Yelü Lihu

Yelü Lihu (耶律李胡) (911-960), also named Honggu (洪古), courtesy name Xiyin (奚隱), formally Emperor Zhangsu (章肅皇帝), was an imperial prince of the Khitan Liao state. As the third son of Liao's founding emperor Emperor Taizu (Yelü Abaoji) and his wife Empress Shulü Ping, Yelü Lihu served as crown prince 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'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.

Yelü Lihu was born in 911, as the third son of Khitan chieftain Yelü Abaoji and his wife Shulü Ping — after his older brothers Yelü Bei and Yelü Deguang. 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, establishing the Khitan Empire (later to be known as Liao), as its Emperor Taizu.)

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.

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