Former Yan

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Yan
337–370
Former Yan in 338 AD
Former Yan in 338 AD
Former Yan in 369 AD
Former Yan in 369 AD
CapitalJicheng (棘城) (337–342)
Longcheng (342–350)
Jicheng (薊城) (350–357)
Yecheng (357–370)
GovernmentMonarchy
Emperor 
• 337–348
Murong Huang
• 348–360
Murong Jun
• 360–370
Murong Wei
History 
• Murong Huang's claim of princely title
23 November 337[1][2] 337
• Murong Jun's claim of imperial title
4 January 353[3][4]
• Fall of Yecheng
11 December 370[5][6]
• Disestablished
370
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Jin dynasty (266–420)
Ran Wei
Later Zhao
Duan Qi
Former Qin
Today part ofChina

Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (Chinese: 前燕; pinyin: Qián Yān; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Eastern Jin-created title "Prince of Yan", but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Jun would declare himself emperor, and after that point, the rulers of the Former Yan declared themselves "emperors".

History[edit]

Background[edit]

With the decline of the Xianbei confederation, the Murong tribe resettled themselves around the Liaoxi region. During the Three Kingdoms period, when the Cao Wei commander, Sima Yi, campaigned against Gongsun Yuan in 237, the Murong offered their assistance and were allowed to move into northern Liaodong after the campaign. The Murong became vassals to the Wei and then to their successor, the Western Jin dynasty.

During the upheaval of the Five Barbarians, the leader of the Murong tribe, Murong Hui welcomed many refugees fleeing from the disorder into his territory and recruited Han Chinese officials into his administration.[7] As the Jin was driven out of the north, Hui held independent control over his territory, but retained his vassal status and was given the title of Duke of Liaodong in 321 by the re-established Eastern Jin court from Jiankang.

Reign of Murong Huang[edit]

In 333, Murong Hui died and was succeeded by his son, Murong Huang. His succession was challenged by his brother, Murong Ren, who rebelled in eastern Liaodong and split the domain into two. The civil war concluded with Huang defeating Ren in 336, and in 337, he took the title of Prince of Yan through the support of his officials. Historians regard this event as the start of the Former Yan dynasty, although throughout his reign, Huang remained as a vassal to the Eastern Jin.

Murong Huang's reign saw Former Yan rapidly expanding its influence. In 338, Yan allied with the Later Zhao dynasty to conquer the rival Duan tribe in Liaoxi. Though the campaign was a success, Zhao then betrayed Yan and laid siege on their capital, Jícheng (棘城, in modern Jinzhou, Liaoning). Yan repelled the Later Zhao forces despite the odds, which allowed Murong Huang to pressure the Jin court into formally recognizing his title in 341.

In 342, Murong Huang moved the capital to Longcheng. Later that year, Former Yan invaded Goguryeo and sacked the capital Hwando, forcing their king Gogugwon into submission. In 344, they attacked the Yuwen tribe and destroyed their power, while in 346, they invaded Buyeo and captured their king, Hyeon.[8][9] As a result of these campaigns, the Former Yan became the sole power in northeastern China.

Reign of Murong Jun[edit]

After Murong Huang's death in 348, his son Murong Jun took the throne. In 349, the Later Zhao descended into civil war between members of the imperial family. Taking advantage of the confusion, Murong Jun invaded the Central Plains. The Former Yan went head-to-head with the Ran Wei state, which supplanted the Later Zhao, and in 352, the Wei emperor, Ran Min was captured by Murong Jun's brother, Murong Ke at the Battle of Liantai. A few months later, Ran Min's Crown Prince, Ran Zhi, surrendered to Former Yan at Ye.

The destruction of Ran Wei established Former Yan as a regional power on the North China Plain, competing with the Di-led Former Qin in the west and the Eastern Jin in the south. When Murong Jun first invaded Later Zhao in 350, he shifted the capital to Jìcheng (薊城; modern day Beijing) before moving to Ye in 357. In 353, Murong Jun declared himself emperor and formally broke away from Jin. He continued to entrust Murong Ke with defeating the remnants of the Later Zhao, including the Duan Qi state in Shandong. Jun was also planning to launch a massive invasion of Jin before dying in 360.

