While the Northern Region retained its tribal character for the entire history of the Liao Empire, there was a gradual importation of governmental and economic customs taken from Chinese and other sedentary populations into the area. In 983 the legal code of the Tang dynasty, already in use in the Southern Capital, was translated into the Khitan language so it could be adopted by officials in the North. Further reforms followed, to the chagrin of Khitan tribal members.Twitchett and Tietze, pp. 93-4. On the other hand, ethnic Chinese that were subject to traditional Khitan law were known to complain about its relative harshness; see Mote, p. 74
