Murong Sheng

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

During his youth, Murong Sheng demonstrated extraordinary composure and strategic intelligence. After the fall of Former Qin, he accompanied his uncle Murong Rou to seek refuge with Murong Chong, Emperor Weidi of Western Yan. At that time, Murong Chong lived a life of luxury and extravagance, often failing to distinguish between merit and fault in rewards and punishments. At only twelve years old, Murong Sheng pointed out to Murong Rou that Murong Chong would inevitably face defeat and predicted the rapid collapse of his regime. Shortly thereafter, Murong Chong was indeed slain by his subordinates.

Subsequently, Murong Sheng followed Murong Yong on their eastward migration to Changzhi County. Sensing Murong Yong's suspicion towards the descendants of Murong Chui, Murong Sheng realized they were walking on thin ice and advised his uncle to flee dangerous territories like soaring cranes flying high. Consequently, he secretly escorted Murong You and his younger brother Murong Hui back to the east to join his grandfather Murong Chui. On their journey, they encountered bandits; Murong Sheng intimidated them with his skill in archery, hitting a target from a hundred paces away, allowing them to escape safely. Upon arriving in Later Yan, when Murong Chui inquired about the situation in Western Yan, Murong Sheng drew detailed maps on the ground to explain the terrain, earning his grandfather's profound admiration. He was subsequently enfeoffed as the Prince of Changle and served as Regular Mounted Attendant and General of the Left.

Assisting Murong Bao

In 396, after the death of Murong Chui, his father Murong Bao ascended the throne. Murong Sheng was promoted to Prince of Changle and appointed as General Who Conquers the North, Inspector of Sili, and Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. While Murong Bao conducted southern expeditions, Murong Sheng remained behind to guard the rear. When Duan Su Gu defiled rebelled, Murong Sheng moved swiftly to protect the capital, preventing Murong Bao from being taken prisoner. Despite several brilliant strategies proposed by Murong Sheng, Murong Bao failed to adopt them, resulting in repeated defeats for the armies of Later Yan.

Execution of Lan Han and Accession

In 398, Murong Bao was assassinated by Lan Han. Disregarding the advice of General Zhang Zhen, Murong Sheng believed that Lan Han was foolish and preoccupied with his matrimonial ties, thus unlikely to strike him immediately. Therefore, he traveled to Longcheng to offer condolences. As expected, Lan Han appointed him as Palace Attendant and Right Assistant Director of the Secretariat, facilitating close contact with Lan Han's son, Lan Mu.

Secretly, Murong Sheng established links with Lan Han's maternal grandson Murong Qi and veteran subordinates such as Li Han and Zhang Zhen. Utilizing the arrogance of Lan Ti, Lan Han's elder brother, he drove a wedge between the brothers, causing Lan Ti to be killed and creating discord within the Lan family. When Lan Mu suggested murdering Murong Sheng, Murong Sheng feigned severe illness—a ruse prompted by information provided by his wife (the daughter of Lan Han)—to evade execution. Seizing the opportunity when Lan Han and his son were intoxicated, Murong Sheng entered the Eastern Palace with Li Han and others, killing Lan Mu and then executing Lan Han. Subsequently, he dispatched troops to annihilate Lan Han's sons in Lingzhi and Bailang, and executed partisans such as Lan Ti and Lan Jiania, thereby pacifying Longcheng.

Following these events, Murong Sheng exercised imperial power as the Prince of Changle under the Jianping era. Although he ordered Murong Qi to withdraw his troops, Murong Qi defied orders and joined forces with members of the Di and Wuhuan tribes to revolt. Murong Sheng sent troops to suppress the uprising, executing Murong Qi and over one hundred of his followers. Thereafter, Murong Sheng formally ascended the throne, inaugurated the Changle era, issued a general amnesty, and executed rebels such as Murong Hao, the Governor of Youzhou.

Governance and Assassination

During his reign, Murong Sheng engaged in frequent external military operations. He led an army of thirty thousand to attack Goguryeo, capturing the cities of Xincheng and Nansucheng, and forcibly relocated over five thousand households to Yaoqi. He also defeated Kumoxi, capturing numerous livestock and prisoners.

