Khitan (Levilion)

Khitan

Kitan
1947 Group photography of the Comitelle Deputies from "Khitan prefectures"
Total population
1 million (2020)
Regions with significant populations
Shang Fa
Languages
Khitai, Principean, Huranian
Religion
Predominantly Barukung Macakkanism Minority Perendism

The Khitan people (Chinese: 契丹; pinyin: Qìdān) are a people living in northern Shang Fa and counted among the Tartares. They first appeared in Huran during the 13th century and by 1364 had established their own state: Khitay which would go on to rule over most of modern day Shang Fa for close to two centuries and would leave a strong impact on the Huranian culture through clothing, theatre, sport, music, and cuisine. Nowadays, they live essentially in the region known as Northern Tartary between the southern slopes of the Sky Pillars and the northern expanses of the Great Plain.

History

Origin

After the defeat of the Tabgachs' Zhao Dynasty by the Order of the Supreme Peace, one of their vassal clans - the Yarmans - fled back to the Steppes where they merged with other nomadic people. In the 14th century, the Yarman had become the leading party within a coalition of eight clans. Other notable factions included the Yarud, Daur, Nurgen, Baraq, and Kutlugh clans. The Yarman would lose their proeminence in favour of the Yarud and its under the leadership of Yarud Salad that the Khitans would migrate back into the Great Plain and establish their own state.

Khitay

A bust of Yarud Salad, founder of the state of Khitay

Known as the Kitai huldʒi gur in their language, the state of Khitay was founded in 1364 after the failure of the Kuang Dynasty to repell the Khitans. Their leader, Yarud Salad, took for himself the title of Heavenly King and established a dual administration to rule over his vast and culturally diverse state: a Northern Administration in charge of nomadic peoples (the future Tartares) and a Southern Administration for the predominantly Huranian sedentarized populations. Through the Dual-Administration, the Khitans also hoped to do away with the feudalism of the previous dynasties, and they did succeed in creating the class of gentry-scholars required for this new system to work.

The elites of Khitay adopted a mixed Khitan-Hua culture known as Huaner which would survive the state and continue to influence the following dynasties and even modern Shang Fa. Khitay is considered to have been a golden age for music, poetry, theater, and sculpture. Huranian theater notably can trace its history back to the Zaju Opera which first emerged in Khitay.

Yuan and Lin Dynasties

The Tegregs, or People of the Carts, overthrew their Khitan overlords in 1544 and established their own, short-lived state: the Yuan Dynasty. The Tegregs seized the Khitan' elites properties , from their urban palaces to their agricultural properties. Surviving Khitans were thus those who fled northward to adopt back a nomadic lifestyle or never abandoned pastoralism in the first place. After a short period of submission to the Yuan Dynasty, the Khitans allied themselves to the Tabgach people, another nomadic people inhabiting northern Tartary. This confederation rebelled against the Tegregs and would be the main threat to their rule until the Tabgachs began supporting the future Li Clan of Huranian descents. The Khitans did not recognize the Li as Heavenly Kings, even after they had managed to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish their own state in 1571, and it's only after five Khitan Wars that the entirety of Northern Tartary submitted to the Lin Dynasty.

Despite their military defeats, what really brought the Khitans into the fold was the Lin' sensible diplomatic and dynastic policies, marrying into the Khitan clans and offering court positions and lands to those who submitted. While most of the Khitans would remain under a Tabgach dominated Northern Administration, the Lin Dynasty would take on a distinct Khitan-Hua Huaner identity.

It's during the Lin Dynasty that Auressians first arrived in Huran, establishing trade ports and missions on the coastline under the strict overwatch of Imperial Supervisors. Unfortunately, the Lin Heavenly King would end up losing most of their powers in favour of the gentry clans and scholarly families they relied on for their administration. The two main clan where the Zheng and the Tan. At first contained to courtly intrigue, the disputes between the two clans soon grew into an all out war which tore down the imperial institution. During this Tan-Zheng Disorder (覃鄭亂; Tán-Zhèng Luàn) most Khitan clans sided with the Tan as a way to break away from the Northern Administration, dominated by the Zheng-alligned Tabgach families.

But in the 1740s began a minor Hua farmers rebellion that would prove capable of defeating the troops sent to crush it and establish their own Kingdom. Led by the three Ruan Brothers, the rebels waged war against the Zheng clan, their direct overlords. In 1750, the rebels took over the Lin' capital, overthrowing the dynasty. Gaining the support of the Tabgachs and Tegreg people, the brothers proclaimed their own state: the Hong Dynasty.

The Tan, up until then spared by the Uprising, tried to profit from the chaos by launching large scale assault. The Tan columns were soundly defeated, losing their patriarch in battle. The survivors, led by the new Prince of Tan, were forced to flee north to escape the Hong troops who were now besieging their clan' capital. Isolated, the Khitan clans recognized the Hong' claim to kingship before founding their own Principality. But when the Hong began to fall prey to dynastic infighting between the Ruan brothers and their descendents, the Khitans began their own civil war to re-assert their independence as well as establishing which clan had the primacy over the others. It's ultimately prince Kutlugh Iktman, allied to the remnant of the Lin' Northern Army, who emerged victorious before submitting to the re-merging Tan clan and their Auressian supporters.

