Overview
Zuli, of the Yaonian clan, was raised as Zuwu Qaghan in 735. Real power lay with Nieli (Yali) of the Yelü clan, the ancestor of Abaoji, who had killed Li Guozhe and chose to make Zuli qaghan rather than take the title himself.
Rise to Power
Nieli killed Li Guozhe early in 735 and installed Zuli; the tribes confirmed him by election.
Rule and Achievements
- Re-formed the Khitan tribal confederation with Nieli; the Liao History says they divided the tribes into twenty, and later Liao tradition credits him with setting the rites and offices of the Khitan state
- Submitted to the Tang in 745, received the name Li Huaixiu, the governorship of Songmo and the title Prince of Chongshun, and married Princess Jingle
- Within months, provoked by the frontier commander An Lushan, killed the princess and rose against the Tang with the Xi
Legacy
The Liao History treats Zuwu Qaghan and the Tang vassal Li Huaixiu as one man; some modern historians, among them Miao Runbo, argue they were two people, and that the Zuwu who fought An Lushan in 751 was not Li Huaixiu. His later life and death are not recorded with certainty. His descendants formed one of the nine Yaonian households honoured under the Liao.