Murong Xi
Encyclopedia
| Yan Zhaowendi ((後)燕昭文帝) | |
|---|---|
| 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"... : |
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) |
| 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"... : |
Xi (熙, xī) |
| 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... : |
Zhaowen (昭文, zhāo wén) literary meaning: "accomplished and civil" |
Murong Xi (慕容熙) (385–407), courtesy name Daowen (道文), formally Emperor Zhaowen of (Later) Yan ((後)燕昭文帝), 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...
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:...
. He was one of the youngest sons of Murong Chui
Murong Chui
Murong Chui , courtesy name Daoming , formally Emperor Wucheng of Yan was a great general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan who later became the founding emperor of Later Yan...
(Emperor Wucheng), and after the death of his nephew Murong Sheng
Murong Sheng
Murong Sheng , courtesy name Daoyun , formally Emperor Zhaowu of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. He was the oldest son of Murong Bao , and after Murong Bao was killed by Lan Han avenged his father in a coup and took the throne...
(Emperor Zhaowu) became emperor due to his affair with Murong Sheng's mother, Empress Dowager Ding
Empress Dowager Ding
Empress Dowager Ding , formally Empress Xianyou was an empress dowager of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...
. He was regarded as a cruel and capricious ruler, who acted at the whims of himself and his 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...
, greatly damaging the Later Yan state. After Empress Fu died in 407, he left the capital Longcheng (龍城, 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"...
) to bury her, and the soldiers in Longcheng took this chance to rebel and replace him with Murong Bao's adopted son Murong Yun (Emperor Huiyi), and Murong Xi himself was captured and killed. (Because Murong Yun was an adopted son who later changed his name back to Gao Yun, some historians treat Murong Xi as the last emperor of Later Yan and Gao Yun as the first emperor of 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:...
, while others treat Gao Yun as the last emperor of Later Yan and his successor 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 the first emperor of Northern Yan.)
Early life
Murong Xi was born in 385, to Murong ChuiMurong Chui
Murong Chui , courtesy name Daoming , formally Emperor Wucheng of Yan was a great general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan who later became the founding emperor of Later Yan...
and his concubine Consort Duan
Empress Dowager Duan (Zhaowen)
Empress Dowager Duan was an empress dowager of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. She was a concubine of the founding emperor Murong Chui , and she was the mother of Murong Xi .-Biography:...
, soon after Murong Chui had established Later Yan. In 393, Murong Chui created him the Prince of Hejian. He was one of Murong Chui's favored sons. Little else is known about his life during his father's reign.
During Murong Bao's and Murong Sheng's reigns
After Murong Chui had died in 396 and been succeeded by Murong Xi's older brother Murong BaoMurong 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)), Later Yan came under heavy attack 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"...
's prince Tuoba Gui
Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei
Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Gui , né Tuoba Shegui , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the grandson of the last prince of Dai, Tuoba Shiyijian, and after the fall of the Dai state to Former Qin in 376 had been presumed to be the...
, and 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...
) was sieged by Northern Wei forces. In 397, Murong Bao decided to abandon Zhongshan and move the capital to the old 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...
capital Longcheng (龍城, 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 initially, due to their young ages, Murong Xi and his brothers Murong Lang (慕容朗) the Prince of Bohai and Murong Jian (慕容鑒) the Prince of Boling were unable to catch up with Murong Bao's group as it fled Zhongshan, requiring their older brother Murong Long
Murong Long
Murong Long , formally Prince Kang of Gaoyang , was a general and imperial prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...
the Prince of Gaoyang to return to fetch them, but they finally did catch up with Murong Bao and evacuate to Longcheng.
In 398, as Murong Bao's troops were worn out by constant wars and apprehensive of Murong Bao's orders to head south to attack Northern Wei, they mutinied under the command of the officer Duan Sugu (段速骨), who supported Murong Long's son Murong Chong (慕容崇) as figurehead. In the rebellion, many imperial princes were killed, but because Murong Xi and Murong Chong were friends, Murong Chong exerted his influence to have Murong Xi spared. Later in the year, after Duan was killed by Lan Han
Lan Han
Lan Han was an official of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan, who killed the emperor Murong Bao in 398 and briefly took over the regime before being killed by Murong Bao's son Murong Sheng ....
