The Later Jin had often been described as a puppet of the emerging Liao dynasty. The help of their powerful northern neighbors was vital in the formation of the Later Jin and the cession of the Sixteen Prefectures led to their derision as being the servants of the Khitan. After the death of the founder of the dynasty, Shi Jingtang, his nephew, adopted son and successor Shi Chonggui defied the Liao, resulting in the latter invading in 946 and 947, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin. After the Liao conquest of the Later Jin, the Liao took the dynastic element Water, which follows from the Later Jin's dynastic element Metal, according to the theory of Five Elements (wuxing).