The Marriage Alliance Between Li Qianshun and Princess Cheng’an, and the Changes in International Relations

When the Xi Xia(西夏) faced a national crisis, it proactively proposed marriage to the powerful northern state of Liao(遼), successfully forming a marital alliance. The second marriage, between Yi Won-ho(李元昊) and Princess Heungpyeong(興平公主), ultimately resulted in a war between the two nations—an undesirable outcome. However, this was the product of multiple, complex factors. In contrast, Li Jiqian (李繼遷) and Li Qianshun(李乾順) successfully overcame national crises through such marriage alliances. Later, on the eve of Liao’s collapse, Li Qianshun abandoned his loyalty to Liao and surrendered to Jin(金). As a result, even though both Liao and Song(宋)—the two major powers in the north and south—were destroyed during the transition period between Liao and Jin, Xi Xia survived. What is more, it expanded its territory and reached its zenith under Emperor Renzong(仁宗). In this way, Xi Xia became the state that most effectively used marriage alliances for political purposes; Liao, for its part, fully achieved its objective of dispatching a princess to Xi Xia in order to keep Song in check. Meanwhile, unlike previous princesses sent through marriage alliances, Princess Cheng’an(成安公主) gave birth to a son who was subsequently named crown prince, allowing her a time of happiness. Yet in her final days, harboring resentment toward her husband for failing to prevent her homeland’s downfall, and overcome with grief over the fall of her country and the loss of her son, she gradually stopped eating and passed away in sorrow. We must remember the tragic reality that Khitan women who became victims of politically motivated marriage alliances ultimately died in pain and sadness.