Study On The Problem Of Officialdom Four Families Of Han In Liao

On behalf of Han force, the four big families of Han have made greatcontributions to Liao’s politics, economy, military, culture and other aspects, whichplayed an important role in the vicissitudes of Liao dynasty. The problem of theofficial positions and political actions of the four big families, which is what I’mresearching, is of great significance to the studying of Liao’s political systems andthe reason for its rise and fall. This thesis is about the following four aspects:overview of the four big families living in Liao dynasty,taking part in politics andrise of the four big families in early Liao dynasty, the members’ official positionsand development of the four big families in mid-late Liao dynasty, characteristics oftheir political actions and the reason for that. First, based on the summary ofprevious studies, I defined the four big families, and sketched the general situationof the four families. Second, I analyzed the background for the early familymembers to ascend to the ruling class and the conditions for the families to rise.Third, with the deepening of Khitan’s feudalism and development of the fourfamilies, their members had more and more ways to take part in government, sotheir generations can always be in the ruling class, and at the same time the familiesbecame more and more powerful. In addition to that, I show two tables, one isabout their marriage and the other is about their official positions. At the last, Isummarized the characteristics and reasons of their official positions. In early Liaodynasty, when the system was just established, the reason for some Hans to becomeofficials is usually because they are needed in some affairs. And they can only be insome low positions which had nothing to do with military then. In mid-late Liaodynasty, most of the members of the four big families became officials and their positions became more and more close to the central organization. From thesesituations, We can see the developing of Liao’s political system and also thevicissitudes of that dynasty.