The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a
dynastic state of the
Sixteen Kingdoms in
Chinese history ruled by the
Di ethnicity. Founded by
Fu Jian (
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication
Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...
Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the
Later Zhao dynasty, it completed the unification of northern China in 376.
Its capital was
Xi'an up to the death of the
Emperor Xuanzhao in 385. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
which had ruled all of
China proper during the 3rd century BC. The adjectival prefix "former" is used to distinguish it from the "
Later Qin dynasty" (384-417).
In 383, the severe defeat of the Former Qin by the
Jin dynasty at the
Battle of Fei River encouraged uprisings, splitting Former Qin territory into two noncontiguous pieces after the death of Fu Jian. One fragment, at present-day
Taiyuan,
Shanxi was soon overwhelmed in 386 by the
Xianbei under the
Later Yan and the
Dingling. The other struggled in greatly reduced territories around the border of present-day
Shaanxi and
Gansu until disintegration in 394 following years of invasions by
Western Qin and
Later Qin.
In 327, the
Gaochang commandery was created by the
Former Liang dynasty under
Zhang Gui. After this, significant
ethnic Han settlement occurred, meaning that a major part of the population became Han. In 383, the General Lu Guang of Former Qin seized control of the region.
All rulers of Former Qin proclaimed themselves "
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
", except for
Fu Jian (苻堅) (357–385) who instead claimed the title "Heavenly King" (''
Tian Wang
Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term '' Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consis ...
''). He was nonetheless posthumously considered an emperor by the Former Qin imperial court.
Rulers of the Former Qin
¹ Fu Sheng was posthumously given the title "
wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thaila ...
" even though he had reigned as emperor.
Rulers family tree
See also
*
Chinese history
*
Chinese sovereign
*
Di (Wu Hu)
*
Fu Jian (337–385)
*
Wang Meng
*
Battle of Fei River
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qin, Former
Dynasties in Chinese history
Former countries in Chinese history
351 establishments
394 disestablishments