslim sources before the Mongol invasions, after which Turko-Mongol speakers mistook the word for Liao (Hura) as qara (black). Muslim historians initially referred to the state as Khitai, which may have come from the Uyghur form, in which the final -n or -ń became -y. They adopted the name Qara Khitai after the Mongol invasions.

Due to the dominance of the Khitans during the Liao dynasty in Northeast China 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 the modern era, words related to Khitai 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 Khitan imperial family used two different names for their surname, Yila and Yelü. Yila (Ila) was probably an older term and meant stallion, related to messenger, standard-bearer, warrior. Yelü (Yarud) was adopted at a later point, possibly in the 930s, and is related to the Khitan adjective for flourishing, prosperous.

The earliest reference to a Khitan state is found in the Book of Wei, a history of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) that was completed in 554. Several books written after 554 mention the Khitans being active during the late third and early fourth centuries. The Book of Jin (648) mentions the Khitans in the section covering the reign of Murong Sheng (398–401). The Samguk Sagi (1145) mentions a Khitan raid taking place in 378.

It is generally believed that the Khitans emerged from the Yuwen branch of the Xianbei people. Following a defeat at the hands of another branch of the Xianbei in 345, the Yuwen split into three tribes, one of which was called the Kumo Xi. In 388 the Kumo Xi itself split, with one group remaining under the name Kumo Xi and the other group becoming the Khitans. This view is partially backed up by the Book of Wei, which describes the Khitans originating from the Xianbei. Beginning in the Song dynasty, some Chinese scholars suggested that the Khitans might have descended from the Xiongnu people. While modern historians have rejected the idea that the Khitan were solely Xiongnu in origin, there is some support for the claim that they are of mixed Xianbei and Xiongnu origin. Beginning with Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in the fourteenth century, several scholars have theorized that the Khitans were Mongolic in origin, and in the late 19th century, Western scholars made the claim that the Khitans were Tungusic in origin (modern linguistic analysis has discredited this claim).

After splitting from the Yuwen, the Khitans and Kumo Xi fled to the region of Songmo (modern southern Hexigten Banner and western Ongniud Banner). According to the New Book of Tang, the territory of the Khitans rested on what is now the area south of Xar Moron River and east of the Laoha. The Khitans then faced a joint invasion by the Rouran Khaganate and Goguryeo, which caused them to migrate south to the east of Bailang River (modern Daling River).

By the time the Book of Wei was written in 554, the Khitans had formed a state in what is now China's Jilin and Liaoning Provinces. The Khitans suffered a series of military defeats to other nomadic groups in the region, as well as to the Northern Qi (550–577) and Sui (589–618) dynasties. Khitan tribes at various times fell under the influence of the Uighurs and Sui and Tang dynasties. In the Book of Sui (Volume 84), the Khitan are described as "bellicose in plundering and raiding borders" and "the most uncourteous and arrogant among all barbarians". According to the History of Liao, the Khitans were nomads who migrated according to the season. They depended on horses for their livelihood and let them graze openly while their men were demobilized. Their men drank kumiss and practiced archery to hunt for their daily needs. Due to their way of life, they often had the upper hand in military affairs.

There were eight Khitan tribes that shared power by rotating leadership triennially. The Khitan federation presented tribute to the Northern Yan (409–436), which in return invested the Khitan khan as Prince Guishan. The Khitans also regularly presented tribute to the Northern Wei (386–534) court in the form of horses and animal skins. Trade occurred on the border in Helong (modern Chaoyang) and Miyun. In 553, the Khitans suffered a defeat to the armies of Northern Qi (550–577) and lost a large portion of their population as well as cattle. For a time they resided in Goguryeo. In 584, they submitted to the Sui dynasty (581–618). In 605, they were attacked by the Türks and lost 40,000 men and women. The eight tribes of old dispersed. Only two Khitan leaders are known from this period: Hechen and Wuyu. The title of Khitan chieftains was Mofuhe or Mohefu.

In the early 7th century, the Dahe clan unified the Khitan tribes into a federation. The Hedahe were the leading tribe. The component tribes were largely autonomous and the Dahe were only responsible for foreign affairs. After the Dahe united the Khitans, leadership was selected from their lineage by "Shixuan", electing a leader based on their talent and ability. The other clans had the right to vote but not to be elected.

