Qifu Mumo
Encyclopedia
| Qin Houzhu ((西)秦後主) | |
|---|---|
| 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"... : |
Qifu (乞伏; qǐ fú) |
| 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"... : |
Mumo (暮末, mù mò) |
| 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... : |
None |
Qifu Mumo (乞伏暮末) (died 431), courtesy name Anshiba (安石跋), was the last prince 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 Western Qin
Western Qin
The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....
. When he succeeded his father Qifu Chipan
Qifu Chipan
Qifu Chipan , formally Prince Wenzhao of Qin , was a prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Qin. During his reign, Western Qin reached its prime after he destroyed and seized the territory of the rival state Southern Liang in 414, but it then began a gradual decline under attacks by Xia and...
(Prince Wenzhao) in 428, Western Qin was already in a state of decline, under incessant attack by Northern Liang
Northern Liang
The Northern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Xiongnu Juqu family, although they initially supported the Han official Duan Ye as prince, they overthrew him in 401 and took over themselves....
, Xia
Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms)
Tiefu was a pre-state Xiongnu tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its chieftain Liu Bobo established the state of Xia in 407 and changed his family name into Helian....
, Tuyuhun, and Chouchi
Chouchi
Chouchi is a Chinese local regime of the Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties.-History:...
, but under Qifu Mumo, who had a violent temper, Western Qin declined further, and in 431 the Xia emperor Helian Ding
Helian Ding
Helian Ding , nickname Zhifen , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia. He was a son of the founding emperor Helian Bobo and a younger brother of his predecessor Helian Chang...
, his own state nearing destruction, captured and executed Qifu Mumo, ending Western Qin.
During Qifu Chipan's reign
It is not known when Qifu Mumo was born, nor is the name of his mother known -- other than that she was neither his father Qifu ChipanQifu Chipan
Qifu Chipan , formally Prince Wenzhao of Qin , was a prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Qin. During his reign, Western Qin reached its prime after he destroyed and seized the territory of the rival state Southern Liang in 414, but it then began a gradual decline under attacks by Xia and...
's princess Princess Tufa
Princess Tufa
Princess Tufa was a princess of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Qin. Her husband was Qifu Chipan .She was the daughter of Tufa Rutan, the last prince of Southern Liang...
, nor her sister Consort Tufa. The first historical reference to him was in 420, when Qifu Chipan created him 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....
-- and by that time, he was already a major general, for the historical reference mentioned that he "remained" a general. In 424, his father sent him and his uncle Qifu Muyigan (乞伏木奕干) to attack Northern Liang, and they were victorious. A campaign that Qifu Mumo carried out with his father against Northern Liang in 426 would be far more disastrous, however, as the Northern Liang prince Juqu Mengxun
Juqu Mengxun
Juqu Mengxun was a prince of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Northern Liang, and the first from the Juqu clan. His cousin Juqu Nancheng and he initially supported Duan Ye as prince of Northern Liang in 397 after rebelling against Later Liang, but in 401, Juqu Mengxun tricked Duan Ye into wrongly...
not only repelled their attacks but persuaded the Xia emperor Helian Chang
Helian Chang
Helian Chang , courtesy name Huan'guo , nickname Zhe , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia. He was the successor and a son of the founding emperor Helian Bobo . After his father's death in 425, he tried to expand Xia further, but soon his state began to collapse in light of pressure...
to attack Western Qin's capital Fuhan (枹罕, in modern Linxia, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
). Helian Chang, in response, sent his general Hulu Gu (呼盧古) to attack Wanchuan (苑川, in modern Baiyin
Baiyin
Baiyin is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province.-Geography and climate:Baiyin is part loess plateau, part desert. Elevation ranges from 1275 to 3321 meters above sea-level. The climate is very arid with only 110-352 mm of annual precipitation. Annual evaporation is 2101 mm resulting in...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
) and Wei Fa (韋伐) to attack Nan'an (南安, in modern Dingxi
Dingxi
-Geography and climate:Dingxi City is located in central Gansu province, 98 km east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), and while Western Qin was able to hold Wanchuan, Nan'an fell, at great loss. In winter 426, Xia forces commanded by Hulu and Wei attacked Fuhan, forcing Qifu Gangui to move the capital to Dinglian (定連, also in Linxia), and Hulu and Wei then captured another important Western Qin city, Xiping (西平, in modern Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
, Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
), and while they then withdrew, Western Qin had been dealt a major blow.