However, Murong Sheng’s character was perceived as arrogant and tyrannical, characterized by parsimony and lack of benevolence. He enforced strict and draconian laws and maintained intense suspicion toward his ministers and meritorious officials, which caused loyalty among royal kin and veterans to erode. In 401, during the unsuccessful rebellion of General of the Left Murong Guo, Murong Sheng executed over five hundred individuals, throwing the military into chaos. Amidst the turmoil, Deng Ji and others launched a coup; during the process of quelling the unrest, Murong Sheng was struck down by an assassin. While traveling in his carriage to the front hall, he summoned his uncle Murong Xi to receive his final instructions, but Murong Xi did not arrive before Murong Sheng passed away at the young age of twenty-nine.

His Early Wanderings, His Return to Later Yan, and the Arrow in the Defile

Murong Sheng, styled Daoyun, was the son of Murong Bao by a concubine and was born at Chang'an in the tenth year of Jianyuan of Former Qin; he was "silent and quick by nature and full of stratagems." When Former Qin destroyed the Murong clan he fled in secret to Murong Chong; and when Murong Chong took the imperial title and "showed self-satisfaction, apportioning rewards and punishments unequally and issuing unclear orders," Murong Sheng, then only twelve, told his uncle Murong Rou that the prince of Zhongshan's wisdom did not surpass other men's nor his talent exceed the common, that he had shown no kindness to men and yet was the first to be proud and great, and that in his own view such a man would seldom escape ruin; and shortly afterwards Murong Chong was killed by his own officer Duan Muyan. He then went east with Murong Yong to Changzi and again told Murong Rou that they were now in the narrow space between blades, in a time of suspicion, where to seem foolish was to be suspected and to seem wise was more dangerous than a bird's nest on a curtain, so that they must fly like the great swan, a single flight of ten thousand li, and not sit waiting for the net. On the way east they met robbers in a defile, and Murong Sheng said that his six-foot body would not drown in water nor burn in fire, and asked whether they wished to try his blade, proposing that they set an arrow upright a hundred paces off and that if he hit it they should look to their lives, and if he missed he would give himself up to them to do as they pleased; and the robbers set up the arrow and Murong Sheng hit it with one shot, at which they cried in amazement that he was a nobleman's son and that they had only been testing him, and sent them off with money. More than a year later Murong Yong killed the sons and grandsons of Murong Chui, men and women alike; and Murong Sheng, making his way back to Later Yan, was asked by Murong Chui about the situation in the west and drew a map on the ground, at which Murong Chui laughed and said that where formerly a man had been made a marquis for taking an enemy's head, a grandfather's love for his grandson had been so from of old, and enfeoffed him duke of Changle, giving him in turn the offices of cavalier attendant and general of the left. In 396, when Murong Chui died and Murong Bao took the throne, Murong Sheng was advanced to prince of Changle and made general of the northern expedition, colonel of the capital and president of the left of the Secretariat. When Duan Suguh rebelled he went out at once to fight and guard, and Murong Bao was nearly taken by Duan Suguh and escaped only through him; and though he offered Murong Bao many extraordinary plans, Murong Bao would not take them, and so failed again and again. After Murong Bao reached Longcheng, Murong Sheng remained in the rear.

