Reveal the eye-catching marriage customs of ancient Khitan

Among Khitan customs, marriage custom is a relatively important and unique one. The legend about green cattle and white horses in Liao history not only records the earliest historical origin of the Khitan nation, but also reflects the initial marital status of the Khitan nation. In this legend, the Khitan people described their ancestors as a man riding a white horse and a woman riding a green ox. After meeting, they fell in love with each other, married, gave birth to children, and gradually formed the eight Khitan tribes. Legend reflects that the Khitan people began to practice exogamy among the clans very early, that is, two clans of different lineages intermarried each other. These two clans are mythologically regarded as lineage groups with green cattle and white horses as totems respectively. After the founding of the Khitan people, the blood group with green ox as its totem was marked as Yelu; the blood group with white horse as its totem was marked as Xiao. After a long period of social changes, the Khitan people still follow the characteristics of marriage between two surnames. Due to this custom, a series of open, diverse and unique marriage customs phenomena were formed in the Khitan society of the Liao Dynasty.

Uncle can marry his niece and granddaughter dare to marry his grandfather. The Khitan surnames are basically Yelu and Xiao. Among them, Yelu's surname includes the original Dahe, Yaonian and Shili of the family of Yelu ABaoji, Taizu of the Liao Dynasty; the Xiao surname includes the Yishi family, Balili and the Shulu family of the Empress Dowager Shuluping family. Most intermarriages among the Khitan people take place between these two surnames. Starting from the fourth ancestor of ABaoji, Sahid, the Yelu family, Shiri and Shulu family, who belonged to the ABaoji family, and later changed to Xiao), formed the custom of intermarriage. In the end of the Liao Dynasty, these two families always maintained a strong marriage relationship. On the one hand, this was because the ancient tradition of marriage between the two Khitan clans was continued. On the other hand, after the founding of the Khitan Dynasty, Yelu ABaoji and his successors fixed this relationship in the form of law: it was stipulated that the Yelu royal family belonging to the ABaoji family could only intermarry with the Shulu hou family of the Xiao surname.

Therefore, after the emperors of the Liao Dynasty married, especially the original wife, they could only choose within the Xiao family. Among the nine emperors of the Liao Dynasty, except for Zhen, who was Han among the two empresses of Sejong Yelü Ruan, the position of the empresses has always been passed down within the Xiao family. This situation reached its peak during the period of Sheng, Xing and Daozong of Liao Dynasty. Since the empresses of these three emperors all came from the family of Xiao Taogui, the father of Shuluping, the saying that one family and three descendants emerged. This system of marriage between two surnames is unique in the marriage history of ancient emperors in China. Although the marriage between Manchu and Mongolian in later generations has similarities with it, the practice of marriage between the Yelu royal family group and the powerful Xiao family descendants group from generation to generation is unmatched by any dynasty.

This is not only a continuation of the inherent traditional marriage customs in the development of the nation and social changes, but also a reflection of the Liao Dynasty's national policy of joint governance between the royal family and the descendants. The Liao royal family also played a role in expanding the foundation of its rule and consolidating its political status through marriage with the later clans. Within the Khitan tribe, not only did the system of marriage between Yelu and Xiao surnames be implemented, but the Liao Dynasty law also stipulated that Khitan aristocrats had to intermarry between two noble families in the two surnames, that is, they had to be matched with each other. In October of the eighth year of Kaitai, Emperor Shengzong of Liao issued an edict that Hengzhang Sanfang should not marry the Peixiaozhang tribe. It is clearly stipulated that Khitan aristocrats are not allowed to intermarry with civilians. If there are special circumstances, the emperor's approval is required. As a result, there was little choice for marriage between the two Khitan surnames. In the Khitan tribe, there was a situation of marriage between cousins and confusion in seniority: the marriage of nephews, nephews, and nephews was relatively common, and even granddaughters married their grandfathers. ABaoji, the founder of Liao Dynasty, and Empress Shulu Ping were married as cousins. Their daughter, Princess Zhigu, later married Shulu's younger brother, as a nephew and uncle. Xiao Wen, the queen of Taizong Yelu Deguang, was the daughter of Shulu Ping's younger brother Xiao Shilu and Yelu Deguang's sister Princess Zhigu. She was also his uncle who married his niece.

Xiao Wen is both Shulu Ping's granddaughter and her daughter-in-law. Xiao Sagezhi, the Huaijie queen of Shizong Yelü Nuan, is the daughter of Shulu Ping's brother Aguzhi. Shulu Ping is Shizong's grandmother. Aguzhi's daughter should be Sejong's cousin, which is a match for her cousin. In addition, Daozong's daughter Sage only married Xiao Xiamo, and Daozong married Xiao Xiamo's sister Xiao Sitan as Consort Hui. This was a marriage between his father-in-law and his son-in-law's sister. According to the Han Confucian code of ethics, marriage regardless of seniority is an incestuous act and is strictly prohibited. However, it is difficult to change the marriage system, which is influenced by traditional marriage customs and controlled by political factors.

