Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Yelu Bei
Eldest son of Taizu of Liao and Prince of Dongdan who fled to the Later Tang, a book collector and painter
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Yelu Tuyu · King of Dongdan · Rangguo Huangdi · Liao Yizong · Li Zanhua
Yelü Bei, also called Tuyu, was born in 899 (or 900), the eldest son of Abaoji, Taizu of Liao. He was made crown prince in 916 and Prince Renhuang of Dongdan in 926. In 927 his brother Yelü Deguang took the throne, and in 930 Bei crossed the sea to the Later Tang, which named him Li Zanhua. The History of Liao says he knew divination, music and medicine and wrote well in Khitan and Chinese. He kept a library of over ten thousand volumes on Mount Yiwulü and painted. He died in 937 and was later named Emperor Rangguo.
Life and times
Dates 899 - 937