The Dahe Confederation submitted to the Tang in both 628 and 648, under the leadership of Mohui and Kuge respectively. Kuge was appointed the Governor-general of Songmo. The chieftains of the tribes were appointed as prefects. The Tang emperor bestowed the imperial surname Li on the Dahe and appointed their leader to a governorship that was "an office specifically created for the indirect management of the Khitan tribes". Some Khitan tribes were not included in the Dahe Confederation. The Neiji tribe led by Sun Aocao submitted to the Tang in 619. Aocao's great-grandson Sun Wanrong was appointed prefect of Guicheng.

Towards the turn of the century, Tang control of the north began to slip. The Governor-general of Yingzhou, Zhao Wenhui, regarded the Khitan chieftains as his servants. The Khitan chieftain Sun Wanrong and his brother-in-law, the governor of Songmo, Li Jinzhong, felt insulted and bullied by Zhao. In 696, a famine occurred in Khitan territory and caused them to rebel. Li Jinzhong captured Yingzhou and declared himself "Wushang Khagan" (paramount khagan). The Tang were defeated at Xiashi Gorge (Lulong County) and continued to suffer defeats until Li Jinzhong died of disease. Qapaghan Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate attacked the Khitans from the north while the Tang invaded from the south. The Khitans suffered a heavy defeat before Sun Wanrong rescued the situation and counterattacked, seizing Yingzhou and Youzhou. A 170,000 strong Tang army was defeated by the Khitans. Another 200,000 soldiers were sent against the Khitans but also failed to stop their advance. However the Türks sacking their capital, Xincheng, and the Kumo Xi defected from their ranks. After Sun Wanrong was killed by his servant, it took another fifteen years from 700 to 714 before the Tang were able to reassert control over the Khitans.

In 720, the military chief (Yaguan) Ketuyu attacked the reigning Khitan ruler, Suogu, who fled to Yingzhou seeking Chinese protection. General Xue Tai was ordered to punish Ketuyu but he failed and was captured along with Suogu and the Kumo Xi king Li Dapu. Ketuyu enthroned Suogu's cousin Yuyu as the new Khitan ruler and sent tribute to the Tang court, but the official in charge treated him with rudeness. Ketuyu murdered the Khitan ruler and defected to the Türks. Ketuyu suffered a defeat against the Tang in 732 and fled while his Kumo Xi allies surrendered to the Tang. In 734, Ketuyu defeated a Tang army with the support of his Türkic allies and then lost another battle against Tang forces under the command of Zhang Shougui. The Tang convinced a Khitan military official, Li Guozhe, to murder Ketuyu and the Khitan ruler Qulie, who had been enthroned by Ketuyu.

The rebellion of Ketuyu ended Dahe supremacy in 730. Li Guozhe, chief of the Yishihuo tribe, and Nieli, also from the Yishihuo tribe, founded a new confederation. Nieli enthroned Zuwu Khagan from the Yaonian clan as the supreme ruler of the Khitans, while Nieli became the military chief. Although there was a khagan, the military chief's power actually exceeded that of the khagan throughout the duration of the confederation. The ten tribes of the Yaonian Confederation consisted of the Danlijie, Yishihuo, Shihuo, Nawei, Pinmo, Nahuiji, Jijie, Xiwa, Yaonian, and Yila. Other tribes are also mentioned: the Yishi, Pin, Chute, Wukui, Niela, Tulübu, and Tuju.

The Tang governor An Lushan launched two invasions into Khitan territory in 751 and 755. After being soundly defeated by the Khitans during the first invasion, An Lushan was successful in the second. An then led a rebellion against the Tang that included Khitan troops in his army. An had a Khitan eunuch named Li Zhuer who worked for him as a teenager but An Lushan castrated him. Li Zhuer was highly trusted by An Lushan, and he and two other men served as his personal attendants. Li Zhuer was approached by conspirators who wanted to kill An when he became ill and started abusing his subordinates. An was hacked to death by Li Zhuer and another conspirator, Yan Zhuang, who was beaten by An before. The An Lushan Rebellion marked the beginning of the end of the Tang dynasty.