In 428, Qifu Chipan died, and Qifu Mumo succeeded him.
Reign
At the time Qifu Mumo took the throne, Western Qin was in severe decline, but Qifu Mumo, instead of trying to allow his people to recover, was cruel with his punishments and harsh in his judgment, further injuring the state's ability to recover. For example, immediately after he took the throne, he, hearing that his uncle Qifu Qiannian (乞伏千年) had been a drunkard and ignoring his duties, sent messengers to severely rebuke Qifu Qiannian, but the rebukes were such that instead of causing Qifu Qiannian to change his ways, Qifu Qiannian became so fearful that he fled to Northern Liang.Qifu Mumo first had to face a major attack that Juqu Mengxun launched against Western Qin in light of his father's death. As his father had instructed before death, Qifu Mumo sent Juqu Chengdu (沮渠成都), a Northern Liang general whom Qifu Chipan captured in 422, whom Juqu Mengxun respected, back to Northern Liang, and the states entered into a peace agreement. However, just several months later the peace appeared to be over, for Juqu Mengxun resumed his attacks on Western Qin. In spring 429, Juqu Mengxun captured Xiping.
Also in spring 429, Qifu Mumo created his wife Lady Liang
Princess Liang
Princess Liang was a princess of the Chinese state Western Qin. Her husband was the final prince, Qifu Mumo.Very little is known about Princess Liang. Qifu Mumo created her princess in 429, after he had succeeded his father Qifu Chipan in 428...
princess, and his son Qifu Wanzai (乞伏萬載) crown prince.
Another incident in 429 showed Qifu Mumo's harshness. His mother had, during Qifu Chipan's reign, been accidentally injured by slingshots fired by Qifu Chipan's official Xin Jin (辛進), while Xin was attending Qifu Chipan on a hunt. The injury disfigured her face. In 429, Qifu Mumo asked his mother how she got injured, and she told him. In anger, Qifu Mumo not only executed Xin but executed 27 other individuals related to Xin.
In summer 429, Juqu Mengxun launched another major attack on Western Qin, and Qifu Mumo left his uncle Qifu Yuanji (乞伏元基) in control of Fuhan while temporarily withdrawing himself to Dinglian. He then also had to contend with rebellions by his generals Zhai Chengbo (翟承伯) and Mozhe Yojuan (莫者幼眷), but when Juqu Mengxun's heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
Juqu Xingguo attacked Dinglian, Qifu Mumo defeated and captured him. He then also fought off another joint attack by Northern Liang and its ally Tuyuhun's general Murong Muliyan (慕容慕利延). Juqu Mengxun sent a large amount of grain to Qifu Mumo, requesting to ransom Juqu Xingguo, but Qifu Mumo refused. Juqu Mengxun then created Juqu Xingguo's brother Juqu Puti (沮渠菩提) heir apparent instead, while Qifu Mumo made Juqu Xingguo an official and married his sister Princess Pingchang to Juqu Xingguo.
For some time, Qifu Mumo's brother Qifu Keshuluo (乞伏軻殊羅) had been having an affair with Qifu Chipan's concubine Consort Tufa. After Qifu Mumo heard rumors, he secured the palace, and Qifu Keshuluo, in fear that the affair had been discovered, plotted with their uncle Qifu Shiyin (乞伏什寅) to assassinate Qifu Mumo, and then to take Juqu Xingguo and flee to Northern Liang. They therefore had Consort Tufa try to steal Qifu Mumo's bedchamber keys, but the wrong keys were stolen, and the plot was exposed. Qifu Mumo executed Qifu Keshuluo's associates but spared Qifu Keshuluo, but also arrested Qifu Shiyin and whipped him. Qifu Shiyin, in anger, stated, "I owe you a life, but do not owe you a whipping." In anger, Qifu Mumo cut Qifu Shiyin's abdomen open and threw his body into a river. In 430, having heard that two other uncles, Qifu Baiyang (乞伏白養) and Qifu Qulie (乞伏去列) were complaining about Qifu Shiyin's death, he executed them as well.
