 In 916 Emperor Taizu ( Abaoji ) officially designated his eldest son , Yelü Bei , as his successor . Succession by primogeniture was a long @-@ held standard in Chinese culture but was not accepted among the Khitans , creating a friction between Taizu 's desires and the beliefs of the Khitan elites , including Taizu 's wife , Empress Shulü Ping . Taizu , sensing the possibility that the succession process would run into difficulty , forced the Khitan leadership to swear allegiance to Yelü Bei after he was installed as heir apparent . To the Khitans , this was considered a radical move . This friction between primogeniture and succession by the strongest candidate would lead to repeated succession crises , the first of which occurred after Taizu 's sudden and unexpected death in 926 . 