The Affair of Lan Han: Attending the Funeral and Retaking Longcheng

In 398 Lan Han murdered Murong Bao by a trick and held Longcheng. Hearing of it, Murong Sheng went at speed to mourn, and when the general Zhang Zhen urged him strongly not to go he said that he would risk his life and tell Lan Han of his grief and distress, that Lan Han was stupid and shallow and would think of their connexion by marriage and could not bear to kill him, and that a month's time would be enough to carry out his great design. So he entered Longcheng to mourn, and Lan Han's wife Lady Yi received him with tears and Lan Han pitied him, sending his son Lan Mu to receive him and lodging him in the palace, making him attendant and grand master of light of the left, "close and respectful to him as at first." Murong Sheng was Lan Han's son-in-law and so escaped death; and he plotted with Murong Qi, who was Lan Han's grandson by a daughter, sending him to raise troops outside the city, where his force grew to several thousand. Lan Han sent Lan Ti against Murong Qi, and Lan Ti being arrogant and licentious and disrespectful to Lan Han, Murong Sheng sowed discord by telling Lan Han that Murong Qi was a child who could not do such a thing and that there must be someone within the city to help him, and that Lan Ti, always arrogant, could not be given a great force; and Lan Han in anger had Lan Ti seized and killed, sending instead the general Qiu Nimu against Murong Qi. Lan Han's brothers, seeing Lan Ti killed, were all afraid and turned their troops against Lan Han, beating Qiu Nimu's force. Lan Han in fear sent his son Lan Mu, who told him that Murong Sheng was their enemy, that with Murong Qi now in revolt Murong Sheng would surely second him, and that with brothers killing one another they must not let a mortal danger grow; and Lan Han was about to kill Murong Sheng and had him brought in to be looked at, but Murong Sheng's wife told him of it, so that he feigned grave illness and ceased to go in and out, and Lan Han let it drop. Li Han and a few others, formerly Murong Sheng's closest friends, were taken by Lan Mu as his own confidants, and they came often to Murong Sheng and secretly settled the great plan. It happened that Lan Mu campaigned against Lan Nan and others and killed them, and gave a great feast to reward the troops, so that Lan Han and Lan Mu were both drunk; and Murong Sheng that night, going out as if to relieve himself, stripped off his robe, climbed over the wall and entered the Eastern Palace, where he and Li Han killed Lan Mu, to the soldiers' joyful cheering, and then went in and killed Lan Han. Lan Han's two sons, Lan He, duke of Lu, and Lan Yang, duke of Chen, were stationed apart, and Murong Sheng sent Li Han and Zhang Zhen against them and killed them, so that all within and without Longcheng was at peace and men and women rejoiced. Murong Sheng was modest and not proud, and did not take the imperial title; that year he exercised imperial authority as prince of Changle, proclaimed an amnesty and changed the era to Jianping.

Destroying Murong Qi, the Stratagem against Li Lang, and the Pardon of Li Han

Murong Qi, who had risen against Lan Han with some merit, then refused to disband his troops, and Murong Sheng led an army against him and killed him with more than a hundred of his partisans; and when Wang Longzhi rebelled with his troops and came as far as Henggou, ten li from Longcheng, Murong Sheng sent troops against him, brought Murong Qi back a prisoner and killed Wang Longzhi, Yan Sheng and more than a hundred others. After taking the throne in form he proclaimed an amnesty for all crimes below beheading, posthumously honoured his uncle, the late heir apparent Xianzhuang, Murong Quan, as emperor Xianzhuang, honoured his father Murong Bao's wife Lady Duan as empress dowager and Murong Quan's wife Lady Ding as empress Xianzhuang, gave the late heir apparent Murong Ce the posthumous name Xian'ai, and provided that every case be judged within ten days without torture to extract confession, and most of the findings were true. He also removed kinsmen and old servants thought to threaten him, and his handling of Li Lang best shows his skill. Li Lang had ruled the Liaoxi commandery for ten years with "authority over all within it," and Murong Sheng, suspecting him, summoned him several times, but he never came; and because Li Lang's mother was at Longcheng he did not dare rebel openly, but secretly sent men to bring in the Northern Wei army as a means of safety, memorializing for troops to resist the invaders. Murong Sheng said that this was certainly false, had the envoy questioned, and finding it proved, killed Li Lang's whole clan and sent the general of the state's support with cavalry against him, the army halting at Jian'an; and he then ordered Li Han to bring his troops back. Li Lang, hearing his family killed, gathered more than three thousand households to hold out; but hearing that Li Han had turned back on the road, he said there must have been a change within and ceased to prepare, leaving his son Li Yang to hold Lingzhi while he himself went to Beiping to meet the Wei army. Li Han, learning of it, stormed and took Lingzhi and sent the general of awe-inspiring might with cavalry after Li Lang, who was killed at Wuzhong. When Murong Sheng first recalled Li Han the ministers did not understand why, and after Li Lang's death he told them that this had been the very reason: that Li Lang, having just rebelled, must fear the authority of the court, gathering his kind and plundering the good on the one hand and hiding in the deep hills and marshes on the other, so that he could not be settled at a blow; and that to withdraw unexpectedly would make him arrogant and slack, whereupon a sudden attack must succeed. The ministers said that this was beyond them. Later, when Li Han came back from Liaoxi and heard that Murong Sheng had killed his officer Wei Shuang, he took fright, abandoned his troops and fled, and returning presently to confess, Murong Sheng restored his rank, telling the attendant that Li Han had held the power of three armies and the charge of acting on his own authority, and that to fail to die with the army and to flee without cause could not be pardoned under military law; but that in the late emperor's time of danger, when all harboured thoughts of betrayal, Li Han with a body that had suffered punishment had spent himself for the late emperor with a loyalty that pierced the sun, and so he recorded his self-sacrifice and pardoned his great crime.