Even in the late Liao Dynasty, which had been deeply Hanized, when Yelu Shuzhen proposed reforms to allow each department to establish its own surnames. When expanding the scope of marriage and opening up a new path of marriage, Liao Daozong still refused on the grounds that the old system could not be hastily decided. As a result, this marriage custom of the royal family, in which the royal family only intermarried with the descendants, and the two surnames were matched regardless of their generation, remained unchanged throughout the Liao generation. When the emperor was keen on loving the Liao Palace and broke into people with different surnames, he arrived at the Sejong Emperor Yelü Ruan, but history suddenly took a sharp turn here. An uninvited guest stepped into the Liaohe River Basin and broke into the harem of the Liao Dynasty. Her appearance caused an uproar in the Liao Dynasty, and also disrupted the tradition of alternating marriages between the Yelu royal family and the descendants of the Xiao family.

Opening the "Biography of Empresses and Concubines in the History of Liao", we will see that in the Liao Dynasty, there were twelve people who were made empresses by the emperor during his lifetime. They are in turn: Empress Taizu Xiao Shulu), Empress Taizong Xiao, Empress Shizong Xiao, Empress Shizong Zhen, Empress Muzong Xiao, Empress Jingzong Xiao, Empress Qitian Xiao of Shengzong, Empress Qitian Xiao of Shengzong, Empress Xiao of Shengzong, Empress Xiao of Xingzong, Empress Xiao of Daozong, and Empress Xiao of Tianzuo. Among them, the Zhen family was undoubtedly a strange woman who broke into the Liao Palace halfway through. She is the only queen with a different surname in Da Liao. So, who is this Zhen? What is the origin? Why was she able to break into the harem of the Liao Dynasty with a different surname and an alien and rise to the high position of queen?

About her, there are only a few words in the "Biography of Empresses and Concubines in the History of Liao": Concubine Shizong Zhen was from the Later Tang Palace and was beautiful. The emperor asked Taizong to collect it from the south and favored him very much. When she ascended the throne, she was made queen. Strict and serious, gentle and elegant. There are laws in internal governance. Mo Gan is a private queen. Her native place and origins are unclear. The article only states that she is a beautiful post-Tang palace person. Gong Ren, what do you do? The harem system of the Eastern Han and Northern Wei Dynasties had the rank of palace people; the Daizong, Dezong, Xianzong, and Yizong of the Tang Dynasty were all born of palace people. In the "Biography of Empresses and Concubines in the History of Liao", there is also a record that Noujin, a palace man, was born into Xingzong in the fifth year of Kaitai and later raised as a son. It can be seen that the palace people are concubines with low status or no titles. They can be favored by the emperor and even give birth to the next emperor. As a palace member of the Later Tang and Later Jin dynasties, Zhen family, who was beautiful, peerless, was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was deeply loved by all over the palace. It is impossible to verify whether she had ever given birth to children. However, the emperors of the Later Tang and Later Jin Dynasties should be her man.

In 946 AD, Yelu Deguang, Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, defeated Daliang and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty. Zhen was 41 years old at that time. Although Yelu Ruan, who followed Yelu Deguang into Daliang, was ten years younger than the Zhen family, he was deeply impressed by the grace and graceful demeanor of the Zhen family, so he accepted the Zhen family as his concubine and doted on her very much. The following year, Yelu Deguang died while withdrawing troops. Yelu Nguyen took the throne with the support of various generals. He immediately conferred the title of Queen Zhen and awarded the Queen Purple Bag and Queen Seal. The two had a shocking love affair between the emperor and queen in the history of Khitan marriage. Because Yelu Ruan was greatly influenced by his father Yelu Bi, he had a great admiration for Han feudal culture. Queen Zhen of the Han Dynasty has an elegant temperament, a dignified demeanor, and a virtuous demeanor. She has a completely different style from the Khitan nomadic women. Although she is the queen, she is strict in handling affairs, has laws in internal governance, and never takes the opportunity to seek personal gain.