, who then laid a trap for Murong Bao and had him killed as well and usurped power, Lan Han created Murong Xi the Duke of Liaodong, with the function of having him continue the worship of the Murongs' ancestors. When Murong Bao's son Murong Sheng
Murong Sheng
Murong Sheng , courtesy name Daoyun , formally Emperor Zhaowu of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. He was the oldest son of Murong Bao , and after Murong Bao was killed by Lan Han avenged his father in a coup and took the throne...
subsequently killed Lan Han in a coup in late 398 and restored Later Yan, he used only a princely title initially, so imperial princes' titles were reduced to ducal titles. In accordance, Murong Xi's title became Duke of Hejian. Murong Sheng also made him a major general. In 400, when Murong Sheng attacked 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....
, Murong Xi served as his forward general, and contributed greatly to the victory. It was at this time that Murong Sheng commented:
- Uncle, your bravery matched that of Shizu (Murong ChuiMurong ChuiMurong Chui , courtesy name Daoming , formally Emperor Wucheng of Yan was a great general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan who later became the founding emperor of Later Yan...
's temple nameTemple nameTemple names are commonly used when naming most Chinese, Korean , and Vietnamese royalty. They should not be confused with era names. Compared to posthumous names, the use of temple names is more exclusive...
), but your strategies are not as well-thought out.
Sometime during Murong Sheng's reign, Murong Xi began an affair with Murong Sheng's mother Empress Dowager Ding
Empress Dowager Ding
Empress Dowager Ding , formally Empress Xianyou was an empress dowager of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...
. When Murong Sheng was assassinated in a coup in 401, the officials largely wanted a successor older than Murong Sheng's 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....
Murong Ding (慕容定), and most wanted to see Murong Sheng's younger brother Murong Yuán (慕容元) the Duke of Pingyuan. However, Empress Dowager Ding, because of her affair with Murong Xi, had other ideas, and she made it clear that she wanted Murong Xi to succeed her son. The officials were forced to go along with her wishes, and while Murong Xi formally offered the throne to Murong Yuan first, Murong Yuan did not dare to accept, and so Murong Xi accepted the throne. 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...
).
Reign
Murong Xi was cruel and arbitrary as a ruler, willing to strike out at anyone who disobeyed him or whom he viewed as a potential threat. The first victim was Murong Yuán, whom he ordered to commit suicide just a few days after he took the throne. When a plot involving the generals Murong Ti (慕容提) and Zhang Fo (張佛)'s attempt to put the former crown prince Murong Ding on the throne was discovered less a month later, Murong Xi ordered his young grandnephew to commit suicide as well.In 402, Murong Xi took two daughters of the deceased official Fu Mo (苻謨) as concubines -- Fu Song'e (苻娀娥) and 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...
. He favored both greatly, and particularly Fu Xunying. He therefore neglected Empress Dowager Ding, who became jealous and angry, and she plotted with her nephew Ding Xin (丁信) to overthrow Murong Xi and replace him with Murong Bao's son Murong Yuān (慕容淵, note different tone from his brother) the Duke of Zhangwu. The plot was discovered, and Murong Xi executed Ding Xin and Murong Yuān and forced Empress Dowager Ding to commit suicide, although he still buried her with honors due an empress.
Murong Xi soon started a number of heavy construction projects. In 403, he built Longteng Chateau (龍騰苑) within his imperial garden, described as occupying over two square kilometers and requiring forced labor from 20,000 men. He further built an artificial hill within the chateau that was described as 500 steps wide and 57 meters high. Later that year, he honored his mother Consort Duan as empress dowager, and he created Consort Fu Xunying as empress.
In summer 404, Murong Xi built Xiaoyao Palace (逍遙宮) at Longteng Chateau, with hundreds of rooms, and also constructed an artificial lake. The soldiers used as labor could not get any rest, and it was described that more than half of them died from the heat and the exhaustion.
