hsia 521Mongols had invaded Hsia, which had led to its nominal submission
in 1210. In early 1226, the Mongols attacked again and in 1227 laid
siege to the Hsia capital. In the the 6th month (July/Aug.) of 1227,
Li Hsien surrendered to the Mongols and was killed. The remarkable
Hsia State had ceased to exist (Sung shih 486:23a).
Relations between the Tanguts and China were at first relatively
cordial. The Tangut chiefs supported the T’ang and were rewarded
with the imperial surname of Li. Sung suspended the court after the
deaths of Yi-yin and Kuang-jui. All rulers from Ssu-kung to Yüan-
hao were during their lifetimes appointed to nominal Chinese offices.
But these relations soured because of Chinese meddling. The Sung
attempted to gain influence in Hsia through Chi-p’eng and thereby
provoked a backlash led by Chi-ch’ien. Wars began and occupied
almost a third of the time left until Hsia was destroyed by the Mongols.
The peace treaty of Oct.25, 1044, in which Sung agreed to pay an
annual tribute of 255,000 units in silver, silk, and tea, brought only
temporary relief to China.
With the partial exception of Chi-p’eng, the Tangut chiefs were
independant rulers, one of whom rejected a Sung request in 1006 to
render hostages. They called themselves kings of Hsia from not later
than 967. The Sung and Liao made no issue of this until Yüan-hao
proclaimed himself emperor in 1038. This created a dilemma. While
Sung and Liao reluctantly were forced to accept the imperial claims
of each other, neither was prepared to do so from Hsia. The Sung
shih persistantly uses the term “king of Hsia” or more often “ruler of
Hsia”, which probably reflects contemporary practice. The Liao shih
always says “king of Hsia”. Only when the Liao empire was in full
dissolution did T’ien-tso recognize Ch’ien-shun as emperor in 1123.
The Chin resumed the term “king”.
During its time of existance, Hsia developed a remarkable culture,
influenced but not dominated by Chinese civilization. In spite of lip
service to Confucianism and the posthumous title granted to Confu-
cius in 1146, it was a Buddhist state. Its missions to Sung, Liao, and
Chin are richly documented in Sung shih, Liao shih, and Chin shih. But
since the Hsia has no dynastic history of its own, there is no way of
verifying or complementing that information.
The Sung recognized all Hsia rulers except Chi-ch’ien. That makes
sense, since Emperor T’ai-tsung had given his support to Chi-p’eng.
Recognitions ceased with the Southern Sung. The Liao is recorded
to have recognized all contemporary Hsia rulers except Liang-tso, the