Dinian Zuli

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Zuwu Khan belonged to the Yaonian clan, a prominent lineage within the Khitan tribal confederation. Historical sources preserve little information about his early life. In the early Tang period, the Khitans formed a tribal confederation whose supreme ruler bore the title of khagan, while effective power was often held by a separate military chief. During the Kaiyuan era, Ketuyu dominated Khitan military and political affairs for many years, repeatedly deposing and installing khagans and alternately fighting and negotiating with Tang. In 734, the twenty-second year of Kaiyuan, Zhang Shougui, the Tang Military Commissioner of Youzhou, defeated the Khitans and Ketuyu was killed. Nieli, a surviving leader of his faction, continued resistance. In 735, the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, Nieli killed Li Guozhe, the Tang-appointed Governor-General of Songmo, and enthroned Dinian Zuli as khagan, namely Zuwu Khan.

Enthronement as Khagan

In 735, under Nieli's direction, Zuwu Khan was elected by the tribes as leader of the confederation and, following Turkic precedent, took the title of khagan. He assumed office through a ritual in which firewood was burned and the sun was worshipped, making this firewood-burning and sun-worship election and enthronement rite a regular institution. Real power, however, remained in the hands of Nieli, the military chief, so Zuwu Khan was the nominal head of the confederation but possessed limited effective authority. At the end of the same year he sent envoys to Tang and maintained good relations. In 737, after the Khitans were defeated by Tang forces, Zuwu Khan rebuilt the Yaonian Eight-Tribe Confederation, was selected as leader of the eight tribes, and formalized the institution of a separate military chief within the confederation. In 743, the second year of Tianbao, he again sent a delegation of eighty officials to Tang, reflecting a posture of submission toward the dynasty.

Relations with Tang and the Rebellion

In March 745, the fourth year of Tianbao, after the collapse of the Second Turkic Khaganate, the Khitans submitted to Tang. In the traditional narrative, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang granted Zuwu Khan the Chinese name Li Huaixiu, appointed him Governor-General of Songmo, enfeoffed him as Prince of Chongshun, and married his granddaughter Lady Dugu to him as Princess Jingle. Miao Runbo, however, argues that this Li Huaixiu and Zuwu Khan were different people. Li Huaixiu was the sixth and last Khitan leader to marry a Tang princess, while Princess Jingle was the fourth and last Tang princess to marry a Khitan ruler. In the ninth month of the same year, Li Huaixiu, angered by the provocations and mistreatment of the newly appointed Yingzhou governor and frontier commissioner An Lushan, killed Princess Jingle, rebelled against Tang together with the Xi, and aligned with the Turks. He subsequently fought An Lushan several times with mixed results. In 746, the fifth year of Tianbao, Tang invested Li Kailuo to replace Li Huaixiu.

Later Years and the Battle at Tuhuzhen River

In the eighth month of the tenth year of Tianbao (751; according to another account, the eleventh year), An Lushan, Military Commissioner of Fanyang, led more than one hundred thousand troops against the Khitans. Zuwu Khan, or possibly his successor, inflicted a major defeat on An's army south of the Huang River, at Tuhuzhen River in the upper reaches of the present-day Laoha River. The battle was a major Khitan victory over Tang and effectively checked Tang military pressure. Nothing definite is known of Zuwu Khan thereafter. After the establishment of the Liao dynasty, his descendants were counted among the Nine Yaonian Tents, indicating the importance later Khitan tradition attached to his lineage.

Major Activities

Establishment of the Enthronement Rite

At his enthronement, Zuwu Khan made the enthronement rite a regular practice. Tribal leaders jointly burned firewood and worshipped the sun while choosing the head of the confederation. The rite later became part of the established accession ceremonies of Khitan rulers and had a lasting influence on Liao political ritual.

Rebuilding the Eight-Tribe Confederation

In 737, after the Khitans suffered defeat at Tang hands, Zuwu Khan rebuilt the Yaonian Eight-Tribe Confederation, was chosen as its leader, and established a distinct office for the confederation's military chief. This institutional arrangement contributed to the political foundations from which the Liao state later emerged.

Battle at Tuhuzhen River

In the eighth month of the tenth year of Tianbao (751; according to another account, the eleventh year), Zuwu Khan, or perhaps his successor, decisively defeated An Lushan's army at Tuhuzhen River. The battle was an important Khitan military victory that checked a Tang expedition.

Diplomatic Maneuvering with Tang

During Zuwu Khan's tenure, the Khitans maneuvered between Tang and the Turks. They first aligned with the Turks, later submitted to Tang and received investiture, and then rebelled again amid conflict with An Lushan. He sent envoys to Tang on several occasions, including at the end of 735 and in 743, when a delegation of eighty officials was dispatched. These diplomatic activities helped preserve Khitan political space.

Personal Relations

• Descendants of Zuwu Khan: later counted among the Nine Yaonian Tents of the Liao dynasty.
• Nieli: military leader of the tribal confederation who enthroned Zuwu Khan and held effective power.
• Emperor Xuanzong of Tang: Tang emperor who, in the traditional account, granted the Chinese name Li Huaixiu and the title Prince of Chongshun.
• Princess Jingle, Lady Dugu: granddaughter of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, married to Li Huaixiu and killed in the same year.
• An Lushan: Tang governor of Yingzhou and frontier commissioner whose conflict with the Khitans led to Li Huaixiu's rebellion.
• Li Guozhe: Tang-appointed Governor-General of Songmo, killed by Nieli before Zuwu Khan was enthroned.
• Li Kailuo: invested by Tang to replace Li Huaixiu.

Historical Assessment

Tang / Contemporary Period

• Tang regarded Zuwu Khan, when identified with Li Huaixiu in the traditional account, as a rebel because of the killing of the princess and revolt against the dynasty; Emperor Xuanzong later invested Li Kailuo to replace Li Huaixiu.
• An Lushan fought the Khitans several times, and Zuwu Khan, or possibly his successor, decisively defeated An's army at Tuhuzhen River, demonstrating substantial military capability.

Song and Yuan Periods

• The History of Liao lists Zuwu Khan among the khagans of the Yaonian clan and states that his descendants formed one of the Nine Yaonian Tents, showing his importance in the official historical memory of the Liao dynasty.
• Liao historians conflated Zuwu Khan with Li Huaixiu, an identification followed by many later accounts.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Ming and Qing scholars generally followed the History of Liao, identifying Zuwu Khan with Li Huaixiu and judging him chiefly through the episodes of his rebellion against Tang and conflict with An Lushan.

Modern and Contemporary Scholarship

• In Reconstructing Early Khitan History, Miao Runbo argues that Zuwu Khan and Li Huaixiu were not the same person and points to a conflation in the History of Liao, offering a new interpretation of early Khitan history.
• Modern scholarship generally regards Zuwu Khan as an important figure in the transition of the Khitan tribal confederation toward state formation. The accession ritual and confederation institutions associated with his period helped form part of the institutional background of the Liao dynasty.