Eliui Chutsai

Born Aug. 3, 1189; died June 2, 1243. Mongolian political figure and scholar.

Eliui Chutsai was a member of the Khitan (Liao) imperial family and received a classical Chinese education. In 1218 he became an advisor to Genghis Khan, whom he accompanied in his Central Asian campaigns. The successor to Genghis Khan, Ugedei (1229–41), appointed Eliui Chutsai as head of the khan’s central offices, but in fact he directed only the affairs of North China. Eliui ChutsaiY works The Collected Works of the Hermit Chan Jan and An Account of a Journey to the West are valuable historical sources.