The Alliance Conducted at Sea (Chinese: 海上之盟) was a political alliance in Chinese history between the Song and Jin dynasties in the early 12th century against the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. The alliance was negotiated from 1115 to 1123 by envoys who crossed the Bohai Sea. Under the alliance, the two nations agreed to jointly invade the Liao, split captured territories, and cede the Sixteen Prefectures to the Song, and forswore making unilateral peace with the Liao. In 1121–23, the Song faltered in their military campaigns, but the Jin succeeded in driving remnants of the Liao imperial court to Central Asia where they formed the Western Liao dynasty. The Jin handed over several of the Sixteen Prefectures to the Song including modern-day Beijing. In 1125, the alliance ended when the Jin, sensing Song weakness, invaded southward and eventually captured the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1127.
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👉 Alliance Conducted at Sea in the context of Jin–Song wars
The Jin–Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Han-led Song dynasty (960–1279). In 1115, Jurchen tribes rebelled against their overlords, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125), and declared the formation of the Jin. Allying with the Song against their common enemy the Liao dynasty, the Jin promised to cede to the Song the Sixteen Prefectures that had fallen under Liao control since 938. The Song agreed but the Jin's quick defeat of the Liao combined with Song military failures made the Jin reluctant to cede territory. After a series of negotiations that embittered both sides, the Jurchens attacked the Song in 1125, dispatching one army to Taiyuan and the other to Bianjing (modern Kaifeng), the Song capital.
Surprised by news of an invasion, Song general Tong Guan retreated from Taiyuan, which was besieged and later captured. As the second Jin army approached the capital, Song emperor Huizong abdicated and fled south. Qinzong, his eldest son, was enthroned. The Jin dynasty laid siege to Kaifeng in 1126, but Qinzong negotiated their retreat from the capital by agreeing to a large annual indemnity. Qinzong reneged on the deal and ordered Song forces to defend the prefectures instead of fortifying the capital. The Jin resumed war and again besieged Kaifeng in 1127. They captured Qinzong, many members of the imperial family and high officials of the Song imperial court in an event known as the Jingkang Incident. This separated north and south China between Jin and Song. Remnants of the Song imperial family retreated to southern China and, after brief stays in several temporary capitals, eventually relocated to Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). The retreat divided the dynasty into two distinct periods, Northern Song and Southern Song.
Alliance Conducted at Sea in the context of Chanyuan Treaty
The Chanyuan Treaty (simplified Chinese: 澶渊之盟; traditional Chinese: 澶淵之盟; pinyin: Chányuān Zhī Méng) was signed between the Northern Song dynasty and the Liao dynasty in 1005, and marked a pivotal point in Chinese history and in the relations between the two dynasties. The treaty laid the foundation for approximately a century of relative peace between the two major powers, which lasted until the Alliance Conducted at Sea was formed between the Northern Song dynasty and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the early 12th century. The diplomatic framework itself which set the peace would continue to be emulated throughout East Asia until the establishment of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century.