See Also: Yelu Chucai(encyclopedia)

Yelu Chucai (sh)




or Yeh-lu Ch'u-ts'ai

born 1190
died 1244

Chinese statesman of Khitan extraction, adviser to Genghis Khan and his son ?g?dei.

He established a formal bureaucracy and rationalized taxation system for the Mongol-controlled portions of China. By persuading ?g?dei to spare the inhabitants of northern China in order to utilize their wealth and skills, Yelu gave the Mongols access to the Chinese weapons that later enabled them to conquer the Song dynasty. See also Mongol; Yuan dynasty.