Following the An Lushan Rebellion, the Khitans became vassals of the Uighurs while simultaneously paying tribute to the Tang, a situation that lasted from 755 until the fall of the Uighurs in 840. There were 29 recorded tribute activities to the Tang from 756 to 841. From 840 until the rise of Abaoji, the Khitans remained a tributary of the Tang dynasty. Towards the end of that period, the Khitans began a series of major conquests. Under the reign of Xianzhi Khagan (860?–882?), the Khitans subjugated the Kumo Xi and Shiwei. Two campaigns were launched against the Kumo Xi. Xianzhi captured 700 Xi households who were later settled as the Dieladieda tribe under Abaoji's reign. Saladi, Abaoji's father, captured 7,000 Xi households and moved them to Qinghe in the region of Raole (west of modern Ningcheng County). During the Xiantong reign period (860–874), Xianzhi sent envoys to the Tang court twice. According to the Zizhi Tongjian, during the Xiantong period, the Khitans' territory expanded drastically and by the time of Abaoji, all the Kumo Xi, Shiwei, Tatars, western Türks, and Jurchens had been defeated.

Abaoji, posthumously Emperor Taizu of Liao, was born in 872 to the Yila chieftain, Saladi. According to the Later Tang envoy Yao Kun, who met the Khitan ruler in person, Abaoji was extremely tall (9 chi; over two meters).

By the time of Abaoji, the Yila had become the largest and strongest of the Khitan tribes, even though the Yaonian khans still held overall power. The Yila tribe descended from the Yishihuo, who settled closer to Han civilization than other Khitans. In the 730s, the Yila became a tribe independent of the Yaonian. Under the influence of Han culture, Yundeshi (820s–860s?), Abaoji's grandfather, became the first Khitan to practice and teach settled agriculture. Shulan, Abaoji's uncle, was the first Khitan to practice masonry and build walled cities. To their south, the Han people of Youzhou Jiedushi fled the rule of Liu Rengong, most of them ending up in Yila territory. Han farmers were resettled by Abaoji and Han craftsman taught the Khitans how to spin and weave. The adoption of agrarian culture, Han refugees, and more advanced labor organization made the Yila tribe far richer than other Khitans. Abaoji placed Han intellectuals such as Kang Moji, Han Yanhui, and Han Zhigu into his administration. Kang Moji was responsible for legal matters between Khitans and Han. Later he supervised the building of the capital city. Han Yanhui was made an official in charge of military affairs and oversaw the subdued Han population, settling them and making sure they did not flee. Han Zhigu participated in strategy and decision making. He later took charge of the department handling Han affairs and managed protocols of foreign affairs. He also combined Han institutions and Khitan customs to make them easier to understand for Khitans.

Abaoji held the title of Dama Yueshali, the commander of the khagan's personal guard, in the late 9th century. In 901, Abaoji was elected Yilijin (chieftain) of the Yila by the triennial council. None of the Khitans except the Yaonian used surnames at the time, but later in the 930s, Abaoji's clan adopted Yelü as their surname. At the same time their consort clan also began using the surname Xiao.

After his accession as leader of the Yila, Abaoji raided the Tang dynasty, attacked the Jurchens, and established superiority over the Shiwei and Kumo Xi. In 903, Abaoji was named Yüyue, the supreme commander of all Khitans, second only to the Yaonian Khagan. Two years later, he led 70,000 cavalry to Datong to form a blood oath with the Shatuo warlord Li Keyong.

At its height, the Liao dynasty controlled what is now Shanxi, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia provinces in China, as well as northern portions of the Korean peninsula, portions of the Russian Far East, and much of the country of Mongolia. The peak population is estimated at 750,000 Khitans and two to three million ethnic Han Chinese.

There were two ceremonies for the ascension of Khitan leaders, the Chaice Yi (Recognition Ceremony) and Zaisheng Yi (Rebirth Ceremony). These ceremonies were created during the reign of Zuwu khagan (r. 735–745) when leaders were elected. The Liao dynasty inherited these ceremonies as symbolic rituals for the enthronement of the emperor. The Rebirth Ceremony was then performed every 12 years by the emperor and confirmed his right to rule. The Rebirth Ceremony was a ritual that involved burning a special building that the emperor entered in order to be reborn, ceremonial actors, libations, ritual objects, incantations, and undressing and redressing in special clothes. While the rite was officially restricted to only the male ruler (emperor), both the regent Empress Dowager Chengtian (Xiao Yanyan) and Fatian (Xiao Noujin) undertook the Rebirth Ceremony to cement their rule.

