延初
苻崇
Fu Chong (?–394), the final emperor of the Former Qin regime during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was the son of Emperor Gaodi of Former Qin, Fu Deng, and the grandson of Yingchuan Wang Fu Chang. His reign was extremely brief, lasting only about four months. In 394, after his father Fu Deng was defeated and killed while campaigning against Later Qin, Fu Chong ascended the throne in Huangzhong (present-day Zhong County,…
Fu Chong (?–394), the final emperor of the Former Qin regime during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was the son of Emperor Gaodi of Former Qin, Fu Deng, and the grandson of Yingchuan Wang Fu Chang. His reign was extremely brief, lasting only about four months. In 394, after his father Fu Deng was defeated and killed while campaigning against Later Qin, Fu Chong ascended the throne in Huangzhong (present-day Zhong County, Qinghai Province) and changed the era name to Yanchu. In October of the same year, King of Western Qin Qifu Gui raised an army to expel him, prompting Fu Chong to seek refuge with Yang Ding, the Prince of Longxi, forming an alliance against Western Qin. During the subsequent battles, the Former Qin allied forces suffered initial victories followed by total defeat; both Fu Chong and Yang Ding were killed, marking the complete collapse of the Former Qin regime.
387 CE（12th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin; 2nd year of the Taichu era, Former Qin） ｜ Office and princely title ｜ Fu Chong served as left vice director of the Secretariat and was enfeoffed as Prince of Dongping
388 CE（13th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin, 8th month; 3rd year of the Taichu era, Former Qin, 8th month） ｜ Made crown prince ｜ Fu Deng made Fu Chong crown prince
394 CE（19th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin; 9th year of the Taichu era, Former Qin） ｜ Ordered to hold the rear ｜ Fu Deng campaigned east against the Later Qin and ordered Fu Chong to guard Hukong Fort
394 CE（19th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin, 4th month; 9th year of the Taichu era, Former Qin, 4th month） ｜ Loss of his post ｜ After Fu Deng was defeated, Fu Chong and his uncle Fu Guang abandoned their post and the Former Qin forces scattered
394 CE（19th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin, 6th month; 9th year of the Taichu era, Former Qin, 6th month） ｜ Accession ｜ After Fu Deng was killed in battle, Fu Chong fled to Huangzhong and came to the throne, changing the era name to Yanchu and honouring Fu Deng posthumously as Emperor Gao with the temple name Taizong
394 CE（19th year of the Taiyuan era, Eastern Jin, 10th month; 9th year of the Taichu era, Former Qin, 10th month） ｜ Defeated and killed ｜ After being driven out by Qifu Qiangui, Fu Chong joined Yang Ding; the two combined forces to attack Qifu Qiangui and were defeated and killed, ending the Former Qin
Fu Chong belonged to the imperial family of Former Qin. In 387, he was appointed as the Left Assistant Director of the Secretariat and enfeoffed as the Prince of Dongping. Subsequently, he participated in military operations led by his father, Fu Deng, against the ruler of Later Qin, Yao Chang. In August 388, Fu Deng officially established Fu Chong as the Crown Prince, securing his position as heir to the throne.
In January 394, Fu Deng led troops on an eastern campaign against Later Qin, leaving his brother Fu Guang to defend Yongzhou and ordering the Crown Prince Fu Chong to garrison Hukong Fort. In April of that year, Fu Deng suffered a major defeat on the front lines and fled toward Yongcheng alone. Upon learning of the defeat, Fu Chong also fled, leading to widespread panic and the dispersal of the military forces. Fu Deng later gathered remaining troops into Maomoshan. In June, Yao Xing, the ruler of Later Qin, launched an offensive; Fu Deng met them in battle south of Maomoshan, where he was defeated and slain by Yao Xing. Following the death of Fu Deng, Fu Chong fled to Huangzhong (modern-day Zhong County, Qinghai) and ascended the throne, adopting the era name Yanchu, and posthumously honored his father Fu Deng as Emperor Gaodi with the temple name Taizong.
