/(Bei) Yan Huiyidi ((後)/(北)燕惠懿帝)
Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Originally Gao Gao (surname) Gao is a Chinese family name. There are approximately 16 million living people with this surname. Some places, such as Taiwan, usually romanize this family name into Kao. In Hong Kong, it is romanized to Ko....  (高; gāo), briefly Murong Murong Murong refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are a Mongolic people attested from the time of Tanshihuai . Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the language family of Mongols. Murong is also a Chinese surname...  (慕容, mù róng, changed 397), later changed back to Gao (407)
Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Yun (雲, yún)
Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... :	Huiyi (惠懿, huì yì) literary meaning: "kind and benevolent"

Gao Yun (高雲, 고운) (died 409), at one time Murong Yun (慕容雲), courtesy name Ziyu (子雨), formally Emperor Huiyi of (Later)/(Northern) Yan ((後)/(北)燕惠懿帝), was an emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 who, depending on the historian's characterization, was either the last emperor of the Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

/Xianbei

Xianbei

The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...

 state Later Yan

Later Yan

The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...

, or the first emperor of its succeeding state Northern Yan

Northern Yan

The Northern Yan was a state of Han Chinese during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.The second Emperor of Northern Yan, Feng Ba, was Han chinese.All rulers of the Northern Yan declared themselves "emperors".-Rulers of the Northern Yan:...

. He was ethnically Korean

Korean people

The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...

 and a descendant of the royal house of Goguryeo

Goguryeo

Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....

, whose ancestors were captured by Former Yan

Former Yan

The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...

. He was adopted into the Later Yan imperial house after helping the emperor Murong Bao

Murong Bao

Murong Bao , courtesy name Daoyou , formally Emperor Huimin of Yan , temple name Liezong or Liezu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...

 (Emperor Huimin) put down a rebellion by Murong Bao's son Murong Hui

Murong Hui (Later Yan)

Murong Hui was a general and imperial prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan, who served under his grandfather Murong Chui and father Murong Bao...

. He became emperor after the people rebelled against the despotic rule of his adoptive uncle Murong Xi

Murong Xi

Murong Xi , courtesy name Daowen , formally Emperor Zhaowen of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. He was one of the youngest sons of Murong Chui , and after the death of his nephew Murong Sheng became emperor due to his affair with Murong Sheng's mother, Empress...

 (Emperor Zhaowen), and during his reign, he used the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang

Tian Wang

Tian Wang , translatable as either "heavenly prince" or "heavenly king," was a Chinese regal title that was most frequently used during the Sixteen Kingdoms era, among the kingdoms founded by members of the Wu Hu tribes, often used as an intermediate stage from claiming a prince/king title to an...

). In 409, he was assassinated, and after a disturbance, was replaced by his ethnic Han chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 general Feng Ba

Feng Ba

Feng Ba , courtesy name Wenqi , nickname Qizhifa , formally Emperor Wencheng of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese state Northern Yan...

 (Emperor Wencheng).

Early life

Gao Yun's ancestors were from the Goguryeo

Goguryeo

Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....

 royal house. When Murong Huang

Murong Huang

Murong Huang , courtesy name Yuanzhen , formally Prince Wenming of Yan was a ruler of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan and the commonly recognized founder of the state...

 defeated Goguyreo forces and temporarily occupied its capital Wandu, he took many members of the Goguryeo royal house captive and moved them to Qingshan (青山, in modern Jinzhou

Jinzhou

Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...

, Liaoning

Liaoning

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...

), and their descendants became Former Yan and Later Yan subjects. Because the first character of Goguryeo's name, in Chinese, was Gao (高), they largely took Gao as their family name.

As of 397, Gao Yun was a mid-level official in the administration of Murong Bao

Murong Bao

Murong Bao , courtesy name Daoyou , formally Emperor Huimin of Yan , temple name Liezong or Liezu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...

 (Emperor Huimin), when Murong Bao, under military pressure by Northern Wei

Northern Wei

The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...

, abandoned the capital Zhongshan (中山, in modern Baoding

Baoding

-Administrative divisions:Baoding prefecture-level city consists of 3 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 18 counties:-Demographics:The Baoding urban area has a population of around 1,006,000 . The population of the Baoding administrative area is 10,890,000. The considerable majority are...

, Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

) and sought to take refuge at the old Former Yan capital Longcheng (龍城, also in Jinzhou). On the way, his son Murong Hui

Murong Hui (Later Yan)

Murong Hui was a general and imperial prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan, who served under his grandfather Murong Chui and father Murong Bao...

, resentful that his younger brother Murong Ce (慕容策) was made crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

 over him, rebelled, and while Murong Bao was able to reach Longcheng, Murong Hui put Longcheng under siege. During one night, Gao Yun led about 100 soldiers and made a surprise attack on Murong Hui's camp, causing Murong Hui's army to collapse. Murong Hui fled to Zhongshan and was killed there. For Gao Yun's contributions, Murong Bao created him the Duke of Xiyang and adopted him as his own son, and so his name was changed to Murong Yun. It was around this time that he befriended another general, Feng Ba

Feng Ba

Feng Ba , courtesy name Wenqi , nickname Qizhifa , formally Emperor Wencheng of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese state Northern Yan...

, as Murong Yun was not looked up favorably by others because he was a man of few words, but Feng Ba saw that he had wisdom and tolerance.

Little is known about Murong Yun's life in the next few years. By 406, he was a major general under the reign of Murong Bao's cruel and arbitrary younger brother Murong Xi

Murong Xi

Murong Xi , courtesy name Daowen , formally Emperor Zhaowen of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. He was one of the youngest sons of Murong Chui , and after the death of his nephew Murong Sheng became emperor due to his affair with Murong Sheng's mother, Empress...

