Liu Chong


Liu Min , named Liu Chong before 951, also known by his temple name Shizu, was the founding emperor of imperial China's Northern Han state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was an ethnic Shatuo and the younger brother of Later Han's founder Liu Zhiyuan.
Liu Chong created Northern Han in the Shatuo base in modern Shanxi after his eldest son was killed in 951 by general Guo Wei, who overthrew Later Han to found the Later Zhou. In 954, Liu Chong was defeated by Guo's successor Chai Rong in the Battle of Gaoping and died soon afterwards.

Early life

The young Liu Chong drank and gambled and was once sentenced to join the military with his face tattooed.

During Later Jin

When Liu Zhiyuan became the military governor of Hedong, he named Liu Chong his chief director.

Formation of the Northern Han

Liu Min was the brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the founder of the Later Han, which was the last of three successive Shatuo Turk dynasty. The Later Han fell in 950 with the rise of the Later Zhou. Liu Min declared himself the legitimate successor of the Later Han, and formed the Northern Han kingdom in Shanxi, the traditional power base of the Shatuo Turks.

Relations with neighbors

The kingdom was wedged between its two larger, more powerful neighbors, the Later Zhou to the south, and the Khitan Liao Dynasty to the north. Liu Min restored traditional ties with the Khitans, who served as protectors to the Northern Han Kingdom, allowing it to last later than any of the other kingdoms traditionally listed as one of the Ten Kingdoms

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