Although he was born in a humble manner, he was far-sighted because of his rich experience. All this deeply moved Ye Lü Ruan's feelings. He respected and loved Shi Zhen and favored her. Whenever there was a big deal, he always liked to discuss with her. Soon, Empress Zhen gave birth to the third prince Yelu Ruansheng. You can imagine what kind of huge waves Shizong Yelu Nguyen made the Han palace maid Zhen the queen, which would cause in the Khitan government and people! Many aristocrats were very dissatisfied that Yelü Nuan had destroyed the traditional custom of intermarriage between two surnames in Khitan society, and the Xiao family couldn't stand this. They asked Yelu Ruan to appoint another Khitan woman as queen. Under constant condemnation and heavy pressure from the opposition forces, Yelü Nuan had no choice but to make his former concubine Xiao Sage the queen in the fourth year of Tianlu (950). But he still retained his status as queen of the Zhen family and devoted all his feelings to the Zhen family until the end of his life. As a result, there was a strange phenomenon of two empresses standing side by side in Da Liao. However, except Yelü Ruan, in the eyes of other Khitan people, the Zhen family was always a stranger whether before or after death. After the death of Zhen's family, tragedy ensued. Her body was hastily buried in the wilderness and was not officially buried until eighteen years later, and she never received the posthumous title she deserved.

Mingming had already been made queen by Shizong, but in the "Biography of Empresses and Concubines in the History of Liao", she was called a concubine by the historian and ranked after the Xiao family. In the Book of Shizong of the History of Liao Dynasty, it should at least be recorded that a certain family was named queen in a certain year and month, but the historian did not mention her at all! Is it because the Zhen family is not from Khitan, is not a daughter of the Xiao family, and is ten years older than the emperor? Or was it because the Zhen family came from a humble background and was once a palace official in the Later Tang and Later Jin dynasties? In short, when the historian thought of the emperor's series of blessings, affection and approval for this senior Han woman, he felt uncomfortable all over. When he wrote, he inevitably felt a little reluctant and unwilling to work hard.

Divorce and remarriage are common things in Liao history. In fact, the Khitan marriage is relatively open and free, and the Khitan people's concept of chastity is also relatively weak. Because it can be said that it is common for Khitan people to divorce and remarry again, and the right to divorce is shared by men and women. Both parties can request divorce according to their own wishes. Especially the princesses of the Liao Dynasty have a great deal of initiative in marriage. It is said that the emperor's daughter does not worry about marrying, but who will marry into. We can see from the 36 princesses listed in the "List of Princesses in the History of Liao" that this is really the case. In addition to Emperor Tianzuo's six daughters whose marriages were unknown, there were 6 divorced and remarried, accounting for 1/5 of those with known marital status. Among them, there were even two divorced and three married, and three divorced and four married.

For example, Brother Shu, the daughter of Jingzong's Bohai Consort, was at odds with Lu Jun, the son-in-law, and asked for a divorce and changed to Xiao Shennu. Yan Jin, the daughter of Empress Qin 'ai of Shengzong, married Xiao Xibu, but later changed to Xiao Haili. She was disagreeable and divorced. He also went to Xiaohu County, but he was disagreeable and left him. So he went to Korea King Xiao Hui. For these princesses, they can marry whomever they want, and there is no love for them even if they want to leave. Most of their youth were spent in marriage and divorce. Due to the frequent remarriage of Khitan women, in the first year of Tonghe, Shengzong began to issue gifts to widowed wives. One of the purposes is to attempt to stabilize the widowhood life of the woman by rewarding property. This imperial edict reflects that the widowed woman is also actively looking for a new husband and preparing a new family. Since the remarriage of a life woman involved a large number of issues, in the sixth year of Kaitai, Shengzong simply issued an edict prohibiting the re-dipping of a life woman. This shows that the remarriage of married women has become a common phenomenon in the Liao Dynasty, otherwise the court would not have formulated and promulgated such a decree.

But despite this, the Holy Sect himself did not abide by this law, and some wives remarried under his own auspices. If you marry, you will marry. If you marry again, you will not be ashamed. If you marry a widow, no one will judge. This has become a common marriage phenomenon among Khitan people. The worst of these is the union of Qi Consort and Fan slaves. Consort Qi was Xiao Hunian, the eldest sister of Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan of Chengtian. She was originally married to Yan Sage, the second son of Yelu Deguang, the king of Qi, so she called Consort Qi. After the death of King Qi, he was posthumously granted the title of Emperor Taishu, and the widowed Xiao Hunian became the Imperial Consort. Xiao Hunian is a woman who has made great achievements in military and politics. While reviewing horses, I fell in love with a handsome slave, Tashan Abo, and immediately called him to bed. Empress Dowager Xiao was furious after learning the news. Although she did not oppose Xiao Hunian's remarriage, the royal uncle and the slave Yan Hao were really beneath her status.

So she ordered Talan Abo to be punished and rushed to the distance. However, Empress Dowager Xiao did not cut off Consort Qi's love for the foreign slaves. A year later, Consort Qi made a request to Empress Dowager Xiao that she must marry Talan Abo. Xiao Yanyan was already angry at this time. Thinking that she did not understand her sister enough, she agreed to her request. In order to match the two, she made Talan Abo a general and ordered him to lead troops to the Western Expedition of Tartars to make meritorious service for the country and pacify the people of the country. In this way, after some twists and turns, Consort Qi finally married the slave. As a female high-ranking aristocrat, Consort Qi openly pursued male slaves and succeeded; Sejong Yelu Nuan broke through secular taboos and ignored differences in national status, adopting Zhen, a palace member of the two dynasties, who was ten years older than herself, as her queen. These situations are relatively rare in China's history and can be said to be special cases.

