The Western Yan was a state

Sovereign state

A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

 of 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:...

 ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms

Sixteen Kingdoms

The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It was founded by Murong Hong

Murong Hong

Murong Hong was the founder of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei....

 in 384

384

Year 384 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricomer and Clearchus...

 in the aftermaths of Former Qin

Former Qin

The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...

's defeat by Jin Dynasty (265-420)

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

 at the Battle of Fei River

Battle of Fei River

The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān of the Di Former Qin Empire was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior Jin army of Eastern Jin....

, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu Jiān

Fu Jian

Fu Jian may refer to:* Fú Jiàn , founding emperor of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Jingming* Fú Jiān , ruler of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Xuanzhao-See also:...

 had relocated to Former Qin's capital region after destroying 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...

 in 370

370

Year 370 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...

. It initially also was intended to rescue the last Former Yan emperor Murong Wei

Murong Wei

Murong Wei , courtesy name Jingmao , formally Emperor You of Yan was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...

, until he was executed by Fu Jiān in 385

385

Year 385 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Bauto...

. It was a state that was characterized by extreme political instability and internal fighting, as all seven of its rulers (during a short span of 10 years) died of unnatural causes. After eviscerating Former Qin, the people of the state abandoned the Guanzhong

Guanzhong

Guanzhong , or Guanzhong Plain, is a historical region of China corresponding to the lower valley of the Wei River. It is called Guanzhong or 'within the passes' to distinguish it from 'Guandong' or 'east of the pass', that is, the North China Plain. The North China Plain is bordered on the west by...

 region and headed east back toward their homeland, but eventually settled down in modern Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

. It was destroyed in 394

394

Year 394 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flavianus without colleague...

 as 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:...

's emperor 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...

 wanted to reunite the people formerly of Yan and conquered it.

Some rulers of the Western Yan declared themselves emperors

Chinese nobility

Chinese sovereignty and peerage, the nobility of China, were an important feature of traditional social and political organization of Imperial China. While the concepts of hereditary sovereign and peerage titles and noble families were featured as early as the semi-mythical, early historical...

 while some declared themselves wang (translatable as either "king" or "prince").

Rulers of the Western Yan

Temple name Temple name Temple 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... s	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... s	Family names and 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"...	Durations of reigns	Era names and their according durations
Chinese convention: use family name and given name
Did not exist	Did not exist	慕容泓 Mùróng Hóng Murong Hong Murong Hong was the founder of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei....	384 384 Year 384 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricomer and Clearchus...	Yanxing (燕興 Yànxīng) 384 384 Year 384 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricomer and Clearchus...
Did not exist	Wei (威 wēi)	慕容沖 Mùróng Chōng Murong Chong Murong Chong , formally Emperor Wei of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei....	384 384 Year 384 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricomer and Clearchus... -386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...	Yanxing (燕興 Yànxīng) 384 384 Year 384 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricomer and Clearchus... Gengshi (更始 Gèngshǐ) 385 385 Year 385 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Bauto... -386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...
Did not exist	Did not exist	段隨 Duàn Suí Duan Sui Duan Sui was a ruler of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was the only ruler of the short-lived state who was not a member of the Murong clan, the imperial clan of Former Yan....	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...	Changping (昌平 Chāngpíng) 386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...
Did not exist	Did not exist	慕容顗 Mùróng Yǐ Murong Yi Murong Yi was a ruler of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan Prince of Yidu, Murong Huan , a son of the founder of Former Yan, Murong Huang....	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...	Jianming (建明 Jiànmíng) 386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...
Did not exist	Did not exist	慕容瑤 Mùróng Yáo Murong Yao Murong Yao was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was the son of Murong Chong , the son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun....	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...	Jianping (建平 Jiànpíng) 386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...
Did not exist	Did not exist	慕容忠 Mùróng Zhōng Murong Zhong Murong Zhong was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was the son of Western Yan's founder, Murong Hong the Prince of Jibei, a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun....	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...	Jianwu (建武 Jiànwǔ) 386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius...
Did not exist	Did not exist	慕容永 Mùróng Yǒng Murong Yong Murong Yong , courtesy name Shuming , was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was the grandson of Murong Yun , the uncle of Former Yan's founder Murong Huang. As a member of Former Yan's imperial clan, he was moved to Guanzhong, Former Qin's capital region, when Former...	386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius... -394 394 Year 394 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flavianus without colleague...	Zhongxing (中興 Zhōngxīng) 386 386 Year 386 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Euodius... -394 394 Year 394 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flavianus without colleague...