gold is not, like iron, a prey to rust. Others, however, trace the
origin of the term to the fact that gold was found in the Nü-chên
territory.

A small point which has given rise to some confusion, may fitly be
mentioned here. The tribe of Tartars hitherto spoken of as Nü-chêns, and
henceforth known in history as the "Golden Dynasty," in 1035 changed the
word _chên_ for _chih_, and were called Nü-chih Tartars. They did this
because at that date the word _chên_ was part of the personal name of
the reigning Kitan Emperor, and therefore taboo. The necessity for such
change would of course cease with their emancipation from Kitan rule,
and the old name would be revived; it will accordingly be continued in
the following pages.

The victories of Akutêng over the Kitans were most welcome to the
Chinese Emperor, who saw his late oppressors humbled to the dust by the
victorious Nü-chêns; and in 1120 a treaty of alliance was signed by the
two powers against the common enemy. The upshot of this move was that
the Kitans were severely defeated in all directions, and their chief
cities fell into the hands of the Nü-chêns, who finally succeeded, in
1122, in taking Peking by assault, the Kitan Emperor having already
sought safety in flight. When, however, the time came for an equitable
settlement of territory between China and the victorious Nü-chêns, the
Chinese Emperor discovered that the Nü-chêns, inasmuch as they had done
most of the fighting, were determined to have the lion's share of the
reward; in fact, the yoke imposed by the latter proved if anything more
burdensome than that of the dreaded Kitans. More territory was taken by
the Nü-chêns, and even larger levies of money were exacted, while the
same old farce of worthless tribute was carried on as before.