After the Tang Dynasty, starting from 907 AD, China entered the second Northern and Southern Dynasties period. If the Southern and Northern Dynasties after the Wei and Jin Dynasties (420-589) are regarded as the "Previous Southern and Northern Dynasties", the period from the Tang Dynasty to the unification of the Yuan Dynasty is called the "Later Southern and Northern Dynasties" (907-1279). The boundary of the Later Southern and Northern Dynasties was northward in the early stage and southward in the later stage. The Five Dynasties and Two Song Dynasties were in the south, and the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties were in the north. Finally, the Yuan Dynasty achieved the unification of China. The Khitan Northern Dynasty was established 53 years earlier than the Zhao, Song and Southern Dynasties. It was separated by the Central Plains regimes known as the Five Dynasties, namely the Later Liang (907-923), the Later Tang (923-936), the Later Jin (936-947), the Later Han (947-950), the Later Zhou (951-960). These five dynasties were all formed by military envoys from vassal towns in the late Tang Dynasty. Their political power rotated like a revolving door, and they fought against each other year after year. However, they were all within a small area of ??the Central Plains, and ten kingdoms in the south alternated. The Khitan Dynasty in the north once regarded the court in the Central Plains as a "vassal auxiliary" attached to itself. In 947 AD (the eleventh year of Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty), it briefly took over the Central Plains and announced the unification of the north and the south in Daliang, the capital of the Central Plains (now Kaifeng, Henan). , the world is unified.
During the period when the Tang Dynasty destroyed Liao and revived it, unlike the successive wars in the Central Plains, the areas ruled by the Khitans (today’s western Liaoning and southeastern Inner Mongolia) were not ravaged by war, and their population increased and their economy developed. , the power is getting stronger. The southern part of this area was originally inhabited by a mixture of Bo and Han, and a large number of Han people moved in to avoid the war. At the same time, Taizu of the Liao Dynasty repeatedly sent troops to the Central Plains and moved all the Central Plains people in many prefectures and counties to the mainland.
In the autumn of 902 AD (the second year of Emperor Zhaozong’s reign in the Tang Dynasty), Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty “attacked Hedong (now Shanxi) and Daibei with 400,000 troops, captured nine counties, and gained 95,000 lives. The camels, horses, cattle and sheep were invincible."
In the winter of 903 AD (the third year of Emperor Zhaozong's reign in the Tang Dynasty), Taizu of the Liao Dynasty "led his troops to northern Hebei (now northern Hebei Province) and captured them. ”
In 905 AD (the second year of Emperor Ai Tianyou of the Tang Dynasty), Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty and Li Keyong, the governor of Hedong Jiedu of the Tang Dynasty, formed an alliance in Yunzhou (today’s Datong, Shanxi Province). They changed their robes and horses and became brothers. Liu Rengong, who was the envoy of Lulong Festival in Hebei Province when he entered the army, “pulled out several prefectures and moved all their people back.
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At the end of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Han people from the Central Plains region moved into western Liaoning and Songmo, further accelerating the degree of Sinicization in this region. The mixing and integration of the Khitan and Han nationalities also injected vitality into the economy and culture of this region. New vitality. Production tools and production technologies from the Central Plains region poured into the Khitan territory on a large scale, allowing the Khitan territory to quickly absorb advanced production elements on the basis of the original ceramic production. At the same time, the ceramic industry developed rapidly. All of them bear the deep imprint of Tang culture and have formed their own styles and characteristics. In their own development, the Khitan people took the Tang Dynasty as a model in everything, including the official system and the style of utensils.
There are various indications that the ceramic production of the Liao Dynasty was already quite large in the early Liao Dynasty. This is because the territory of the Liao Dynasty was part of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the productivity level was based on the synchronization with the Central Plains. For example, the Liao Bai porcelain inherited the Tang Dynasty's "Nan Qing". Originating from the tradition of "Bei Bai", Liao Sancai is derived from Tang Sancai, pushing tricolor ware to another peak.
Corresponding to the Liao Dynasty, the Five Dynasties of the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty still used celadon as the The main development line is that in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, with the "Chanyuan Alliance" of Song and Liao Dynasties guaranteeing peace, the population of the Northern Song Dynasty increased rapidly, from 4.51 million households in the second year of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty (996) to the eighth year of Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. In 1048, there were 10.9 million households. The social economy developed rapidly, and the ceramic industry was also unprecedentedly prosperous. Some famous kilns such as Yaozhou Kiln, Linru Kiln, Longquan Kiln, etc. emerged one after another. White porcelain such as Ding Kiln in the north played an important role in the Song Dynasty. Comparing the porcelain of the Liao Dynasty, Song porcelain is delicate and gorgeous, with the highest achievement in monochrome glazed porcelain, and the craftsmanship of Liao porcelain is more mature. Compared with the Tang Dynasty, Liao porcelain has more of the legacy of the Tang Dynasty. Inheriting the ceramic technology of the Tang Dynasty, low-temperature glazed pottery accounts for a large proportion. Among them, the three-color pottery is also called "Liao Sancai", which is far superior to the three-color pottery of the Northern Song Dynasty. In addition, there are black porcelain and green glazed pottery with northern ethnic characteristics. Such as cockscomb kettles, long-neck vases, phoenix-head vases, belt kettles, drumstick vases, crabapple-style long plates, injection kettles, etc. The white porcelain and colored glazed pottery of the Liao Dynasty (the "Liao Sancai") are of high achievement.
Historical narratives about the Liao and Song Dynasties are often confused in time and space. Many times people accidentally compare the Southern Song Dynasty and Liao Dynasty during the Jin and Song Dynasties. In fact, this is an unrelated matter. It is customary to confuse the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, but in fact, the Southern Song Dynasty does not even account for half of the country. Some of the daily statements about the famous porcelain kilns of the Song Dynasty cannot fully understand the development history of ceramics in the country at that time, such as the hoard unearthed in Suining, Sichuan Province. Song porcelain includes Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen Hutian kiln porcelain. Hutian kiln porcelain does have ice flesh and jade bones, which is beautiful and eye-catching artistic effect. The blue and white glaze porcelain is bright in color, simple and elegant, pure and delicate, but it was produced in the late Southern Song Dynasty. Compared with the Northern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty are two different periods. They are neither the same time nor the same space. Comparing the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty alone, one Song is better than the other Song. Compared with the Northern Song Dynasty porcelain, the advantage has declined. .
Being unable to distinguish the time and space boundaries between the Liao and Five Dynasties, the Liao and Song Dynasties, the Jin and Song Dynasties and the unification of the Yuan Dynasty is one of the common mistakes made by historians after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially ceramic historians.