Li Siyuan

Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 926 until his death. He was an ethnic Shatuo originally named, in the Shatuo language, Miaojilie (邈佶烈). Adopted by the ethnic Shatuo ruler Li Keyong of the Former Jin dynasty, Li Siyuan became a trusted general under both Li Keyong and Li Keyong's successor Li Cunxu (Emperor Zhuangzong), the Later Tang founder. In 926 he seized power by a coup d'état when a mutiny called the Xingjiao Gate Incident killed Li Cunxu, and ruled with both discipline and compassion for the next seven years. Despite an abundance of natural disasters, his reign was markedly more peaceful than the half-century preceding it.