liao 555On Mar.25, 951, T’ai-tsu sent the General of the Personal Guard
of the Left as envoy to the Liao court to announce his ascension.^44
Shih-tsung responded with envoys, who presented a team of four fine
hoses and congratulated (Chiu Wu-tai shih 111:2b; Wu-tai hui-yao 29:
9a;Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.9456).
On Apr.4, 951, T’ai-tsu sent an Assistant of the Left of the Masters
of Writing as envoy to the Liao court (Chiu Wu-tai shih 111:3b; Liao
shih 5:3a; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.9457).
On June 3, 951, T’ai-tsu dispatched the same envoy to the Liao
court. Shih-tsung sent the General of the Gilded Mace of the Left
and the General of Divine Fierceness of the Right in response to the
Later Chou court and presented jade horse trappings, washed with
gold and lined with silver, bows and arrows, sable furs etc., and 40
horses (Chiu Wu-tai shih 111:6b-7a; Wu-tai hui-yao 29:9a).
On June 15, 951, T’ai-tsu sent the General of the Gilded Mace of
the Left as envoy to the Liao court. He was detained, because Liao
had allied itself with Northern Han (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.9460).
On July 7, 951, a Member of the Suite of the Interpreters, who had
been sent as envoy by Shih-tsu of Northern Han, was received at the
Liao court. In his communication, Shih-tsu called himself a nephew
of the Liao emperor and requested recognition. Shih-tsung imme-
diately sent a high-ranking envoy to recognize him as the Divinely
Martial Emperor of the Great Han (Liao shih 5:3a; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien
p.9457).
In the 6th month (July/Aug.) of 951, Southern T’ang envoys to
the Liao court proposed a joint action against Later Chou (Liao shih
5:3a).
On Sep.16, 951, Liao returned the corpse of Chao Ying (Hsin Wu-
tai shih 11:5b).^45
On Oct.7, 951, Emperor Shih-tsung of Liao was murdered, aged
- On Oct.11, he was succeeded by T’ai-tsung’s eldest son. This was
Mu-tsung. He sent an envoy to Northern Han to announce the death
of his predecessor (Liao shih 6:1a).
In the 11th month (December) of 951, envoys from Northern Han,
(^44) This was in the 2nd month. Wu-tai hui-yao dates the mission 1st month (Feb./
Mar.).
(^45) He was one of the Later Chin officials whom the Liao emperor T’ai-tsung
had transferred to his Supreme Capital in 947. When he died, he expressed the wish
to be buried in China.