Examining the Officials, Debating the Duke of Zhou, and His Assassination

In internal government, Murong Sheng marched against Koguryo with thirty thousand men, took the new town and Nansu by surprise, distributed their stores and moved more than five thousand households to Liaoxi; and he received the officials in the Eastern Hall and examined their abilities in detail, promoting twelve out of order, and ordered every department to recommend one man of civil and military capacity fit to assist in governing the empire. He set up his son Murong Ding, duke of Liaoxi, as heir apparent and proclaimed an amnesty for all crimes below death, and feasted his ministers in the Xinchang hall, saying that they should speak their minds and he would accept it; and his nephew on his mother's side, Ding Xin, then fifteen, came forward and said that for one on the throne not to be arrogant, so that though his place was high it was not perilous, was his own wish, at which Murong Sheng laughed and asked how the president Ding, so young, could speak the words of an elder — for he governed his subordinates severely, was proud and violent without natural affection and full of suspicion of his ministers, which was why Ding Xin said it. He once debated in the Eastern Hall with Yang Qiu and Chang Zhong whether the duke of Zhou was "loyal and sage," Murong Sheng saying that he saw the duke's hypocrisy and not his loyalty, and arguing point by point from King Wu's dream of ninety years, the duke's offer to die in his place, his tenure of the regency and his killing of his brothers, concluding that the duke was a criminal against the empire and had no supreme virtue to speak of; and he discussed Yi Yin's removal of Tai Jia, holding that Yi Yin, on the strength of his standing as an old servant in the chief place of government, had failed to guide his ruler with wholehearted loyalty and had banished him to the Tong palace, and so could not be compared with the duke; while Lang Fu and Chang Zhong argued for Yi Yin's loyalty and the duke's putting the greater interest above kinship; and after the debate the ruler and ministers drank and talked and wrote poems, with gifts of money and silk in varying amounts. He also had the Secretariat rewrite the "Hymns of Yan" to record the merit of the grand steward, the prince of Huan, in assisting the government, holding the imperial kin together by courtesy and governing the princes by kindness and punishment. Yet within he guarded against rebellion with harsh law: the Jin History says that "taking warning from Bao's darkness and indecision he made his own watchfulness and punishments severe," meaning that reflecting on his father's failure to decide he went to harshness, so that "high and low were shaken, men were not at ease, and even the loyal and his own kin were estranged." In 401 Murong Guo and others plotted to lead the palace guards against him, the plot was discovered, and he killed them and more than five hundred others; and the former general Duan Ji, marquis of Sihui, Qin Xing the son of Qin Yu and the son of Duan Zan, taking advantage of shaken hearts, raised a great clamour by night within the palace. Murong Sheng, hearing it, led his close followers out to fight and they were all beaten; and a ruffian in the dark struck and wounded him, whereupon he mounted a carriage to the front hall, rebuked and ordered the guards, and summoned his uncle the duke of Hejian, Murong Xi, to give him his last charge; and before Murong Xi came Murong Sheng died at the age of twenty-nine, having reigned three years, with the posthumous name emperor Zhaowu, the temple name Zhongzong, and burial at Xingping mausoleum.

