Zhai Zhao (; died 393) was the second and last monarch of the

Dingling The Dingling (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' < Old Chinese: *''têŋ-rêŋ'' were an ancient people who appear in Chinese historiography in the context of the 1st century BCE. The Dingling are considered to have been ...

-led Chinese Zhai Wei dynasty. During his reign, he used the monarchical title of

Heavenly King Heavenly King or Tian Wang (), also translated as Heavenly Prince, is a Chinese language, 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 ...

. Zhai Zhao's father

Zhai Liao Zhai Liao (; died 391) was a leader of the western Dingling horde and the founder of the Dingling-led Zhai Wei dynasty of China. During his reign, he used the monarchical title of Heavenly King. Early career Zhai Liao, a royal family member of ...

had, after rebelling against

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

in 386, held a swath of territory near 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 ...

in modern

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 387, he sent Zhao Zhao to attack Jin's Chenliu (陳留, roughly modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

) and Yinchuan (潁川, roughly modern

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

) commanderies, but Jin general Zhu Xu (朱序) repelled his attack. Later that year, under pressure from

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 ...

's emperor

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 ...

, Zhai Liao briefly submitted to Later Yan, but in winter 387 again rebelled. In 388, he tried to reconcile with Later Yan, but after Murong Chui turned down his overture, declared an independent Wei state. In 390, the Jin general

Liu Laozhi Liu (; or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the clas ...

(劉牢之) attacked Zhai Zhao, who was then defending the city of Juancheng (鄄城, in modern

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

), forcing Zhai Zhao to abandon Juancheng and flee back to his father's capital 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 ...

). Liu then defeated Zhai Liao in battle as well, but did not destroy Wei. In 391, Zhai Liao died, and Zhai Zhao succeeded him as the Heavenly King. Zhai Zhao soon attempted to attack Later Yan's important city Yecheng, but was repelled by Murong Chui's son

Murong Nong Murong Nong () (died 398), formally Prince Huanlie of Liaoxi (遼西桓烈王), was a general and imperial prince of China's Xianbei-led Later Yan, Later Yan dynasty. He was a son of the founding emperor Murong Chui (Emperor Wucheng) and a brother ...

. In 392, Murong Chui personally attacked Zhai Zhao, heading for his capital Huatai. Zhai Zhao sought aid from

Western Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Western Yan (; 384–394) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei ethnicity. The dynasty existed during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms, but it is not counted among the 16. It was founded by Murong Hong ...

's emperor

Murong Yong Murong Yong (; died 394), courtesy name Shuming (叔明), was the last emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Yan dynasty. He was the grandson of Murong Yun (慕容運), the uncle of Former Yan's founder Murong Huang. As a member of Forme ...

, but Murong Yong, believing that Zhai Zhao could wear Later Yan out without his aid, refused. Murong Chui then pretended to build rafts to ready to cross the

, and Zhai Zhao tried to attack his flotilla—when Murong Chui's general Murong Zhen (慕容鎮) crossed the river at a different spot and camped in. Zhai Zhao tried to attack both places, but his army was worn out and completely collapsed. Zhai Zhao fled by himself to Western Yan. In 393, he tried to incite a coup against Murong Yong and was killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhai, Zhao Zhai Wei emperors 393 deaths Year of birth unknown