Under the names of Yenking, which it received from the Khitan, and of Chung-tu, which it had from the Kin, it holds a conspicuous place in the wars of Jenghiz Khan against the latter dynasty.
The latter selected a position a few hundred yards to the north-east of the old city of Chung-tu or Yenking, where he founded the new city of Ta-tu ("great capital"), called by the Mongols Taidu or Daitu, but also KhanBalik; and from this time dates the use of the latter name as applied to this site.
In 1151 it fell into the hands of the Kin Tatars, who made it a royal residence under the name of Chung-tu, or "central capital."
He had a difficult part to play with the different parties in the state, but he adroitly kept himself aloof from them all; and at last, in his fifty-second year, he was made chief magistrate of the city of Chung-tu.
