Yan, known in historiography as the Southern Yan (; 398–410), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

during the era of

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...

. Its founder Murong De (Emperor Xianwu) was a son of

Murong Huang Murong Huang (; 297 – 25 October 348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan (前燕文明帝), was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When h ...

(Emperor Wenming) and brother of

Murong Jun Murong Jun (; 319 – 23 February 360), Xianbei name Helaiba (賀賴跋), courtesy name Xuanying (宣英), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Jingzhao of Former Yan (前燕景昭帝), was the second and penultimate ruler of the Form ...

(Emperor Jingzhao) and

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326 – 2 June 396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan (後燕成武帝), was the founding emperor of China's Later Yan dynasty ...

(Emperor Chengwu), and therefore was an imperial prince of both the

Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...

and

Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and othe ...

dynasties. All rulers of the Southern Yan declared themselves "

emperors The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rule ...

". Initially ruling from Huatai (滑台, in modern

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) in northern

, they later moved to

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

and established Guanggu (廣固, in modern

Qingzhou Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...

, Shandong) as their capital. As one of many Yan states from the period, they were given the prefix of "Southern" by historiographers to distinguish them with the others as they were based south of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

History

Background

Murong De was the son of

, the founder of the Former Yan dynasty. He was an accomplished military general for the Former Yan, then the Di-led

Former Qin Qin, known as the Former Qin and Fu Qin (苻秦) in historiography, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China ruled by the Fu (Pu) clan of the Di (Five Barbarians), Di peoples during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Founded in the wake of ...

after they conquered Yan in 370, and finally the

, a restoration of the Former Yan founded by his brother,

. Under Later Yan, De was trusted by Chui as a key advisor in his administration, and after Chui's son,

Murong Bao Murong Bao (; 355–398), courtesy name Daoyou (道佑), Xianbei name Kugou (庫勾), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Huimin of Later Yan (後燕惠愍帝), was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Later Yan, La ...

, ascended the throne in 396, he was made to overlook the southern empire from Ye. However, soon after Bao's succession, the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

launched a large-scale invasion of Later Yan. The Central Plains was quickly overran by Wei, and Murong Bao was forced to abandon his capital, Zhongshan (中山, in modern

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

) and evacuate to Longcheng in

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

. Initially, Murong De held firmly to Ye and parts of the south, but at the advice of his nephew, Murong Lin, who previously declared himself emperor at Zhongshan but fled to Ye as Wei captured the city, he decided to abdondon Ye for Huatai (滑台, in modern

) in 398.

Reign of Murong De

At Huatai, Murong De took the title of Prince of Yan, thus splitting the Yan into two. Historiographers distinguish Murong De's state with the other Yan states as the Southern Yan. De nearly captured and killed Murong Bao when the latter came to Huatai, unaware that his uncle had declared independence, but Bao managed to escape back north. In 399, disorder broke out in Southern Yan when Fu Guang (苻廣), a remnant of the Fu clan of Former Qin, rebelled in an attempt to restore his state. Murong De campaigned against and defeated him, but while he was away, a traitor opened the gates of Huatai to Northern Wei forces, leaving Murong De stranded without any territory. He decided to attack

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

of the Eastern Jin dynasty, which corresponds to modern central and eastern

. He took the province with ease, establishing the city of Guanggu (廣固, in modern

, Shandong) as his new capital. In 400, he elevated his title to Emperor of Yan and changed his name to Murong Beide. For the rest of Murong Beide's reign, Southern Yan was peaceful and prosperous to live in. As Yan had a much smaller population compared to the neighbouring Wei and Jin, Beide enacted policies to encourage manpower movement such as corvee exemptions while also rectifying the household registry. At the time, Jin was in turmoil due to Huan Xuan's rebellion, and Southern Yan welcomed a number of Jin exiles into their territory. Murong De also planned to take advantage of the situation in Jin by launching an invasion, but became ill and died in 405.

Reign of Murong Chao

Murong De did not have any living sons prior to his death, the throne was passed on to his nephew, Murong Chao. Chao had previously been a beggar in

Later Qin Qin, known in historiography as the Later Qin ( zh, s=后秦, t=後秦, p=Hòuqín; 384–417) or Yao Qin (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yao clan of Qiang ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period in northern China. As the onl ...

and was almost immediately made heir when he arrived at Guanggu in 405. Records accuse Chao of initially having great potential, but turning cruel and capricious upon becoming emperor. During his reign, Chao purged his uncle's retainers like Murong Zhong while elevating his own confidants, particularly Gongsun Wulou, to power, which brought the government into disarray. In 407, wanting to retrieve his mother and wife who were still in Later Qin, Chao agreed to become a vassal and give up his court musicians in return for their safe passage to Southern Yan. In 409, Murong Chao attacked the Jin for prisoners to be trained as new musicians. This prompted an invasion of Southern Yan by the Jin general Liu Yu. Liu Yu defeated the Southern Yan army at the Battle of Linqu and then besieged Guanggu. The Later Qin, held down by their war with the Helian Xia, was unable to send reinforcements to Southern Yan, and Liu Yu eventually took Guanggu in 410. Murong Chao was captured and executed and Southern Yan was annexed by Jin.

Rulers of the Southern Yan

References