The Liao employed two governments that operated in parallel with each other: a Northern Administration responsible for Khitan and nomadic peoples who mostly lived in the northern half of Liao territory, and a Southern Administration for the settled Han population in the southern half of Liao territory. Initially these two governments did not have strict territorial boundaries but Emperor Shizong (947–951) formally delineated their territorial limits early in his reign. The newly delineated Northern Administration had large populations of non-nomadic Han , Balhae, and Uighur populations, resulting in its own internal northern and southern governments.

The Northern Administration was ruled as if it was a tribal leader's personal retinue. Many of the governmental appointments dealt with tribal affairs, herds, and retainers serving the imperial house, and most powerful and high-ranking positions dealt with military affairs. The overwhelming majority of officeholders were Khitans, mainly from the imperial Yelü clan and the Xiao consort clan. The tribal borderlands of the Liao empire were never clearly defined and constituted a region of loosely subject peoples who sometimes fled or assimilated into the Liao polity. Two groups proved particularly difficult to deal with: the Jurchens in the northeast and the Zubu tribes in Mongolia.

The Southern Administration was more heavily structured and modeled after the Tang dynasty's government. Many of the low- and medium-ranked officials in the Southern Administration were Han Chinese. Certain ethnic Han families in particular, descended from meritorious officials, played an important role in the Liao government and became powerful clans: the Han, the Zhao, the Liu and the Ma.

The Liao dynasty was further divided into five "circuits", each with a capital city. The general idea for this system was taken from the Balhae, although no captured Balhae cities were made into circuit capitals. The five capital cities were Shangjing (Supreme Capital), located in modern-day Inner Mongolia; Nanjing (Southern Capital), located near modern-day Beijing; Dongjing (Eastern Capital), located near modern-day Liaoning; Zhongjing (Central Capital) located in modern-day Hebei province near the Laoha river; and Xijing (Western Capital), located near modern-day Datong. Each circuit was headed by a powerful viceroy who had the autonomy to tailor policies to meet the needs of the population within his circuit. Circuits were further subdivided into administrations called fu (府), which were metropolitan areas surrounding capital cities, and outside of metropolitan areas were divided into prefectures called zhou (州), which themselves were divided into counties called xian (縣).

Despite these administrative systems, important state decisions were still made by the emperor. The emperor met with officials from the Northern and Southern Administrations twice a year, but aside from that the emperor spent much of his time attending to tribal affairs outside of the capital cities.

The Khitans were originally divided into 8 tribes each led by a commander replaced once every three years. Abaoji then declared himself king to prevent the other clans from replacing him. The tribes convened for discussions for mobilization or warfare. From these military origins developed the Khitan custom of convening assemblies. After ascending the throne, Abaoji divided his own Yila tribe into two and entrusted them to members of his family, requiring him to establish a new guard by drawing recruits from each tribe.

The Liao army was originally 2,000 men picked from various tribes and cities as Abaoji's personal retinue. Another 2,000 men were added from captives taken from Balhae and Jingzhou. This retinue became an orda, the emperor's private army that contained 15,000 households, and could field up to 6,000 horsemen. The Liao nobles each had their own private domain (touxia) with private military forces which the Liao government "borrowed" for campaign. These domains consisted of "mandatory prefectures and counties" which were founded by nobles or chieftains to resettle their captives. According to the History of Liao, the Liao nobles treated the state as if it was their family. They provided private armies to assist the government during times of war. The larger ordas comprised up to a thousand or more horsemen while smaller ones several hundred horsemen. By the end of the dynasty, the emperor's ordas together constituted 81,000 Khitan households and 124,000 Balhae and Chinese households, which together could field up to 101,000 horsemen. Each orda had Control Offices (tixiasi) stationed in 4 of the 5 Liao capitals and in the ethnic Han-populated Pingzhou and Fengshengzhou prefectures, to manage the military mobilization of the parts of the local population which were attached to their orda. Every successive emperor created a new orda, leaving the previous emperor's orda to guard his predecessor's mausoleum. Military affairs came under the authority of the Northern administration, =and therefore Southern administration officials had to report to the Northern administration on military matters rather than directly to the emperor.