Major Activities

Political Achievements

By utilizing Lan Han's complacency and exploiting familial contradictions through schemes of estrangement, Murong Sheng orchestrated the downfall of Lan Han's clan, effectively restoring the control of the Murong clan over Later Yan.

Military Achievements

After eliminating Lan Han, Murong Sheng attempted to consolidate central authority. However, facing resistance from Murong Qi, he decisively deployed troops to crush the rebellion, securing the foundation of his rule.

Expansionist Campaigns

During his tenure, Murong Sheng actively pursued territorial expansion. His northern expedition against Goguryeo resulted in the capture of Xincheng and Nansucheng, significantly weakening Goguryeo's influence. Simultaneously, his victory over Kumoxi fortified the northern frontiers of Later Yan. These successes secured vital strategic space for the state.

Restoration, War, and the Two Sides of His Severity

Murong Sheng's reign was short, and his record runs on two parallel lines. The first is the restoration and the waging of war: after Lan Han killed Murong Bao he entered the city as Lan Han's son-in-law to mourn and endured in silence, and then, having sown discord among Lan Han's brothers, coordinated Murong Qi outside with himself within, killing Lan Mu by night during the feast and then Lan Han and his sons, so that the government of Longcheng came again into Murong hands; he afterwards killed Murong Qi, who would not disband his troops, and the rebel Wang Longzhi, destroyed Li Lang, who had held Liaoxi for ten years, by first recalling Li Han so as to make the enemy careless and then striking suddenly, and marched against Koguryo with thirty thousand men, taking the new town and Nansu and moving their people, as well as campaigning against the Kumoxi. These actions have clear events and results and show military and strategic ability. The second is severity and suspicion: taking warning from his father Murong Bao's "darkness and indecision" he "made his watchfulness and punishments severe," so that "no trifling suspicion was left unpruned before it sprouted or unguarded before it showed," until "high and low were shaken, men were not at ease, and even the loyal and his own kin were estranged, and none of the old servants escaped destruction"; the case of Murong Guo and the others took more than five hundred lives, and the rising of Duan Ji and his fellows sprang from shaken hearts, and he himself was stabbed in that rising. In institutions and culture he examined the officials in office, promoted twelve out of order and had every department recommend men of civil and military capacity, set up an heir and proclaimed amnesties, and made it a principle that cases be judged within ten days without torture, and feasted his ministers asking for plain speaking; and his debate on the duke of Zhou and Yi Yin shows a political standard resting on the duty of a servant, and has often been cited in judging his character. He should therefore be assessed on the concrete military and political events, neither summing up his restoration as a "revival" nor his severity as that of a "tyrant."

Personal Relations

• Grandfather**: Murong Chui (Emperor Wucheng of Later Yan)
• Father**: Murong Bao (Emperor Huimin of Later Yan)
• Mother**: Lady Ding
• Wife**: Lady Lan (daughter of Lan Han)
• Son**: Murong Ding (Crown Prince)
• Brothers**: Murong Hui (Prince of Qinghe); Murong Ce (Crown Prince, deceased early); Murong Yuan; Murong Yuan; Murong Min; Murong Qian; Murong Zhao
• Uncle**: Murong Xi (Successor Emperor)

Historical Assessment

The Book of Jin assesses Murong Sheng: "Sheng was young and had experienced displacement and hardship; as he grew older, he faced many tribulations due to domestic troubles, experiencing both peril and danger." It suggests that because his father Murong Bao was incompetent, Murong Sheng resorted to extreme measures, which ultimately alienated those around him and made disaster inevitable. The historical records also praise him as "valiant and resolute, possessing the spirit of his uncle," noting that even in his youth, he was "perceptive and highly strategic."

While Murong Sheng achieved significant military milestones during his reign, his governing style—described as "arrogant, violent, and suspicious"—caused insecurity among loyal kinsmen and veteran officials. This internal instability laid the groundwork for the eventual decline of the Later Yan dynasty.