Tan Dynasty

Kutlugh Iktman received the honorific titles of "Duke" and "Pillar of the State" (柱國, zhùguó) from Tan Yandi. Not only was he Duke (or Prince) of the Khitan, but he also received the direction of the Northern Administration as its Prime Minister (北府宰相; Běifǔ zǎixiàng). From there on, the Northern Administration would be mostly staffed by Khitans with a few Tabgachs remaining either because they had acquired vital experience in their positions or because their clans seeked early on the Khitans' favors. Other nomadic people were more or less excluded from the Administration. But Iktaman died a few years after the Dynasty' founding and rather than nominate a successor Tan Yandi reformed the government' structure into a single Central Administration (中府; zhōngfǔ). Nonetheless the right-hand man of Kutlugh Iktman, Daur Abgar, inherited the position of Pillar of the State and received a position within the Privy council as Minister of Works.

Tan Mingdi, son and successor of Tan Yandi, wish to get rid of foreign influences within his country led to civil war when Viceroy Dujue proclaimed that his Mingdi' nephew as the legitimate monarch. Khitans and Tabgachs ministers and officials for the most part simply fled the court to return to their home regions where their Principalities became de-facto autonomous if not outright independent. Dau Abgar for example resigned from his post as Minister of Works and became the new Prime Minister within Kutlugh Ongulaï, Iktman son and successor as Duke of the Khitans, government. Ultimately, Ongulaï would accept the offer of Princo-Huranians to join their Grand Covenant where he became one of the Four Great Kings (the Kings of the Tabgachs, Khitans, Manchus, and of Bian).

Great Covenant

The Covenant represented a Economic and monetary union as well as a joint military to which all member states needed to contribute men, but only the Tan Dynasty, the Bian Kingdom, and the Principean League were required to participate in its finances. While at first the control of the Covenant' institutions was balanced between its constituent members, after 54 years of existence they had all been taken over by the Principean League, from the military to the diplomacy. When Paul Moisson, a Principean Odoque who was campaigning for reforming the system and for a better integration of the non-Principean and non-Huranian people, was murdered in December 1860 the Grands Rois Tartares ("Great Tartares Kings) left the Covenant and formed a League of their own. Nonetheless, the League quickly found itself incapable of presenting a coherent front, divided between the Nationalists, the pan-Tartarists, the Monarchists... by 1866, the Principeans no longer had to manage many other fronts and were now both outnumbering and outgunning the Tartares. The last pockets of resistance would be crushed in 1868.

While their Monarch was forced to abdicate, many Khitai clans found solace in Armand Dupic, the new strongman and leader of the Principean League, promises of integration, social elevation, and wealth redistribution. They would all be present at the coronation of Armand Dupic as Hegemon King (霸王; Bà Wáng) in 1871 and would be greatly rewarded by their new patron with military and civil positions within his new administration.

Modern Days

The core prefectures of Khitania in dark purple, with other prefectures with a significant Khitan minority in light purple

Today, the Khitans live essentially in an ensemble of eleven Prefectures collectively known as Khitania or Black Khitania (黑契丹, hēiqìdān,Youkitan,Khitanie noire...). The Khitans represent a strong minority of the population in the "Garrison Prefectures" of Gerdurie (铁壁, tiěbì), Mont-Noir (黑山, hēishān) and Voute-Albane (白天, báitiān) which are located in the Tianzhu Mountains proper. They are also a noticeable share of the population in the Prefectures of Basse-Mausse (下遼, xiàliáo) and Falaise (岩州, yánzhōu) which mark the transition between Khitania and the Hua-dominated lands of the Great Plain. While these prefectures may not always be included in people's understanding of Khitania, the Prefectures that always are included within this cultural region are those where the Khitans represent the majority of the population: Vieille-Mausse (老遼, lǎoliáo), Cébènes (脊州, jǐzhōu), Licaponie (石河, shíhé), Iagomage (冰地, bīngdì) and Molossie (狗州, gǒuzhōu). Finally, the Prefecture of Ariovarède (馬主, mǎzhǔ) is shared, population wise, between the Khitans and the Tabgach. There are also noticeable minorities of Khitan living in all of Shang Fa major urban agglomerations such as Vives-Eaux.

In total, there's an estimated million of Khitans living in Shang Fa. The exact counting is made difficult by Shang Fa' state policy of not keeping ethnic census. All informations on the demography of the Khitans are thus obtained by third parties through extrapolations of linguistic datas and questionnaires on self-identifications. About a third of all Khitans still inhabit the countryside. Farming for crops, such as barley or linen, is the main economic activity within river valleys. However, these rivers are often ephemereal within Khitania and the landscape thus remain dominated by cold grasslands where the main economic activity is the herding of goats, sheeps, horses, and so on. Forestry and hunting are also two somewhat important economic activities within the Sky-Pillars mountains.

