Liao dynastyThe Liao dynasty (ljaʊ; Khitan: Mos Jælud; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü clan of the Khitan people. Founded around the time of the collapse of the Tang dynasty, at its greatest extent it ruled over Northeast China, the Mongolian Plateau, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, southern portions of the Russian Far East, and the northern tip of the North China Plain.
ShijiazhuangShijiazhuang (,Si:dZi@'dZwaeN,_S3r-; ; Mandarin: shi2.jia1.zhuang1), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijing, and it administers eight districts, two county-level cities, and 12 counties. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 11,235,086, with 6,230,709 in the built-up (or metro) area comprising all urban districts but Jingxing District not agglomerated and Zhengding County largely conurbated with the Shijiazhuang metropolitan area as urbanization continues to proliferate.
Emperor Xuanzong of TangEmperor Xuanzong of Tang (xuan3.zong1; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Through two palace coups, he seized the throne and inherited an empire still in its golden age. He was initially assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue who were already serving as government officials before Xuanzong ascended the throne.
PipaThe pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term pipa was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument.
ZhengzhouZhengzhou (dʒɛŋ'dʒoʊ,_dʒʌŋ-, ; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National Central Cities in China, the centre of Central Plains area, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. The Zhengzhou metropolitan area (including Zhengzhou and Kaifeng) is the core area of the Central Plains Economic Zone.
Emperor Gaozong of TangEmperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the future Wu Zetian), and her decrees were carried out with greater force than the decrees of Emperor Gaozong's. Emperor Gaozong was the youngest son of Emperor Taizong and Empress Zhangsun; his elder brothers were Li Chengqian and Li Tai.
County-level cityA county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judicial but no legislative rights over their own local law and are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions. A county-level city is a "city" () and "county" () that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction.
XianbeiThe Xianbei (ʃjɛnˈbeɪ; ) were most likely a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. There are also other strong suggestions that they were a multi-ethnic confederation with Mongolic and Turkic influences. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC.
Chen dynastyThe Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陈) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. Following the Liang dynasty, the Chen dynasty was founded by Chen Baxian (Emperor Wu). The Chen dynasty further strengthened and revitalized the economy and culture of southern China, and made territorial expansions northward, laying the foundation for future dynasties.
Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui (隋文帝; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (楊堅), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (普六茹堅), alias Narayana () deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. The Book of Sui records him as having withdrawn his favour from the Confucians, giving it to "the group advocating Xing-Ming and authoritarian government." As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state.