At this time, Western Qin not only had to face Northern Liang attacks, but had suffered a major earthquake in late 429 and a major drought for most of 430 as well. Most of Qifu Mumo's people fled. He felt that his state could no longer stand. He sent his officials Wang Kai (王愷) and Wuna Tian (烏訥闐) to submit to 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"...
, requesting Northern Wei troops to escort him to Northern Wei territory. Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei
Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei
Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Tao , nickname Foli , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...
was pleased, and promised that after he can destroy Xia
Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms)
Tiefu was a pre-state Xiongnu tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its chieftain Liu Bobo established the state of Xia in 407 and changed his family name into Helian....
, he would bestow Xia's Pingliang (平涼) and Anding (安定) Commanderies (collectively roughly modern Pingliang
Pingliang
Pingliang is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu Province in China. Pingliang is famous for a local mountain range that includes Kongtong Mountain, a site sacred to Taoism and mythical meeting place of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi, an immortal....
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
) as Qifu Mumo's domain. Qifu Mumo therefore destroyed his own royal treasury and set Fuhan ablaze, heading east with the only 15,000 households that remained under him, to try to join Northern Wei troops at Shanggui (上邽, in modern Tianshui
Tianshui
Tianshui is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), but the Xia emperor Helian Ding
Helian Ding
Helian Ding , nickname Zhifen , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia. He was a son of the founding emperor Helian Bobo and a younger brother of his predecessor Helian Chang...
(Helian Chang's brother and successor), upon hearing this, engaged him and stopped his advances, and he was forced to take up defensive position at Nan'an. By this point, Nan'an was all he could hold; all of his old territory in the west had been seized by Tuyuhun.
In winter 430, Northern Wei troops, commanded by Kuruguan Jie (庫傉官結), finally arrived at Nan'an, to escort Qifu Mumo to Northern Wei territory. However, Qifu Mumo, persuaded by his general Qifu Jipi (乞伏吉毗) that the situation was still maintainable and tha the should not give up his state easily, refused to follow Kuruguan, who then returned to Northern Wei territory. He then had to immediately face a Qiang rebellion led by Jiao Liang (焦亮), who attacked Nan'an. Qifu Mumo was able to persuade Yang Nandang (楊難當), the ruler of Chouchi
Chouchi
Chouchi is a Chinese local regime of the Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties.-History:...
, to come to his aid, and their joint forces defeated Jiao Liang, who was then killed by his uncle Jiao Yi (焦遺).
In spring 431, with his own territories nearly all taken by Northern Wei, Helian Ding, after defeating the troops that Yang sent to aid Western Qin, had his uncle Helian Weifa (赫連韋伐) put Nan'an under siege. Even Qifu Mumo's closest associates surrendered. Qifu Mumo, with no way to go, exited the city and surrendered to Helian Weifa. Helian Weifa delivered Qifu Mumo and Juqu Xingguo to Shanggui, where Helian Ding was at the time. Jiao Yi and his son Jiao Kai (焦楷) tried to put together a resistance to try to revive Western Qin, but Jiao Yi then died of illness, and Jiao Kai fled to Northern Liang. In summer 431, Helian Ding executed Qifu Mumo and 500 members of his clan. Western Qin was at its end.
Personal information
- Father
- Qifu ChipanQifu ChipanQifu Chipan , formally Prince Wenzhao of Qin , was a prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Qin. During his reign, Western Qin reached its prime after he destroyed and seized the territory of the rival state Southern Liang in 414, but it then began a gradual decline under attacks by Xia and...
(Prince Wenzhao)
- Qifu Chipan
- Wife
- Princess LiangPrincess LiangPrincess Liang was a princess of the Chinese state Western Qin. Her husband was the final prince, Qifu Mumo.Very little is known about Princess Liang. Qifu Mumo created her princess in 429, after he had succeeded his father Qifu Chipan in 428...
(created 429)
- Princess Liang
- Children
- Qifu Wanzai (乞伏萬載), the Crown Prince (created 429)