 (Emperor Zhaowen), when, at the instigation of Murong Xi's wife Empress Fu Xunying

Empress Fu Xunying

Empress Fu Xunying was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. Her husband was Murong Xi .Fu Xunying was a daughter of Fu Mo , a member of Former Qin's imperial house before he surrendered to Later Yan under military pressure...

, Murong Xi made a disastrous attack on Goguyreo in which many soldiers died not from battle but from exposure to the cold. Murong Yun himself suffered an arrow wound during the battle, and, because he feared Murong Xi's cruelty, used this as an excuse to resign his post and remain at home.

In summer 407, Empress Fu died. Murong Xi mourned her so much that he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built for her. The officials were all forced to weep for Empress Fu, with those who could not shed tears punished severely, so they put chili peppers in their mouths to stimulate tear production. Eventually, Murong Xi accompanied Empress Fu's funeral procession out of Longcheng.

After Murong Xi left Longcheng, Feng Ba and his brother Feng Sufu (馮素弗), who had hidden themselves since Murong Xi had previously wanted to have them executed, conspired with their cousin Feng Wani (馮萬泥) to start a rebellion. They did so with the help with the general Zhang Xing (張興) and those who had previously conspired with the general Fu Jin (苻進) in a failed coup attempt earlier that year. Because Feng Ba was friendly with Murong Yun, he persuaded Murong Yun to become their leader, and they quickly captured the palace and closed the city gates. Murong Yun was declared the Heavenly Prince.

Murong Xi returned to Longcheng and settled in outside, at his estate of Longteng Chateau (龍騰苑), preparing an assault on the city. At this time, the imperial guard soldier Chu Tou (褚頭) fled to him and informed him that the imperial guards were ready to turn against Murong Yun as soon as Murong Xi attacked. However, for reasons unknown, Murong Xi panicked at this news and fled. His general Murong Ba (慕容拔) tried to maintain the assault against Longcheng and was initially successful, but as the troops began to realize that Murong Xi had fled, they collapsed, and Murong Ba was killed by Feng Ba's soldiers.

Later that day, Murong Xi was found, wearing civilian clothes, in a forest, and he was captured and delivered to Murong Yun. Murong Yun personally read him his crimes, and then beheaded him and his sons.

Reign

After Murong Xi's death, Murong Yun reassumed his original family name Gao. Being insecure about how he felt he had little contributions to the people or to his own place on the throne, he employed many skillful guards to protect him. He further began to favor two jesters named Li Ban (離班) and Tao Ren (桃仁), to have Li and Tao be in charge of security. He awarded them with great wealth, and their foods and clothes could match those of Gao Yun himself. As far as the government was concerned, important matters were largely in the hands of Feng Ba and his brothers Feng Sufu, Feng Ruchen (馮乳陳), and Feng Hong

Feng Hong

Feng Hong , courtesy name Wentong , formally Emperor Zhaocheng of Yan , was the last emperor of the Chinese state Northern Yan. He seized the throne in 430 when his brother Feng Ba was ill, and he used the title "Heavenly Prince"...

 and cousins Feng Wani, as well as Sun Hu (孫護) and Wu Yinti (務銀提).

In 408, Gao Yun created his wife Lady Li

Empress Li (Huiyi)

Empress Li was an empress whose husband Gao Yun is considered, depending on which historical view is involved, to have been either the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan or the first emperor of Later Yan's successor state Northern Yan.Very little is known about Empress Li...

 empress, and he created his son Gao Pengcheng (高彭城) crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

. He also buried Murong Xi and Empress Fu with imperial honors. It was also around this time that Gwanggaeto the Great

Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo

Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo was the nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His full posthumous name roughly means "Very Greatest King, Broad Expander of Territory, buried in Gukgangsang.", sometimes abbreviated to Hotaewang or Taewang...

, king of Goguryeo, sent messengers to him to try to establish peaceful relations as well as to ascertain the relationship between Gao Yun and the current Goguryeo royal line. Gao Yun also sent messengers to Goguryeo to affirm the relationship. He created Murong Gui (慕容歸) the Duke of Liaodong and had Murong Gui be in charge of continuing the worship of the Murong ancestors.

In winter 409, Gao Yun was assassinated—an event that is mysterious in its cause and scope. Traditional histories, including the Jin Shu and the Zizhi Tongjian

Zizhi Tongjian

The Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...

, record that Li and Tao, despite Gao Yun's favors to them, were still not satisfied, and they assassinated Gao Yun out of that dissatisfaction. Yet, this does not appear to be a true reason for the assassination. Gao Yun's wife Empress Li appears to have also died in the incident. Feng Ba, upon hearing of the assassination, readied his troops and waited for the situation to become clear, but two of his soldiers Zhang Tai (張泰) and Li Sang (李桑) advanced into the palace and beheaded Li and Tao. The officials all supported Feng Ba to take the throne, and so he did. (No reference was made to Gao Yun's son Gao Pengcheng.) Feng Ba later buried Gao Yun and Empress Li with imperial honors—but curiously used Gao Yun's name in the edict, without deference to naming taboo

Naming taboo

Naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...

.

Personal information

• Wife
  • Empress Li
    Empress Li (Huiyi)
    Empress Li was an empress whose husband Gao Yun is considered, depending on which historical view is involved, to have been either the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan or the first emperor of Later Yan's successor state Northern Yan.Very little is known about Empress Li...
    
    (created 408, d. 409?)
• Children
  • Gao Pengcheng (高彭城), the Crown Prince (created 408)