Yelü Lihu (耶律李胡) (911-960), also named Honggu (洪古),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Xiyin (奚隱), formally Emperor Zhangsu (章肅皇帝), was an imperial prince of the
Khitan-led
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan language, Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that exi ...
. As the third son of Liao's founding emperor
Emperor Taizu (Yelü Abaoji) and his wife
Empress Shulü Ping
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
, Yelü Lihu served as
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
during the reign of his older brother
Emperor Taizong (Yelü Deguang), who was their second son, as Empress Shulü wanted him to be emperor after Emperor Taizong. However, after Emperor Taizong's death, their older brother
Yelü Bei
Yelü Bei () (899''History of Liao'', vol. 72. – January 7, 937''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 280. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), also known as Yelü Tuyu (耶律突欲 or 耶律圖欲), posthumously honored Emperor Wenxian Q ...
's son
Yelü Ruan was able to defeat Yelü Lihu in battle and take the throne. Yelü Lihu was put under arrest and later died while under arrest.
Early life
Yelü Lihu was born in 911, as the third son of the first Liao emperor
Yelü Abaoji and his wife
Shulü Ping
Shulü Ping (; 19 October 879 – 1 August 953), nickname Yueliduo (月里朵), formally Empress Yingtian () also known as Empress Di (地皇后) during the reign of her husband Emperor Taizu of Liao (Yelü Abaoji), posthumous name initially Empr ...
— after his older brothers
Yelü Bei
Yelü Bei () (899''History of Liao'', vol. 72. – January 7, 937''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 280. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), also known as Yelü Tuyu (耶律突欲 or 耶律圖欲), posthumously honored Emperor Wenxian Q ...
and
Yelü Deguang.
['']History of Liao
The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, ...
'', vol. 72. Yelü Lihu was Lady Shulü's youngest son, although Yelü Abaoji would later have a younger son, Yelü Yaliguo (耶律牙里果), by a Lady Xiao. (Yelü Abaoji would, in 916, claim the title of
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, establishing the
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan language, Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that exi ...
.)
In Yelü Lihu's youth, he was said to be brave, strong, and ferocious, but was also cruel. Even on minor things where people would anger him, he would punish those people by tattooing their faces or by throwing them into fire or water. There was a time when Emperor Taizu observed his sons sleeping (apparently, together), with Yelü Lihu curled up and sleeping toward the inside. He commented, "This must be a sign that he is lesser to the others." There was also a time when it was extremely cold, when he told his sons to go out to fetch firewood. Yelü Deguang, without being choosy about the kind of wood, grabbed the wood and returned quickly. Yelü Bei selected the dry wood, bundled it up carefully, and then returned with the wood. Yelü Lihu did not gather much wood and lost much on the way, and when he returned, he simply left the wood there and stood by. Emperor Taizu commented, "The oldest is skillful, but the second is more capable. The youngest is lesser than the others." However, Empress Shulü favored Yelü Lihu.
[
]
During Emperor Taizong's reign
Emperor Taizu died in 926. After his death, Empress Shulü diverted the succession away from Yelü Bei, to Yelü Deguang, who took the throne as Emperor Taizong.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 275.] In 930, Emperor Taizong sent Yelü Lihu on an incursion into the territory of Khitan's southern neighbor Later Tang
Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history.
The first three of the Later Tang's four ...
. Yelü Lihu attacked Later Tang's Huan Prefecture (寰州, in modern Shuozhou
Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about and, in 2010, a pop ...
, Shanxi), and returned with many captives. Emperor Taizong thereafter created him crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
and gave him the title of generalissimo of all armies.[ (This designation of Yelü Lihu as crown prince apparently aggravated Yelü Bei further, as it was later that year that Yelü Bei fled to Later Tang.) During Emperor Taizong's subsequent campaigns, Yelü Lihu was often put in charge of defending the capital Linhuang (臨潢, in modern ]Chifeng
Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
).[
In 936, Emperor Taizong launched a campaign to aid the Later Tang general Shi Jingtang (the brother-in-law of then-Later Tang emperor ]Li Congke
Li Congke () (11 February 885 – 11 January 937), also known in historiography as the Last Emperor of Later Tang (), Deposed Emperor of Later Tang (), Wang Congke () (particularly during the succeeding Later Jin dynasty, which did not recogni ...