In fall 404, Consort Fu Song'e grew ill. The physician Wang Rong (王榮) claimed that he could cure her, but ultimately he could not, and she died. Murong Xi tied Wang to a palace gate and executed him by drawing and quartering, and then burned his body. He posthumoustly honored Consort Fu as Empress Min.
After Consort Fu's death, Murong Xi grew even more doting of Empress Fu, who favored huntings and journeys. In winter 404, they went on a long hunt and tour that took them as north as Bailu Mountain (白鹿山, in modern Tongliao
Tongliao
Tongliao is a prefecture-level city in eastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Jilin province to the east, Liaoning to the south, Chifeng to the southwest, the Xilin Gol League to the west, and the Hinggan League to the north. The city was the administrative centre of the...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
), as east as Qingling (青嶺, described as about 100 kilometers east of the capital Longcheng (龍城, 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 as south as Haiyang (海陽, in modern Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao is a port city in northeastern Hebei province of North China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea....
, 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...
) before returning to Longcheng. On this winter journey, it was described that more than 5,000 escorting soldiers died from attacks by tigers or wolves or exposure to the cold. In other known events, she was described to be demanding to have jellied fish in the summer and fresh Rehmannia
Rehmannia
Rehmannia is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the order Lamiales, endemic to China.The genus was included in the family Scrophulariaceae or Gesneriaceae in some older classifications. The current placement of the genus is in neither Scrophulariaceae s.s. nor Plantaginaceae s.l....
roots in the winter—neither of which could be obtainable—and Murong Xi executed officials in charge of supplying the palace for their failures.
In spring 405, Murong Xi, with Emperor Fu with him, attacked Goguryeo's major city Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang
Liaoyang
Liaoyang is a city in China, Liaoning province, located in the middle of the Liaodong Peninsula. The city is situated on the T'ai-tzu River and forms with Anshan a built up area of 2,057,200 inhabitants in 2010....
, 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 had almost captured it. However, he ordered his soldiers to flatten the wall so that he could enter with Empress Fu on an imperial wagon. The delay allowed the Goguryeo forces to refortify the city, and he was unable to capture it.
Around the new year 406, Murong Xi, with Empress Fu with him, was making a surprise attack on Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
tribes when he decided that the Khitan were too strong to be attacked and wanted to withdraw. However, at Empress Fu's insistence that she wanted to observe a battle, he abandoned his heavy guard and took his faster cavalry to attack Goguryeo. The attack was unsuccessful, and he was forced to withdraw. The general Murong Yun the Duke of Xiyang (Murong Bao's adopted son, whose original name was Gao Yun) suffered an arrow wound during the battle, and, because he feared Murong Xi's cruelty, used this opportunity to resign his post and remain in his home.
In 407, Murong Xi built a new palace for Empress Fu, Chenghua Palace (承華殿), using so much dirt in the project that dirt was described to become as expensive as grain. In summer 407, Empress Fu died. Murong Xi mourned her so much that he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built for her, and also forced his sister-in-law, Princess Zhang of Gaoyang (Murong Long
Murong Long
Murong Long , formally Prince Kang of Gaoyang , was a general and imperial prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...
's wife) to commit suicide so that she could be buried with Empress Fu. 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, 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...
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 Longteng Chateau, 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.
Personal information
- Father
- Murong ChuiMurong ChuiMurong Chui , courtesy name Daoming , formally Emperor Wucheng of Yan was a great general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan who later became the founding emperor of Later Yan...
(Emperor Wucheng)
- Murong Chui
- Mother
- Consort DuanEmpress Dowager Duan (Zhaowen)Empress Dowager Duan was an empress dowager of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan. She was a concubine of the founding emperor Murong Chui , and she was the mother of Murong Xi .-Biography:...
- Consort Duan
- Wife
- Empress Fu XunyingEmpress Fu XunyingEmpress 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...
(created 402, d. 407)
- Empress Fu Xunying
- Major Concubines
- Consort Fu Song'e (苻娀娥) (d. 404), Empress Fu's older sister, posthumously honored as Empress Min