Reign of Murong Wei[edit]

Murong Jun's son, Murong Wei was still a child when he ascended the throne and was assigned with multiple regents, including Murong Ke. Murong Ke held considerable power under his nephew, and traditional historians regarded as one of the most exceptional statesman and commander of his period. In 365, he captured the ancient capital, Luoyang from Jin, bringing the empire to its peak.

However, although Ke's regency was marked with political stability and military might, corruption was also beginning to take its toll on the empire. The state's fiscal revenue was declining due to the nobility's practice of amassing commoners within their private fiefs. These commoners only had to pay taxes to their lords and not to the state, and so the imperial treasury was stretched thin, with many officials having unpaid salaries and the public grain stores being exhausted. Ke's leadership initially mitigated the issue, but the situation quickly deteriorated after his untimely death in 367.

In 369, the Eastern Jin commander, Huan Wen, launched an expedition to conquer the Former Yan. The Yan court was thrown into a panic, but the general, Murong Chui, decisively repelled the invasion at the Battle of Fangtou. However, his success earned him the suspicion of the regent, Murong Ping, driving him to defect to the Former Qin. Chui’s defection prompted the Qin to begin their conquest of Yan. Despite their numerical advantage, the incompetently-led main Yan force was destroyed by Wang Meng's army. Qin forces eventually reached Ye and Murong Wei was captured in 370. The destruction of the Former Yan established Former Qin as the main hegemon in the north, beginning their rapid unification of northern China.

Rulers of the Former Yan[edit]

Temple names Posthumous names Family names and given name Durations of reigns Era names and their according durations
Chinese convention: use family and given names
Taizu (太祖 Taìzǔ) Wenming (文明 Wénmíng) 慕容皝 Mùróng Huǎng 337–348 Yanwang (燕王 Yànwáng) 337–348
Liezong (烈宗 Lièzōng) Jingzhao (景昭 Jǐngzhāo) 慕容儁 Mùróng Jùn 348–360 Yanwang (燕王 Yànwáng) 348–353
Yuanxi (元璽 Yuánxǐ) 353–357
Guangshou (光壽 Guāngshoù) 357–360
Did not exist You (幽 Yōu) 慕容暐 Mùróng Wěi 360–370 Jianxi (建熙 Jiànxī) 360–370

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "兩千年中西曆轉換". Sinica.edu.tw. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  2. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 95.
  3. ^ "兩千年中西曆轉換". Sinica.edu.tw. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  4. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 99.
  5. ^ "兩千年中西曆轉換". Sinica.edu.tw. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  6. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 102.
  7. ^ Schreiber, Gerhard (1949). "The History of the Former Yen Dynasty". Monumenta Serica. doi:10.1080/02549948.1949.11730940.
  8. ^ Chinul (1991). Buswell, Robert E. (ed.). Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul's Korean Way of Zen. Translated by Robert E. Buswell (abridged ed.). University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 0824814274. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  9. ^ Tennant, Charles Roger (1996). A History of Korea. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 9780710305329. Retrieved 10 October 2016. Soon after, the Wei fell to the Jin and Koguryŏ grew stronger, until in 313 they finally succeeded in occupying Lelang and bringing to an end the 400 years of China's presence in the peninsula, a period sufficient to ensure that for the next 1,500 it would remain firmly within the sphere of its culture. After the fall of the Jin in 316, the proto-Mongol Xianbei occupied the North of China, of which the Murong clan took the Shandong area, moved up to the Liao, and in 341 sacked and burned the Koguryŏ capital at Hwando. They took away some thousands of prisoners to provide cheap labour to build more walls of their own, and in 346 went on to wreak even greater destruction on Puyŏ, hastening what seems to have been a continuing migration of its people into the north-eastern area of the peninsula, but Koguryŏ, though temporarily weakened, would soon rebuild its walls and continue to expand.
  10. ^ Hong, Wontack (2005). "Commencing the Dual System: the Yan Kingdom of Mu-rong Xianbei" (PDF). East Asian History: A Korean Perspective.