Ran Zhi

Biography

Defending Ye

In the first month of 352, Liu Xian attacked Changshan. Ran Min left Grand General Jiang Gan to assist Crown Prince Ran Zhi in defending the capital Ye while personally leading troops to battle. In the fourth month, Murong Ping of Former Yan besieged Ye, and Ran Zhi held the city behind closed gates.

Famine and Desperation

In the fifth month, the city's grain was exhausted, and cannibalism occurred among the inhabitants. Former palace women of the Later Zhao era were consumed by the starving population. In the sixth month, Jiang Gan sent envoys to Eastern Jin for aid. The Eastern Jin general Dai Shi demanded the Imperial Seal as a condition for sending troops. Jiang Gan surrendered the seal, but genuine aid never materialized.

Capture

In the eighth month, Former Yan forces breached the city of Ye. Ran Zhi was captured. Former Yan granted him the title Marquis of Haibin as a gesture of appeasement.

Death

In the third year of Yuanxi (354), former Ran Wei officials including Song Bin plotted to elevate Ran Zhi as emperor. The conspiracy was discovered, and Former Yan killed Ran Zhi.

Major Activities

The key events in which Ran Zhi was involved are the last defence of Ye, the capital of Ran Wei, the appeal to the Eastern Jin and the takeover of Ye by the Former Yan. The actual military decisions of the Ran Wei regime are found mainly with Ran Min and Jiang Gan; Ran Zhi, as crown prince, became a captive of the Former Yan and later the nominal figurehead in a plot to raise him to the throne. These facts explain his historical role better than the general label of a "last ruler".

The last phase at Ye can be grouped by kind: when Ran Min set out with his troops in 352 (eighth year of Yonghe, Eastern Jin) he left Ran Zhi and Jiang Gan to hold Ye, and Ran Min was captured by the Former Yan army; Murong Ping of the Former Yan then besieged the city, severe famine broke out within it and Jiang Gan asked the Eastern Jin for help; after the city was taken Ran Zhi was captured with Empress Dong and others and enfeoffed as Marquis of Haibin. He was afterwards moved into Former Yan territory, and in 354 (third year of Yuanxi) Song Bin and others plotted to make him ruler, the plot being discovered and Ran Zhi killed. From crown prince to prisoner and from prisoner to the nominal figurehead of a plot, this course shows that after the fall of Ran Wei its imperial clan was still regarded as a rallying standard, while the changes in how the Former Yan handled him reflect the victor's wariness towards the clan of a fallen state.

His last phase at Ye is bound up with the fall of Ran Wei: when Ran Min marched out in 352 he left Ran Zhi and Jiang Gan to hold the city, and after Ran Min was captured by the Former Yan, Murong Ping besieged Ye, famine struck within, Jiang Gan's appeal to the Eastern Jin failed, the city fell, and Ran Zhi was captured with Empress Dong and others and enfeoffed as Marquis of Haibin. In 354 Song Bin's plot to make him ruler was discovered and he was killed, showing that even after the fall of the state the Ran clan was still seen as a rallying standard; his passage from crown prince to prisoner and from prisoner to the nominal object of a plot also reflects the common way in which the clans of fallen states were handled in the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

His last phase at Ye illustrates the position of the clan of a fallen state: holding the city, seeking help, being captured, receiving a title and then being drawn into a plot for the throne and killed, all within three years. As evidence, very little is recorded of Ran Zhi's own words or acts, his career being bound up with the actions of Ran Min, Jiang Gan and Murong Ping, so the entry lists only the verifiable events and changes of status without supplying his character or views from later narratives.

Both his enfeoffment as Marquis of Haibin and his later killing are recorded in the sources of the years between the Former Yan and the Former Qin.

His defence of Ye and the appeal for help are the last phase before Ran Wei's fall: when Ran Min marched out he was left with Jiang Gan to hold the city, and after Ran Min's capture the city was in extremity, Jiang Gan's appeal to the Eastern Jin failing and the city falling, with Ran Zhi taken prisoner and enfeoffed as Marquis of Haibin. The course shows that the army and the defence of the capital depended on Ran Min alone, so that once he was taken the capital could not hold out, and no independent decision by Ran Zhi is recorded.

Personal Relations

• Ran Min**: Father, King Daowu of Ran Wei
• Jiang Gan**: Grand General, assisted Ran Zhi in defending Ye
• Murong Ping**: Former Yan general who besieged Ye

Historical Assessment

Ran Zhi, as the last ruler of Ran Wei, was too young to control the situation during the state's final days. The siege of Ye, the famine within the city, and the eventual surrender marked the end of the shortest-lived regime among the Sixteen Kingdoms. His subsequent execution by Former Yan due to his continued symbolic value to former Ran Wei officials exemplified the fate of many last rulers of short-lived dynasties.