In October 394, Qifu Gui, the King of Western Qin, rose in rebellion to expel Fu Chong. Forced to flee, Fu Chong took refuge with Yang Ding, the Prince of Longxi. While Yang Ding left Sima Shaoqiang to defend Qinzhou, he personally led twenty thousand troops to join Fu Chong in attacking Qifu Gui. Qifu Gui dispatched three commanders—Qifu Ketan, Qifu Yizhou, and General Yi Li Yuezhijigui—with thirty thousand cavalrymen to resist. Intense fighting occurred in the Pingchuan area; initially, Yang Ding's army dealt a heavy blow to Qifu Yizhou, forcing Ketan and Yuezhijigui to retreat. However, shortly thereafter, Ketan returned with fresh cavalry, supported by the units of Yizhou and Yuezhijigui, ultimately crushing the allied forces of Yang Ding and Fu Chong. Both Fu Chong and Yang Ding perished in the chaos, and over seventeen thousand followers were slaughtered, resulting in the absolute end of the Former Qin regime.
During Fu Deng's eastern campaign against Later Qin, Fu Chong served as the Crown Prince tasked with holding Hukong Fort. This period marked the precursor to the instability within the Former Qin regime; his duty reflected the internal power structure arrangements of the time, yet the frontline defeat quickly placed him in a passive strategic position.
Following the killing of his father Fu Deng, Fu Chong swiftly ascended the throne in Huangzhong in an attempt to preserve the legitimacy of the Former Qin dynasty. He adopted the era name Yanchu and performed posthumous rites for his father, attempting to stabilize the situation through dynastic continuity. However, due to the brevity of his reign and the pressure from powerful external enemies, this move failed to prevent the inevitable demise of the state.
Faced with the invasion by Qifu Gui, King of Western Qin, Fu Chong chose to form an alliance with Yang Ding, the Prince of Longxi. Yang Ding provided military support, allowing the two parties to jointly confront Western Qin. Despite achieving localized tactical successes early on, disparities in troop numbers and strategic errors eventually led to a catastrophic defeat for the coalition, resulting in the death of Fu Chong.
The stages from heir apparent to last ruler were as follows: in 387 he was left vice director of the Secretariat and enfeoffed as Prince of Dongping; in 388 Fu Deng made him crown prince; in the first month of 394, when Fu Deng campaigned east against the Later Qin, he was ordered to guard Hukong Fort, and in the fourth month, after Fu Deng's defeat, he and his uncle Fu Guang abandoned the post and the Former Qin forces scattered; in the sixth month, after Fu Deng was killed in battle, he fled to Huangzhong, came to the throne, changed the era name to Yanchu and honoured Fu Deng as Emperor Gao with the temple name Taizong; in the tenth month, driven out by Qifu Qiangui, he joined Yang Ding, and the two combined against Qifu Qiangui and were defeated and killed, ending the Former Qin. His accession and destruction fell in the same year, an epitome of the rhythm of regime change in the later Sixteen Kingdoms.
His posthumous honouring of Fu Deng as Emperor Gao with the temple name Taizong is direct evidence that the remnants of the Former Qin continued to use an imperial title at Huangzhong; the surviving records give no systematic account of the offices, taxes or other domestic measures of his time there, and his brief accession and swift destruction chiefly reflect the speed of regime change in the Guanzhong and Longyou regions at the end of the Sixteen Kingdoms.
Cai Dongfan noted in Liangjin Yanyi (Romance of the Two Dynasties) that: "After the defeat at Feishui, Fu Jian declined rapidly and finally died at the hands of the Yao clan of Later Qin. After Fu Deng lost everything at the Battle of Feiqiao and had no place to turn, he too was killed by the Yao family; thus, Fu Chong was even less significant." This assessment traces the trajectory of decline from Fu Jian to Fu Deng and then to Fu Chong, suggesting that Fu Chong played a minimal role in history and that his downfall was the inevitable consequence of the overall decay of the Former Qin.
FIGURES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS DYNASTY