Abstract

The research on ethnic，language，history，archeology and other related issues of Khitay has become a subject of study under international focus；however，there is a considerable lacuna in the study of Khitay`s literature.Clan literature is a remarkable phenomenon in the history of Chinese literature.Historically，the clan literature of Han nationality is more flourishing than that of the northern nomadic ethnic groups.The Khitan，as one of withered population，had not only clans but also clan literatures，distingushing them from other nomadic groups.In the view of clan literature，the paper takes the clan of Yelv Chucai and their literary works as the subject matter，attempts to find undiscovered issues and blaze into unknown territories to shed light onto the insufficiently recorded part of history，and to provide a beneficial reference for the comprehensive understanding and study of Chinese classic literature.

Considering the extensive coverage in Yelv Chucai's clan literature，the paper integrates research methods from disciplines such as literature，history，sociology，anthropology，linguistics and others.With the help of findings on ethnicity，culture，region，phonetics，literature，official systems，and other aspects，the thesis strives for breakthroughs and innovations in various areas.

Chapter One investigatesinto the genealogy，ethnicity，previous Chinese literature，education，family ethos，and the dilemma and mindset of the Yelv Chucai's clan.Innovation is shown by five points.First of all，based on an investigation into the Yelv Chucai's clan marriage with different ethnic women，the paper questions naming the Yelv Chucai's clan as “Khitay nation” and suggests the name “Khitay people” in accordance with the historical records.Secondly，by an analysis of the literary evolution of the Khitay Liao Dynasty，the paper identifies some distinctive features of the literature，such as the promotion of the royal family，the publishing of the anthologized poetical works，the appearance of clan literature，and the achievements of the female literarature，etc.Thirdly，focusing on the clan education，the paper firstly explicates the contribution in translation by Yelv Chucai's clan to spread Confucianism to the Western Regions and Goryeo，and looks into the acquisition of multiple languages by the clan.Fourth，the paper researches into the clan's family ethos.Fifth，from political perspective and ethnic psychology，，the paper delves into the dilemma in which members of the four generations of the clan served as ministers of the state but were still subjected to the reign of Jurchens and Mongols who had final say to the state matters，the dilemma engrained by intraethnic identification and heterroethnic antagonism，the greatest innovation of the paper.

The first three sections of Chapter Two classifies the literary works by the Yelv Chucai's clan，focusing on important categories such as odes to objects，farewell poems expressing longing for return，and works depicting borderland warfare.The fourth section summarizes two artistic features of the literary works of the Yelv Chucai's clan:first，a style that is clear，elegant，and graceful；and second，a natural and unadorned approach to writing without excessive embellishments.

Chapter Three employs a comprehensive research method focusing on “clan-place-literature”，and examines the activities and literature of the Yelv Chucai's clan in places such as the Western Regions，the Qin Region，the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau，and Bashu.Except for the poetry about the Western Regions once previously but partially discussed，the one about the other places among the above have not been covered so far.The part of the paper not only expands the field of the Khitay's literature，history and other aspects，but also supplements the study of the local cultures about the above places.

Chapter Four to Chapter Six focus on case studies on four generations of the clan，namely those of Yelv Lv，Yelv Chucai，Yelv Zhu，and Yelv Xiyi.There are six major innovations.First，the paper gives a critical examination of Yelv lv's diplomatic mission to the Song Dynasty，a supplement to the Chin History.Second，the paper identifies the mistaken inclusion of the Yelv lv's poem “Farewell to Minister Zhang Shoufu” into the anthology of the clan literature Shuang Xi Zui Yin Ji，which compensates for the omission in the Complete Chin Poetry，which has been misedited.Third，the paper investigates into the naming of Yelv Chucai and his position as a minister，and clarifies the understanding and the debate of historians.Fourth，the paper contrasts the poetries about the Western Regions by Yelv Chucai and Cen Shen，and concludes that their stylistic difference lies in their different inborn cultures and in ideological differentiation between the plain-dwelling Hua and the barbarous Yi.Fifth，based on the unearthed epitaphs and documents，the paper proves that Yelv Zhu was born in Beiting，a supplement to the Yuan History.Sixth，the paper pioneers into Yelv Zhu's Yuefu poetry，finds that the creation，unrestricted by the Pingshui Rhyme Scheme，incorporated the northern lilts，thus uncongenial to the twelve categories of General Anthology of Yuefu Poemsby Guo Maoqian，which bespeaks the Khitay writers’ innovativeness，and deserves furthur attention by Yuefu poetry specialists.

The culture and literature of the Chinese nation exhibit a characteristic of unity in diversity.This paper on the literature in ancient Chinese language by nomadic ethnic groups enriches the study on ancient Chinese literature.The Yelv Chucai's clan produced over a hundred volumes of literary works in the Chinese language，which is the magnum opus of the Khitay's literature.From the perspective of ethnic literary history，their status，influence，and significance are unparalleled and worthy of in-depth study.

Key Words:Yelv Chucai's clan；Literature；Khitay；Yelv Lv；Yelv Zhu；Yelv Xiyi