The Liao Army was composed of 3 sections: the Orda, who were the elite personal cavalry of the Emperor, the tribal cavalry of Khitans and an auxiliary force of non-Khitan tribes, and militia infantry of Han Chinese and other sedentary peoples, who also provided the foot archers and catapult crews. Appanage territories were often granted to commanders. Khitan tribal manpower was still available for service both in China and in the steppe, but tribal chieftains living in towns became more detached from the tribal structure. The Khitan forces therefore enjoyed both the grain supply and weapon manufacturing facilities of sedentary society and the horse and livestock supply to maintain mobility and meat rations in the field. The Khitans hence had an edge over the Turkic tribes on the steppe.

The core of the Liao army was composed of heavy armoured cavalry. In battle they arrayed light cavalry in the front and two layers of armoured cavalry in the back. Even foragers were armoured. Units of Khitan heavy cavalry were organized in groups of 500 to 700 men. Unlike some other empires originating from nomadic tribes, the Khitans preferred to fight in dense heavy cavalry formations rather than the wide formations of horse archers.

The Khitan language is closely related to the Mongolic language family; some broader definitions of the Mongolic family include Khitan as a member. It is distantly related to the Mongolian language with many loan words from Tungusic languages and Turkic languages.

Prior to their conquest of north China and the establishment of the Liao dynasty, the Khitans had no written language. In 920 the first of two Khitan scripts, the Khitan large script, was developed. A second script, the Khitan small script, was developed in 925. Both scripts are based on the same spoken language, and both contain a mix of logographs and phonographs. Despite surface level similarities to Chinese characters, the Khitan scripts are functionally unintelligible to Chinese readers, and neither scripts have been fully deciphered to this day. The script had some 3,000 characters and was used to translate Chinese texts into the Khitan language. However the script's circulation was banned outside Khitan territory and practically none of it has survived into modern times. Only a single manuscript text in the Khitan large script is known (Nova N 176), and no manuscripts in the Khitan small script are known.

Most surviving specimens of both Khitan scripts are epitaph inscriptions on stone tablets, as well as a number of inscriptions on coins, mirrors and seals. The Liao emperors could read Chinese, and while there were some Chinese works translated into Khitan during the Liao dynasty, the Confucian classics, which served as the core guide to the administration of government in China, are not known to have been translated into Khitan. Most poetry and prose such as The Qingning Collection by Emperor Daozong were written in Chinese. The Liao literati elite were well versed in Chinese writing and all official external communications such as edicts, memorials, and documents to foreigners were conducted in Chinese.

Khitan women were taught how to hunt, and managed family herds, flocks, finances, and property when their husbands were at war. Upper-class women were able to hold governmental and military posts. A number of elite women such as the Liao empresses Shulü Ping (Empress Yingtian), her niece Xiao Wen (Empress Jing'an), and grand-niece Xiao Yanyan (Empress Chengtian) took part in military affairs, accompanied the emperor in battle, commanded their own armies, and went hunting. Han Chinese living under the Liao dynasty were not forced to adopt Khitan practices, and while some Han Chinese did, many did not.

In Khitan culture, elites tended to marry women who were their senior. Men usually around the age of sixteen while women married around the age of nineteen, although marriage at a younger age is known for both. Polygamy was practiced by Khitan men who had multiple wives, sometimes marrying a number of women who were sisters in sororate marriage. Over the course of the dynasty, the Khitan elite moved away from having several wives towards the Han practice of having one wife and one or more concubines. This was done largely to smooth over the process of inheritance.

Among Khitan commoners, women did not have arranged marriages and would attract suitors by singing and dancing in the streets. Virginity was not a marriage requirement among the Khitans. Betrothal was seen in Khitan society as equally important to marriage and was difficult to annul. The groom would pledge to work for three years for the bride's family, pay a bride price, and lavish the bride's family with gifts. After three years, the groom was allowed to take the bride back to his home, and the bride would usually cut off all ties with her family. Abduction of marriage-age women was common. Sometimes the abduction as well as sexual intercourse were pre-arranged as part of the courtship process, after which they would return to the woman's home to announce their intention to marry. In other cases, the abduction was non-consensual and resulted in rape. Khitan women had the right to divorce and were able to remarry after divorce.

