Later Yan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yan 燕
384–409
Later Yan in 391 AD
Later Yan in 400 AD
Capital	Zhongshan (386–397) Longcheng (397–409)
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 384–396	Murong Chui
• 396–398	Murong Bao
• 398	Lan Han
History
• Established	384
• Establishment of Zhongshan as capital	8 February 386
• Murong Chui's claim of imperial title	15 February 386
• Evacuation of Zhongshan	27 April 397
• Murong Xi's death	16 September 407
• Disestablished	6 November 409
Preceded by Succeeded by Former Qin Northern Wei Southern Yan Northern Yan
Today part of	China

The Later Yan (384 – 407 or 409) was an ancient Chinese kingdom. It was ruled by the Xianbei people, who were a group from northern China. This kingdom was located in what is now northeast China during a time called the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

The Story of Later Yan

How Later Yan Started

Murong Chui was a very important general and the son of the founder of an older kingdom called Former Yan. In 369, he saved his state by defeating an invasion. However, his family became suspicious of him. Because of this, Murong Chui had to escape to the Former Qin kingdom.

The ruler of Former Qin, Fu Jian, treated Murong Chui well. But Chui still dreamed of bringing back his own kingdom. He fought for Qin in battles, including a big one in 383 called the Battle of Fei River. Qin lost badly, but Murong Chui's army stayed strong. He helped Fu Jian get back north.

Murong Chui saw that Former Qin was now weak. He asked to be sent to Hebei, where Former Yan used to be. There, he secretly gathered support from old Yan families and officials. In 384, a group called the Dingling rebelled. Fu Jian sent Chui to fight them, but Chui joined the rebellion instead.

The Siege of Ye City

At first, Murong Chui called himself the Prince of Yan. This was because the last emperor of Former Yan was still alive. To tell his new state apart, historians call it the Later Yan. Murong Chui led his army to attack Ye city, where Fu Jian's son, Fu Pi, was. His generals took control of other parts of Hebei.

Other kingdoms also broke away from Former Qin, so Fu Jian couldn't send help to Fu Pi. Murong Chui still showed respect to Fu Jian. He tried to keep Fu Pi safe and even offered him a way to escape. Members of Fu Jian's family who surrendered were treated well.

The battle for Ye city lasted about a year. Fu Pi held on tightly. During this time, the Dingling rebels caused more trouble, and Chui had to fight both Qin and another kingdom called Jin. The war caused a lot of damage and famine in Hebei. Finally, in late 385, Fu Pi left Ye city. Later Yan captured the city and now controlled most of Hebei.

Wars with Other Kingdoms

In 386, Murong Chui made Zhongshan his capital city. It grew a lot during the war. Later that year, his cousin, Murong Yong of Western Yan, took over Shanxi and declared himself emperor. Since the old Yan emperor and Fu Jian had both died, Murong Chui also declared himself emperor.

In 388, another state called Zhai Wei was founded by the Dingling rebels. Murong Chui fought against them and destroyed Zhai Wei in 392.

In 394, Murong Chui wanted Later Yan to be seen as the true successor to the old Former Yan. So, he started a war to conquer Western Yan. He captured their capital and executed Murong Yong. This added Shanxi to Later Yan's territory. Then, his generals took control of Shandong from the Eastern Jin dynasty. This was when Later Yan was at its strongest.

Murong Chui was getting old. He started giving more power to his son, Murong Bao, who was the Crown Prince. In 388, Bao managed the government from Zhongshan, but Chui still made the big decisions. Chui also set up a special system to govern the different groups of people in his kingdom. This system was further developed by later rulers.

War with Northern Wei

In 386, Later Yan had made an alliance with the Northern Wei kingdom to fight Western Yan. At first, Northern Wei relied on Later Yan's help. But in 391, their relationship broke down. Northern Wei then allied with Western Yan, and they kept fighting even after Western Yan fell.

In 395, Murong Chui sent his son, Murong Bao, to lead a huge army of about 90,000 soldiers against Northern Wei. But this campaign was a disaster. Later Yan's army was badly defeated at the Battle of Canhe Slope, and Murong Bao barely escaped.

In 396, Murong Chui himself led another campaign against Northern Wei. He had some early success, but he became very sick and had to retreat. He died soon after, and Murong Bao became the new ruler.

Murong Bao's rule was full of problems. He had conflicts with his own family members. Also, he tried to change the way people's households were registered, which made him unpopular. Soon after he became ruler, the Northern Wei ruler, Tuoba Gui, invaded Later Yan.

Murong Bao gathered his forces in Zhongshan and other major cities. He thought Wei would try to besiege them and then leave when their supplies ran out. But instead, Wei quickly took over the Central Plains and secured the captured land. When a rebellion started near the Wei capital, Tuoba Gui offered peace. But Murong Bao refused. He attacked the Wei army as they were getting ready to leave, but Later Yan's army was severely defeated at the Battle of Baisi.

After this big loss, Murong Bao's brother, Murong Lin, tried to take power in Zhongshan. He failed and escaped. Murong Bao worried that Lin might take the important city of Longcheng, so he decided to leave Zhongshan and go to Longcheng.

More fighting happened among the family. At Longcheng, Murong Bao survived rebellions by his son and a general. Meanwhile, in Zhongshan, a cousin, Murong Xiang, held out against Wei and declared himself emperor. But he was soon killed and replaced by Murong Lin. However, Zhongshan then fell to Northern Wei. Lin fled to Ye, where he convinced his uncle, Murong De, to leave the city. There, Murong De declared himself the Prince of Yan in 398, starting a new kingdom called Southern Yan. This split the Later Yan state into two.

Rule from Liaoning

With Northern Wei taking over their lands, Later Yan was no longer a major power. Their territory was reduced to what is now Liaoning. In 398, Murong Bao was killed by his granduncle, Lan Han. Lan Han was then killed by Bao's son, Murong Sheng, shortly after.

Murong Sheng changed his title from Emperor to Commoner Heavenly King in 400. He had success fighting against the Kumo Xi and Goguryeo groups. However, he was also very strict and suspicious of his own officials. In 401, he was killed during a coup, and his uncle Murong Xi became the new Heavenly King.

Records describe Murong Xi as a very cruel and wasteful ruler. He often acted on the wishes of his two lovers, the sisters Fu Song'e and Fu Xunying. Xi spent a lot of money on building projects. He also launched many attacks against the Khitan and Goguryeo. But he was mostly unsuccessful in these campaigns. He even lost Liaodong to Goguryeo in 404.

In 407, during the funeral of Fu Xunying, Murong Bao's adopted son, Murong Yun, launched a coup and killed Murong Xi.

Murong Yun was originally named Gao Yun. He was a descendant of the Goguryeo royal family. When he became ruler, he changed his name back to Gao Yun. Some historians say he was the last ruler of Later Yan, meaning the kingdom ended in 407. Others say he was the first ruler of a new kingdom called the Northern Yan, meaning Later Yan ended with Murong Xi's death. Gao Yun made friends with Goguryeo. He was killed in 409. His general, Feng Ba, then took the throne, which officially ended Later Yan and began the Northern Yan kingdom.

Rulers of the Later Yan

See also

• Battle of Canhebei
• Wu Hu
• List of past Chinese ethnic groups
• Xianbei