Murong Hong (; died 384) was the founder of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

-led Western Yan dynasty of China. He was a son of the

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei 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 ...

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 ( ...

Murong Jun Murong Jun (; 319–360), courtesy name Xuanying (宣英), formally Emperor Jingzhao of (Former) Yan ((前)燕景昭帝), was an emperor of the Former Yan. He was the dynasty's second ruler, but after first using the Jin dynasty-created title o ...

and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor

Murong Wei Murong Wei (; 350–385), courtesy name Jingmao (景茂), formally Emperor You of (Former) Yan ((前)燕幽帝, posthumous name given by his uncle Murong De, emperor of Southern Yan) was the last emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Former Yan dyn ...

. It is not known when Murong Hong was born. In 359, he was created the Prince of Jibei. After Former Yan was destroyed by

Former Qin 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 Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...

in 370, he and his brothers were made local officials throughout the Former Qin realm. By 384, he was the secretary general to the commandery governor of

Beidi The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...

(北地, roughly modern

Tongchuan Tongchuan () is a prefecture-level city located in central Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China on the southern fringe of the Loess Plateau that defines the northern half of the province (Shanbei) and the northern reaches of the Guan ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

). Early that year, he heard that his uncle

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326–396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), formally Emperor Chengwu of (Later) Yan ((後)燕成武帝) was a great general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Former Yan dynasty who later became the foundi ...

had rebelled against Former Qin rule in light of the Former Qin emperor

Fu Jiān Fu or FU may refer to: In arts and entertainment * Fool Us, Penn & Teller's magic-competition television show *Fǔ, a type of ancient Chinese vessel *Fu (poetry) (赋), a Chinese genre of rhymed prose *'' FU: Friendship Unlimited'', a 2017 Marat ...

's defeat at the

Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River, also known as the Battle of Feishui (), was a battle in AD 383 in China, where forces of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty was decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the Eastern Jin dynasty. The location of the ba ...

in 383. He fled from his post and gathered several thousand Xianbei soldiers and, after defeating the Former Qin general Qiang Yong (強永), claimed for himself the titles of supreme commander and governor of

Yong Province Yong Province or Yongzhou was the name of various regions and provinces in ancient China, usually around the Wei River or the imperial capital. Geographical region In the '' Book of Documents'', Yongzhou is mentioned as one of the legendary ...

(雍州, modern central and northern

), but did not claim a more honored regal title than the one he had under Former Yan—Prince of Jibei. Murong Hong, upon hearing that Fu Jiān's brother Fu Rui (苻叡) was arriving with Former Qin forces to attack him, wanted to flee east back to the Yan homeland with his Xianbei soldiers. Fu Rui, instead, rejecting his assistant

Yao Chang Yao Chang (; 331–394), courtesy name Jingmao (景茂), formally Emperor Wuzhao of (Later) Qin ((後)秦武昭帝), was the founding emperor of the Qiang-led Chinese Later Qin dynasty. His father Yao Yizhong (姚弋仲) had been a powerful gener ...

's suggestion that Murong Hong be allowed to withdraw, cut off Murong Hong's escape route and attacked him—and Murong Hong defeated and killed him. Meanwhile, his younger brother

Murong Chong Murong Chong (; 359–386), formally Emperor Wei of (Western) Yan ((西)燕威帝), was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei. It ...

had also rebelled against Former Qin, but after a defeat joined his army. Murong Hong sent a demand to Fu Jiān at the Former Qin capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

for him to deliver his older brother Murong Wei to him, promising to leave

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

and not attack Former Qin any further if that was done. Fu Jiān summoned Murong Wei and rebuked him, but spared Murong Wei when Murong Wei pledged allegiance. He also had Murong Wei write letters to Murong Chui, Murong Hong, and Murong Chong, urging them to surrender. However, Murong Wei also sent a secret messenger to Murong Hong, stating: :''I am a man within an iron cage, and there is no reason for me not to die. Further, I also sinned against Yan, and you should not mind me. You should earnestly seek to establish yourself.'' He also explicitly urged Murong Hong to prepare taking the imperial title if Murong Hong heard that Fu Jiān had executed him. Murong Hong therefore advanced on Chang'an and officially broke from Former Qin by changing the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

. However, in summer 384, his strategist Gao Gai (高蓋) and other officials felt that Murong Hong's reputation was not as great as his brother Murong Chong's, and that his punishments were overly harsh, killed him and supported Murong Chong to succeed him, under the title of

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

Personal information

* Father **

(Emperor Jingzhao of

) * Children ** Murong Zhong (慕容忠), later emperor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murong, Hong Western Yan rulers 384 deaths Former Yan imperial princes Former Qin people Year of birth unknown Founding monarchs