) to overthrow Later Tang. The campaign was successful, and Shi's new Later Jin replaced Later Tang as the ruling regime in central and northern China. Shi remained submissive toward Khitan (whose state was then renamed Liao) and in 938 had his chancellors and Liu Xu
Liu Xu (; 888–947),'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 89. courtesy name Yaoyuan (), formally the Duke of Qiao (), was a Chinese historian and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later Tang and Later Ji ...
visit Liao on a diplomatic mission, offering honorable titles to Emperor Taizong and Empress Dowager Shulü, including honoring Emperor Taizong as "father emperor" while Shi referred to himself as "son emperor." Shi also often offered gifts to many key Liao generals and nobles, and Yelü Lihu, as crown prince, was the recipient of many of these gifts as well. However, after Shi's death, his nephew and successor Shi Chonggui
Shi Chonggui () (914–974), known in traditional Chinese historical sources as Emperor Chu of Later Jin (後晉出帝, "the exiled emperor") or Emperor Shao of Later Jin (後晉少帝, "the young emperor"), posthumously known in the Liao dynasty a ...
took a confrontational stance against Liao, causing Emperor Taizong to launch a major campaign against Later Jin in 946, destroying it.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 284.] During the campaign, Yelü Lihu presumably remained at Linhuang to defend it.
After Emperor Taizong's reign
Emperor Taizong claimed imperial title over China as well, but soon tired of the many rebellions rising up against him throughout the former Later Jin realm. He began a withdrawal back to Liao proper, but died on the way, near Heng Prefecture (恆州, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
).[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286.] As Empress Dowager Shulü had, when Emperor Taizu died, killed many chieftains so that she could bury them with Emperor Taizu,[ many of the Khitan generals feared that she would do the same thing again;][''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287.] they therefore resolved to support Yelü Bei's son Yelü Ruan the Prince of Yongkang as emperor.[ Yelü Ruan was subsequently able to overpower the ethnically ]Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
general Zhao Yanshou Zhao Yanshou () (died November 10, 948'' History of Liao'', vol. 5.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Liu Yanshou (), formally the Prince of Wei (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, and politician. He served as ...
(who had designs on claiming imperial title himself) and take over Heng Prefecture, and then declared himself emperor (as Emperor Shizong).[
However, knowing that Empress Dowager Shulü had intended for Yelü Lihu to succeed, Emperor Shizong decided to head back north to Liao proper in order to face off against his grandmother. She sent Yelü Lihu with her army to face Emperor Shizong, but Yelü Lihu was defeated by Emperor Shizong's forward commanders Yelü Anduan (耶律安端, a younger brother of Emperor Taizu) and Yelü Liuge (耶律留哥). Knowing that her cause was lost, Empress Dowager Shulü accepted the suggestion of the official Yelü Wuzhi (耶律屋質) and negotiated a peace agreement where she accepted Emperor Shizong as emperor.][ Emperor Shizong subsequently had her placed under house arrest at Emperor Taizu's tomb,][ while Yelü Lihu was placed under house arrest at Zu Prefecture (祖州, in modern Chifeng).][
In 960, Yelü Lihu's son Yelü Xiyin (耶律喜隱) plotted a rebellion against then-reigning Emperor Muzong (Emperor Taizong's son Yelü Jing). As a result, both he and Yelü Lihu were arrested and placed in jail. Yelü Lihu died in jail thereafter (although Yelü Xiyin did not and was subsequently released). However, Yelü Xiyin was killed in another rebellion, as well as his son with Lady Xiao. ]['']Xu Zizhi Tongjian
''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...
'', vol. 1.
Harem
Consort and issue(s):
*Empress Hejing, of the Xiao clan (和敬皇后蕭氏)
**Yelü Xiyin
Yelü Xiyin (; ? — 982), also known by his title Prince of Song, was an imperial prince of the Liao dynasty. He was the eldest son of former Crown Prince Yelü Lihu by Empress Hejing. Xiyin married Lady Xiao, the second daughter of Prime ministe ...
, Prince of Song (宋王 耶律喜隱, d. 982), 1st son
**Yelü Wan, Prince of Wei (衛王 耶律宛), 2nd son
In popular culture
*Portrayed by Wang Huichun in the 2020 Chinese TV series ''The Legend of Xiao Chuo
''The Legend of Xiao Chuo'' () is a 2020 Chinese television series based on the novel Yan Yun Tai by Jiang Shengnan. It stars Tiffany Tang in the title role, along with Shawn Dou, Charmaine Sheh and Jing Chao. The series chronicles the life of leg ...
''.
Notes and references
* ''History of Liao
The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, ...
'', vol. 72.
* ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian
''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...
'', vol. 1.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelu, Lihu
911 births
960 deaths
Liao dynasty imperial princes
Liao dynasty generals
Yelü clan
10th-century Khitan people