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Yelü Chucai

Type Figure Region China Time 1190–1244 Also known as Jinqing、Old Man of Yuquan

A Khitan statesman and scholar of the late Jin and early Yuan. In 1218 he submitted to Genghis Khan, assisting the Mongols with Confucian learning;…

Timeline

  1. 1215–1218Yanjing · North ChinaOf Khitan noble birth, versed in classics, histories, law, and calendars, he served the Jin as Vice Director and other posts, renowned among the literati for his Confucian learning and practical ability.
  2. 1218–1227Mongol army camp · MongoliaSummoned into Mongol service in 1218, he won Genghis Khan's trust through divination and remonstrances against indiscriminate killing, accompanied the campaign into the Western Regions, and repeatedly offered his views on military decisions and the governance of occupied territories.
  3. 1220–1230Southern Yan · North ChinaIn the 1220s he advocated assessing taxes by household and limiting corvée labor, opposing the conversion of all Han lands into pasture, thereby laying down principles for the later tax system of the Central Plains, known in history as 'assisting rule with Confucianism'.
  4. 1229–1244Karakorum · MongoliaAfter Ögedei ascended the throne he served as Chancellor, implementing household taxation and the corvée system, and compiled the Regulations for the Tax Offices of the Various Circuits. In his later years he still pressed for maintaining the vast empire through civil governance.

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