Religion in Liao society was a synthesis of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Khitan tribal religion. During Abaoji's reign, temples of all three major religions were constructed, but afterwards, imperial patronage was restricted mainly to Buddhism, which by the early tenth century, the majority of Khitans had adopted. The Buddha was considered a protective deity by the Khitans, who named him "The Benevolent King Who Guards the Country." They invoked Buddhism whenever they went to war and made massive offerings to placate the souls of fallen soldiers. The Liao began printing Buddhist texts in the 990s and an entire copy of the Tripitaka was completed in 1075. Portions of it have been found in a pagoda built in 1056. Buddhist scholars living during the time of the Liao dynasty predicted that the mofa (末法), an age in which the three treasures of Buddhism would be destroyed, was to begin in the year 1052. Previous dynasties, including the Sui and Tang, were also concerned with the mofa, although their predictions for when the mofa would start were different from the one selected by the Liao. As early as the Sui dynasty, efforts were made to preserve Buddhist teachings by carving them into stone or burying them. These efforts continued into the Liao dynasty, with Emperor Xingzong funding several projects in the years immediately preceding 1052.

Some elements of traditional Khitan tribal religion continued to be observed. The Khitans worshiped the sun and the ritual position for the emperor was to face the east where the sun rose, unlike Han Chinese emperors, who faced south. Royal dwellings also faced the east. Khitans worshiped spirits of the Muye Mountain, the legendary home of the Khitans' ancestors, and a "Black Mountain." 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 the bones would be cremated. The Khitan believed that the souls of the dead rested at the Black Mountain, near Rehe Province. Liao burial sites indicate that animistic or shamanistic practices coexisted with Buddhism in marriage and burial ceremonies. Both animal and human sacrifices have been found in Liao tombs alongside indications of Buddhist influence. Khitan 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 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 Khitan would sacrifice a white horse, white sheep, and white goose during the Winter solstice. In warfare, they practiced a form of divination where the decision to carry out war was determined by whether or not the shoulder blade of a white sheep cracked while being heated (scapulimancy).

Many elite Khitans, including noblemen and refugees who became the Qara Khitai after the defeat by the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), converted to Confucianism, which they believed had the power to appease nature through power of traditional Confucian rites.

The Khitans buried their elite dead with metal masks and woven-wire suits. The masks were personalized to the face of the deceased and made from bronze, silver, or gold depending on their status. The Princess of Chen and her husband were found in a silver wire-suit with gold masks and a gold headdress. Sometimes earrings are depicted on the masks as well. The Khitans believed a metal mask and suit would preserve the body and prevent decay. Some remains were cremated.

The Khitans, from the 920s, adopted Tang dynasty-style tomb architecture very quickly and in increasingly elaborate forms. Liao mausoleums were based on Tang-style cultural influences, rather than the newer Song dynasty-style.

The influence of the Liao dynasty on subsequent culture includes a large legacy of statuary art works, with important surviving examples in painted wood, metal, and three-color glazed sancai ceramics. The music and songs of the Liao dynasty are also known to have indirectly or directly influenced Mongol, Jurchen, and Chinese musical traditions.

The rhythmic and tonal pattern of the ci (詞) form of poetry, an important part of Song dynasty poetry, uses a set of poetic meters and is based upon certain definitive musical song tunes. The specific origin of these various original tunes and musical modes is not known, but the influence of Liao dynasty lyrics both directly and indirectly through the music and lyrics of the Jurchen Jin dynasty appears likely. At least one Han Chinese source considered the Liao (and Jurchen) music to be the vigorous and powerful music of horse-mounted warriors, diffused through border warfare.

Another influence of the Liao cultural tradition is seen in the Yuan dynasty's zaju (雜劇) theater, its associated orchestration, and the qu (曲) and sanqu (散曲) forms of Classical Chinese poetry. One documented way in which this influence occurred was through the incorporation of Khitan officers and men into the service of the Mongol forces during the first Mongol invasion of 1211 to 1215.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua announced in January 2018 that the ruins in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, of an ancient palace that served as the summer retreat for the royal family and retinue of the Liao dynasty, had been discovered. They would move each year from mid-April to mid-July to avoid the heat. The site includes foundations of 12 buildings of more than 2,500 square feet that have been recorded and artifacts, such as glazed tiles, pottery and copper nails that were used to date the site.