But without the relatively free and open atmosphere of Khitan marriage, it would be impossible to achieve this. This also reflects that the Khitan people's concept of chastity is still relatively weak. Therefore, a "History of Liao" only records five chaste and heroic women. After the establishment of the Liao Dynasty, some primitive marriage customs during the clan society period were still preserved. Among them, the main popular system of inheritance is the marriage of wives and stepmothers, marriage of husbands and brothers, marriage of wives and sisters, etc. are its most important manifestations.

Wen Weijian of the Northern Song Dynasty "Krupi Yan Facts" records: The custom of Krupi and Khitan people is that they marry a wife at home. If her husband dies and is not ordered to return to the ancestral family, then both brothers and nephews can marry her husband. After the death of the husband, his wife will be inherited by the younger generation in the family. For example, a son remarries his stepmother, and a nephew remarries his widowed aunt. This kind of continuous marriage is one of the most criticized forms of marriage among the Han people. In the eyes of Han people, although a younger generation marrying an elder as a wife, it is not his own biological mother, but it is also against human ethics. But in the eyes of the Khitan people, it is taken for granted. According to the "Epitaph of Yelü Shuji" records: During the reign of Guan Ning's husband, the eldest son asked his brother's wife, his stepmother, to sleep with his wife, and gave birth to a daughter named Amonk Niangmin, and a son named General Diela. Not only can you marry a stepmother as a wife, but you can also have children and reproduce future generations.

Judging from this record, the Khitan people were not only not ashamed of this kind of marriage, but believed it to be a matter of integrity and openly wrote it in their epitaph. Of course, with the improvement of civilization and the deepening of sinicization, some Khitan people are unwilling to accept this custom. For example, the concubine of Qin and Jin States married her uncle Yelu Longqing, King of Qin and Jin States, at the age of 16. After the death of the King of Qin and Jin, Emperor Shengzong issued an edict to let Longqing's son Yelu Zongzheng marry Longqing's concubine Xiao. Zongzheng refused to obey the edict and never married for life. Despite this, when the Princess of Qin Jin and Yelu Zongzheng died, the emperor issued another edict to bury them together as husband and wife. If you don't live together alive, you will bury them together even if you die.

The marriage of a husband and a brother is also called a widow. After the death of the older brother, the younger brother has the right and obligation to marry his sister-in-law. It is also known as taking over or transferring a wife. This kind of marriage was also common in Khitan society in the Liao Dynasty, and even princesses were no exception.Daozong's second daughter, Princess Zhao, married Xiao Ta, who was also killed because of something. According to custom, his brother Erduhan would take the Princess Zhao as his wife. Although the Princess Zhao was unwilling, she had no choice but to obey. Wife and sister marriage means that a man can marry several sisters from another family successively or simultaneously. Because there is a saying that sharing a husband between sisters is conducive to having children, this kind of marriage was once popular among the Khitan people and was protected by relevant laws. In the third year of Huitong (940), Emperor Taizong of Liao once issued an edict: Remove the law of surviving older sisters. But in fact, in Khitan society where hierarchical intramarriage was implemented, this marriage custom remained unchanged throughout the Liao generation. Emperor Daozong of Liao made Xiao Sitan the queen. Because he could not have children a few years later, he heard that sharing a husband would be conducive to having children, so he asked the queen's married sister Han Telan to divorce and included her in the palace. Emperor Tianzuo's queen Xiao Duolilan and Yuan Consort Xiao Guige are also biological sisters. They must have been confused by this statement.

Even the emperor firmly believes that sharing a husband with sisters is conducive to having children, and the people are even more popular. Later, this marriage custom further evolved into: when a deceased wife is remarried, one must marry the deceased wife's unmarried sisters; the wife's unmarried sisters must also marry their sister-husband. If the older sister dies without a younger sister, the father-in-law will even have to pay or introduce other women to help the son-in-law remarry. This marriage custom among the Khitan people had a profound impact on the Han people in Liao and the Han people in Northeast China hundreds of years after the fall of Liao. In modern times, the marriage custom of surviving older sisters was also very popular among Han people in Northeast China. There is a saying that brother-in-law marries an aunt. This has happened since ancient times, reflecting this marriage custom. In the old days in the northeastern countryside, only brother-in-law, sister-in-law and uncles-sister-in-law could joke on sexual themes, which also reflected this custom.