The Conquest of Ran Wei by Former Yan or Wei-Yan war was a conflict in North China in 352 CE between the Former Yan, composed of mixed Xianbei-Han forces, and the Ran Wei. It ended in Yan victory, bringing about the downfall of the Ran Wei regime and the rise of brief Xianbei rule in North China.

Background

In 350 CE,

Ran Min Ran Min (; died 352), also known as Shi Min (石閔), posthumously honored by the Former Yan as Heavenly King Wudao of (Ran) Wei ((冉)魏武悼天王), courtesy name Yongzeng (永曾), nickname Jinu (棘奴), was a military leader during the er ...

restored native Han rule to North China and issued a cull order, starting the Wei-Jie war. As a result, thousands of Wu Hu ( :zh:胡人) were killed, and their uprisings suppressed with the exception 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 ...

tribe in Northeast China. In 352 CE, the Murong Xianbei attacked Ran Wei with generals and soldiers from both Xianbei and Han backgrounds.Li and Zheng, pg 403

Course of the war

Although initially successful, the Ran Wei army was ambushed by the Former Yan forces, who used Xianbei heavy cavalry to charge into Wei infantry lines. Ran Min himself was captured after single handedly killing more than a hundred enemy soldiers. When asked why he had usurped Later Zhao, Ran Min replied: "If beastly barbarians like you can be emperor, why not me, a heroic descendant of the

Huaxia ''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people. Etymology The earliest ...

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 ...

was furious that Ran insulted him as a barbarian and ordered Ran to be executed.

Aftermath

With the fall of Ran Wei,

forces controlled much of North China, until the rise of the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period ...

almost a century later.

References

Sources

*Li, Bo; Zheng Yin (2001) 5000 years of Chinese history, Inner Mongolian People's publishing corp,

n Chinese N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

{{16 Kingdoms Jin dynasty (266–420)