Lone Hero: A Loyal Heart, Ju'erhan

Yelü Dashi was an eighth-generation descendant of Yelü Abaoji, Emperor Taizu of the Liao dynasty, and the first Khitan jinshi in the dynasty's two-hundred-year history. He could have made his mark at court and won lasting fame, but the Liao rulers and officials were incompetent, and the Jin rose to power, leaving the dynasty on the brink of collapse.

As the Jin cavalry pressed their attack again and again, Yelü Dashi and the few remaining heroes of the Liao did everything they could to reverse the dynasty's decline. Sadly, while everyone else was lost in a drunken stupor, he alone saw clearly. No matter how much effort he put in, Yelü Dashi and the handful of other lone heroes could not save the crumbling Liao.

With the Liao emperor Yelü Yanxi missing while fleeing, and the dynasty in grave peril, Yelü Dashi immediately helped Yelü Chun ascend the throne to stabilize the court. But Yelü Chun was short-lived and died of illness soon afterward, leaving Empress Dowager Xiao Puxianü to rule as regent. Under her leadership, they repeatedly repelled Song attacks.

Later, Xiao Puxianü was executed by Yelü Yanxi. Disillusioned, Yelü Dashi left with two hundred men. After a long and arduous journey, enduring countless hardships and dangers, he founded the powerful Western Liao Empire thousands of miles away. Western nations called him the Gurkhan, meaning “Khan of Khans,” and for more than a century his name was renowned both at home and abroad.

It was the middle of the eleventh century. In the Islamic world of that era, five great rulers were recognized: those of the Turks, the Arabs, India, the Eastern Roman Empire, and China. The ruler they called China's emperor was in fact the emperor of Western Liao.

In Russian, Arabic, and Latin, China is called “Cathay.” This is a result of the influence Yelü Dashi, that lone hero who founded Western Liao and dominated the West, had on Eurasia.