In the 19th and 20th century, the industrial revolution has led to drastic changes in the lifestyle of most Khitans with the development of cities based around ressource extractions: these include coal which Shang Fa' industry is still dependent on, but also other ressources such as natural gas or rare earth minerals. While some urban agglomerations in Khitania existed before the industrial revolution, their development was mainly fueled by the influx of Hua people from the Great Plain and some Principeans rather than Khitans' own demographic growth. The Khitans have remained fiercely protective of their culture and lifestyle. The Khitan elites themselves have mostly integrated Shang Fa as part of the military or as administrators with old "princely lineages" having found their places as political dynasties of elected officials or unelected boss. The Khitan middle class is mostly made up of the descendents of the Great Covenant and early Shang Fa soldiers who were settled within the "Garrison towns" and whose families have continued either in their paths or have diverted to other urban lines of works. As said, in these cities they have partially merged with Khitans and Hua "migrants" who gave birth to these cities' Proletariat. It's at the contact between these three groups that appeared a new cultural and social phenomenon: the Neo-Huaners who are trying to find a balance between their Khitan heritage and the Hua and Principean cultures.

Culture

Religion

The Heitian-Baidi temple complex

When they first arrived in Huran, the Khitans practiced a shamanist religion in which animal-spirits played an important role. While at first attached to their lifestyle, Macakkanism slowly spread to the Khitan settled elite and from there to their tribal elites. Thus Macakkanists monasteries, despite early attempts by the Khitans to get rid of their institutional powers and land wealth, would maintain themselves as important players within Khitay, legitimizing the newcomers' rule over the Great Plain. The Khitan Heavenly Kings would nonetheless make sure no Grand Collegium would re-emerge so as to prevent the apparition of a united religious front against the Monarchy.

One of the most famous contributions of the Khitans to the religion and architectural heritage of Shang Fa is the Heitian-Baidi complex, the most important Macakkanist site in modern Northern Tartary which served as the religious center of the Khitan people from the second half of their Dynasty and onward. Heitian-Baidi cultural and scholastic works helped preserve Khitay' culture throughout the centuries despite the recurring submission of the tribes to foreign powers. The main Collegium of the Khitan people is thus the Black Sky White Earth Collegium traditionally considered to be part of the "New Law" movements as most of its worship is centered around awaiting the coming of Dēnghuā, the Redeemer.

Clothings

Khitan women on a tomb mural

Khitan traditions consider that the earliest clothing worn by the Khitan used to made with animal hides and its only once they settled in the Great Plain that they developed a new, and very strict, fashion code. The state official dress was made of jackets and robes of linen, cotton, or silk depending on the rank of the official, and blue or purple in colour. The most typical outer garnment worn by Khitans at the time was a narrow-sleeved, round-collar gown which falls just above the ankles, and opens from the waist down on both sides but not in the front and back. They also wore belts around the hip area and leather boots. The lapels of this outer garnment was buttoned to the left side, contrasting with the Hua' distinctive right lapels. Under it, they wore round-collared tunics.

Women in Khitan society are also expected to ride on horseback and herd animals and their clothings were designed with this in mind. They wore long outer robes with long sleeves, which was belted at the waist. These robes could be layered so to protect the wearer against harsh climates. Fur caps also appeared to be worn. Like their male counterparts, Khitan women wear riding boots in all social settings.

All of these clothings survive in the form of Khitan' traditional dresses. But in the modern days, Khitans have adopted Auressian-style suits as their social clothes although they make it a point of honor to have the buttoning or the clothing of their suits and coats to be left-sided. Similarly, they do not hesitate to wear a lot of furs to match the cold climate of their home region and have preserved the felt hats of their ancestors.

Sports

Two Khitans wrestling

When Auressian Field hockey was introduced to the Khitans, they took to the sport enthusiastically having developed a certain affinity to it through their own very similar traditional sport: Boikoo tarkbei. Similarly, Polo is extremely popular among the Khitans under the name of Poolie tarkbei although this passion is shared by other Tartares people, such as the Tabgachs. Shang Fa professional hockey teams are thus almost entirely made of Khitan players and Hockey schools in Northern Tartarty are also a source of young recruits for international teams seeking promising talents and attracted by the reputation of the Khitans in the sport. Similarly, many of Shang Fa' most famous polo players have been of Khitan origin and their achievements have been rewarded with royal and/or national recognition.

Like other Tartares, Khitans practice wrestling. Tartare wrestling' ruleset consider that touching the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match. Accessible to all classes of society as it requires a very small starting capital to practice the sport. It is considered one of the "Three Manly Skills" alongside Horsemanship and Archery and its popularity has expanded beyond Tartarty. Tartare Wrestling has the oldest still existing sport League: the All Nationals Wrestling League which organize the annual Grand Nadam, the largest wrestling competition in all of Shang Fa. Although, since 1921, the Northern Archery Federation and the Royal Horsebreeder Federation became co-organizators of the Nadam each responsible for their respective disciplines (archery, horse archery, horse racing, polo...). In 1945, the Northern Archery Federation was dissolved and replaced by the Shang Fa Archery Federation which inherited its place within the Grand Nadam.