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Settlement towns built on the north-eastern steppe of Inner Mongolia during Khitan-Liao and their impact on Chinese history: A new inquiry on Touxia = 契丹-遼王朝建立在內蒙古東北草原上的定居城鎮及其對中國歷史的影響：對「投下」的新探究
Principal Investigator
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
Grant Type
Faculty Development Scheme
Project Code
UGC/FDS15/H03/22
Amount Awarded
HK$903,402
Funding Year
2023-2025
Duration of the Project
30 months
Status
Ongoing
Abstract
This proposed study aims to investigate and examine settlement towns built on the north-eastern steppe of Inner Mongolia in Khitan-Liao (907–1125) with a focus on those recorded as ‘Touxia’ (投下). The impact of these settlement towns was felt not only by their contemporary social, political, and economic structures, but by later Chinese dynasties, as well. They had subsequent impact on the governance of diverse ethnicities and the development of agriculture and animal husbandry societies, and on the connections and interactions between China and Eurasia.
However, what were these towns known as Touxia and what does the term actually mean? This remains a mystery today. The term Touxia first appeared in historical records for the Khitan-Liao, followed by historical literature of the Mongolian-Yuan, and then disappeared suddenly from all later historical Chinese documents. Wang Guowei (王國維) first traced the etymology of Touxia in 1923, attracting sustained scholarly interest ever since in China and overseas. After almost a century of study, researchers generally have concluded that residents in Touxia were Han and other agricultural peoples captured in wars by the Khitan royal family and aristocracy, and these settlement towns are believed to be a unique system independent from the local prefecture and county systems of the empire. However, there are many doubts about this conception of Touxia, including its origin, governance, operation, and development, which has made it one of the major outstanding unsettled mysteries of the Khitan-Liao history.
As the main source of data for the study of Khitan-Liao – Liao Shi (遼史), one of the official twenty-four histories of China – is known for its crudeness, simplicity, and errors, the study of Touxia faces a serious lack of information. In particular, due to the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual coexistence across the vast territory of Khitan-Liao, the study of Touxia faces a distinct ethnolinguistic issue, which makes using only the interpretation of Liao Shi especially unreliable. To solve these problems, this proposed research will collect and analyze multi-source data from the perspectives of history, ethnology, linguistics, and archaeology.
To study Touxia, this project will consist of three stages. The first stage is mainly a visit of historical sites and local museums in the area where Touxia were located – eastern Inner Mongolia and western Liaoning today – to collect and inspect data including stele inscriptions, unearthed archaeological material, gazetteers and other historical records. The second stage is the analysis, starting with the comparison and cross-verification of all available data both newly collected and previously concerned or underestimated by other studies. The study will then examine Touxia from its linguistical origin, etymology, and semantics to its physical emergence, population composition, governance structure, and financial and military relations to the central government at different times of the dynasty. On this basis, the third and final stage of the project will organize and present the new material and associated insights into the Khitan-Liao history. Expected outputs include new arguments on the interpretation of Touxia and a conceptual framework of the local political and administrative institutions of Khitan-Liao through the case of Touxia. Based on collected evidence, the study will contribute to discussion of the centralized and decentralized paradigms of the political systems of that time, to systematic study of the political structure and power order of the empire, and to a juxtaposition between Khitan-Liao and its successors – Jurchen-Jin and Mongolian-Yuan. As the emergence of settlement towns in the steppe region was an innovative practice of the nomadic regime, this proposed study will offer new insights not only for the Khistan-Liao, but also for its influence on subsequent dynasties in pre-modern China and Inner Asia. The study will also have theoretical and practical implications for modern times, particularly in providing historical references for the coexistence and governance of diverse ethnic groups, as well as the process of urbanization in societies.
However, what were these towns known as Touxia and what does the term actually mean? This remains a mystery today. The term Touxia first appeared in historical records for the Khitan-Liao, followed by historical literature of the Mongolian-Yuan, and then disappeared suddenly from all later historical Chinese documents. Wang Guowei (王國維) first traced the etymology of Touxia in 1923, attracting sustained scholarly interest ever since in China and overseas. After almost a century of study, researchers generally have concluded that residents in Touxia were Han and other agricultural peoples captured in wars by the Khitan royal family and aristocracy, and these settlement towns are believed to be a unique system independent from the local prefecture and county systems of the empire. However, there are many doubts about this conception of Touxia, including its origin, governance, operation, and development, which has made it one of the major outstanding unsettled mysteries of the Khitan-Liao history.
As the main source of data for the study of Khitan-Liao – Liao Shi (遼史), one of the official twenty-four histories of China – is known for its crudeness, simplicity, and errors, the study of Touxia faces a serious lack of information. In particular, due to the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual coexistence across the vast territory of Khitan-Liao, the study of Touxia faces a distinct ethnolinguistic issue, which makes using only the interpretation of Liao Shi especially unreliable. To solve these problems, this proposed research will collect and analyze multi-source data from the perspectives of history, ethnology, linguistics, and archaeology.
To study Touxia, this project will consist of three stages. The first stage is mainly a visit of historical sites and local museums in the area where Touxia were located – eastern Inner Mongolia and western Liaoning today – to collect and inspect data including stele inscriptions, unearthed archaeological material, gazetteers and other historical records. The second stage is the analysis, starting with the comparison and cross-verification of all available data both newly collected and previously concerned or underestimated by other studies. The study will then examine Touxia from its linguistical origin, etymology, and semantics to its physical emergence, population composition, governance structure, and financial and military relations to the central government at different times of the dynasty. On this basis, the third and final stage of the project will organize and present the new material and associated insights into the Khitan-Liao history. Expected outputs include new arguments on the interpretation of Touxia and a conceptual framework of the local political and administrative institutions of Khitan-Liao through the case of Touxia. Based on collected evidence, the study will contribute to discussion of the centralized and decentralized paradigms of the political systems of that time, to systematic study of the political structure and power order of the empire, and to a juxtaposition between Khitan-Liao and its successors – Jurchen-Jin and Mongolian-Yuan. As the emergence of settlement towns in the steppe region was an innovative practice of the nomadic regime, this proposed study will offer new insights not only for the Khistan-Liao, but also for its influence on subsequent dynasties in pre-modern China and Inner Asia. The study will also have theoretical and practical implications for modern times, particularly in providing historical references for the coexistence and governance of diverse ethnic groups, as well as the process of urbanization in societies.