Brief: This article tells the turbulent rise and fall of the Later Jin and the expansion of the Liao. It covers Shi Jingtang’s betrayal by becoming Liao’s “Son-Emperor” and ceding the Sixteen Prefectures. It also records Emperor Yelu Deguang’s invasion of the Central Plains, his rapid retreat due to popular resistance, and his bizarre death as a salted corpse. This chaotic period shaped later Song‑Liao relations.
The Tragedy of the Actor-Emperor
Li Cunxu, the founding emperor of the Later Tang, was a military genius but a flawed ruler. Bored with governance, he indulged in acting, adopting the stage name “Li Tianxia” (Li the World-Ruler). In one infamous incident, while shouting his stage name twice on stage, he was slapped by a court jester named Jing Xinmo. When the court panicked, the jester reasoned, “Only one person should rule the world; who is the other ‘Li Tianxia’ you called out?” Li Cunxu laughed it off, revealing his dangerous favoritism toward entertainers, whom he appointed to high offices to spy on officials and generals. He also reinstated eunuchs, breeding deep resentment among the military elite.
His misjudgment led to the wrongful execution of the great general Guo Chongtao based on eunuch slander. This sparked a mutiny. Li Cunxu sent his adoptive brother, Li Siyuan, to suppress the rebellion, but Li Siyuan, sharing the army’s grievances, turned against the emperor and seized Bianzhou. Amidst chaos in the capital, Li Cunxu was struck by a stray arrow while defending the palace gate. He died dramatically, pulling the arrow from his forehead as blood spurted high, ending his four-year reign. Li Siyuan ascended the throne, initially bringing stability by curbing eunuch power and promoting agriculture. However, his later years were marred by purges and a succession crisis between his sons, leading to further instability. His adoptive son, Li Congke, eventually usurped the throne from the weak Emperor Li Conghou, setting the stage for a greater catastrophe.
The Birth of the “Son-Emperor”
Li Congke’s usurpation enraged Shi Jingtang, a Shatuo warlord and Li Siyuan’s son-in-law, who was stationed in Jinyang. When Li Congke moved to strip him of power, Shi Jingtang decided to rebel. Desperate and outnumbered, he adopted a treacherous strategy proposed by his secretary Sang Weihan: seeking aid from the Khitan (Liao) dynasty. In a letter to Khitan Emperor Yelu Deguang, Shi Jingtang promised to address him as “Father Emperor,” declare himself a subject, and cede the strategic Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun in exchange for military support. Despite warnings from his subordinate Liu Zhiyuan that ceding land would bring eternal disaster, Shi Jingtang proceeded.
Yelu Deguang, seeing a golden opportunity to expand southward, led 50,000 cavalry to Jinyang. They swiftly defeated the Later Tang forces besieging the city. Shi Jingtang greeted Yelu Deguang with extreme subservience, calling him “Father.” Although another warlord, Zhao Dejun, also sought Khitan support to become emperor, Sang Weihan’s tearful persuasion convinced Yelu Deguang to back Shi Jingtang instead. In 936 AD, Shi Jingtang was installed as emperor of the Later Jin. He faithfully honored his humiliating pact, ceding the Sixteen Prefectures and paying an annual tribute of 300,000 bolts of silk, earning the infamy of being the “Son-Emperor.”
The Illusion of Independence and the Second Invasion
Shi Jingtang died a few years later, hated by his own people for his subservience. His nephew, Shi Chonggui, succeeded him and initially adopted a tougher stance, addressing the Khitan only as “Grandson” rather than “Subject” and detaining Khitan envoys. Enraged, Yelu Deguang launched an invasion. However, the Later Jin forces, supported by local militia known as “She Bing” in the ceded territories who resisted Khitan rule, managed to repel the first attack. Yelu Deguang was surprised by the resilience of the Jin army, remarking, “I heard half the Jin soldiers had starved; why are there so many?”
Undeterred, Yelu Deguang prepared for a third campaign, this time harboring ambitions to rule China himself. Despite his mother, Empress Dowager Shulü Ping, warning him that “a Han man cannot be a Khitan king, nor can a Khitan rule the Han for long,” he marched south with a massive force. The Later Jin emperor, Shi Chonggui, fell ill, leaving command to generals Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen. Du Chongwei, coveting power and fearing death, secretly negotiated with Yelu Deguang. Promised the throne, Du Chongwei forced his fellow commanders to surrender the entire main army under threat of death. The soldiers wept as they were disarmed, their fate sealed by their commander’s betrayal.
The Short-Lived Khitan Empire and the Salted Corpse
With the Jin army defected, Yelu Deguang marched into the capital, Kaifeng. Shi Chonggui, abandoned and powerless, surrendered in shackles, begging for mercy. The Later Jin dynasty, lasting only eleven years, collapsed. Yelu Deguang declared himself emperor of the Great Liao, donning imperial robes and dismissing the dreams of his collaborators Zhao Dejun and Du Chongwei, who had hoped to be puppet rulers. He famously told Zhao, “I would cut my own flesh to give you, but the heir must be my son.”
However, Khitan rule quickly unraveled. The occupying troops engaged in rampant looting and slaughter, sparking widespread uprisings across the Central Plains. Unaccustomed to the heat and unable to govern the complex Han society, Yelu Deguang lamented, “The Han lands are too difficult to rule.” Realizing his mother’s wisdom, he ordered a retreat. But fate intervened; during the withdrawal, Yelu Deguang succumbed to heatstroke and died in Luan City. To prevent his body from decomposing before reaching the north, his followers performed a gruesome procedure: they slit his abdomen, removed his internal organs, and filled the cavity with salt, creating a dried corpse known as a “Ba” (similar to a mummy). Thus, the ambitious Khitan emperor returned home not in triumph, but as a salted relic, leaving behind a legacy of fleeting conquest and enduring ethnic tension.
Note
Shi Jingtang
A warlord who betrayed Later Tang and allied with the Khitan. He became known as the Son-Emperor of the Liao Dynasty and ceded the strategic Sixteen Prefectures.
Yelu Deguang
Second emperor of the Liao (Khitan) Empire. He conquered the Central Plains, ruled briefly, then died of heatstroke and was preserved as a salted corpse.
Shi Chonggui
Nephew and successor of Shi Jingtang. He resisted Liao but was defeated and captured.
Li Cunxu
Founder of Later Tang, a brilliant general but foolish “Actor-Emperor” who favored performers and eunuchs.
Empress Dowager Shulü Ping
Wise mother of Yelu Deguang. She warned that Khitan could not long rule Han Chinese.
Du Chongwei
Later Jin general who betrayed his country and surrendered the main army to Liao.
Son-Emperor
A humiliating title: Shi Jingtang called the Khitan emperor “Father Emperor” and himself a subservient son.
Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun
Strategic northern territories ceded to Liao. This loss left central China defenseless for centuries.
Liao Dynasty (Khitan)
A powerful nomadic empire that ruled northern China alongside later dynasties.
Salted corpse (mummy-like preservation)
To keep the emperor’s body from rotting on the long trip north, his followers salted his internal organs.
Actor-Emperor
Li Cunxu loved acting so much he trusted actors more than generals, leading to his downfall.
Sell the country for a throne
Describes Shi Jingtang’s betrayal for imperial power.
Salted emperor returns home
The bizarre, humiliating end of Yelu Deguang’s failed conquest.
Han lands hard to rule
Yelu Deguang’s final realization that nomadic rulers could not control settled China.
Defense lost forever
Ceding the Sixteen Prefectures doomed later dynasties to northern invasions.
Leave a Reply