Murong Bao

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Murong Bao was born in Xindu County, Changli Commandery, as the fourth son of Murong Chui. In his youth, he was considered frivolous, lacking ambition and integrity, and possessed a fondness for flattery. In 369, he followed his father Murong Chui to Former Qin. During the reign of Fu Jian, Emperor Xuanzhao of Former Qin, Murong Bao held positions including Taizi Xima and Magistrate of Wannian County. When Fu Jian launched the Battle of Fei River in 383, Murong Bao was appointed General of Lingjiang to participate in the conflict.

Raising Troops and Establishing a Power Base

In Jianxi 1 (384), after Murong Chui established Later Yan, Murong Bao was invested as Crown Prince. Upon becoming Crown Prince, he began to cultivate his character, showing interest in Confucianism, engaging in scholarly discussions and writing, and deliberately ingratiating himself with the close attendants of Murong Chui to gain favor. However, his stepmother, Consort Duan Yuanfei, once advised Murong Chui that Murong Bao was indecisive and unsuitable to lead the state in times of crisis, suggesting instead that Murong Nong or Murong Long be named heir, while warning that Murong Lin harbored intentions to disrespect the Crown Prince. Murong Chui did not adopt these suggestions, leading Murong Bao and Murong Lin to harbor deep resentment toward Consort Duan Yuanfei.

In Jianxing 10 (395), Murong Chui ordered Murong Bao to lead troops against Northern Wei. Initially, the Yan armies achieved some successes, advancing to Wuyuan and bringing over thirty thousand households of Northern Wei tribes under their control. However, at Canhe Slope, they were routed by Tuoba Gui, Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei, and nearly all of Later Yan's elite forces were annihilated. Murong Bao managed to escape back to Later Yan with only a small contingent of cavalry.

Entry into Official Life

Following the death of Murong Chui in Jianxi 11 (396), Murong Bao ascended the throne and inaugurated the Yongkang era. Adhering to the imperial edict left by Murong Chui, he conducted censuses, reorganized military camps, and clarified court ceremonies. Nevertheless, his reliance on harsh punishments and stringent laws caused division within the government and widespread dissatisfaction among the people, with nine out of ten families reportedly displeased with his rule.

After ascending the throne, Murong Bao used Prince of Zhao Murong Lin to pressure his stepmother, Consort Duan Yuanfei. Consort Duan vehemently rebuked Murong Bao for murdering her legitimate mother figure and declared that the state would perish before committing suicide. Furthermore, Murong Bao favored his younger son, Murong Ce, displacing the originally intended heir, Murong Hui, and appointing Murong Ce as Crown Prince, which triggered intense conflicts within the imperial clan.

Unification of Northern China

During the second year of Yongkang (397), Tuoba Gui, Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei, personally led an army of one hundred thousand to attack Yan. The Wei army first struck Bingzhou, where Murong Nong was defeated. Subsequently, the Wei army advanced on Zhongshan; Murong Bao mobilized 120,000 infantry and 37,000 cavalry to meet them, stationing his forces at Quyang and Baisi. Murong Bao sent Murong Long to launch a night raid on the Wei army, but the mission ended in rout. Taking advantage of the situation, the Wei army pursued the retreating forces; Murong Bao abandoned his main army and fled with only 20,000 men. Amidst heavy snow and wind, many soldiers froze to death along the route. As morale collapsed completely, Murong Bao commanded his officers to discard their robes and weapons to accelerate their flight.

Southern Campaigns and Later Years

While Northern Wei forces besieged Zhongshan, domestic instability intensified within Later Yan. Shangshu Muyu Hao attempted to assassinate Murong Bao but failed, and Prince of Zhao Murong Lin assassinated Murong Jing before defecting. Concerned that Murong Hui might seize power, Murong Bao stripped him of his military authority. Driven by resentment over being passed over for the succession, Murong Hui attacked and killed Murong Long, severely wounding Murong Nong. Murong Hui then raised an army against Murong Bao, forcing the latter to flee to Longcheng. Murong Hui laid siege to Longcheng and was eventually killed by Murong Xiang.

Internal Strife and Assassination

In Yongkang 3 (398), Li Yan, acting on behalf of Murong De, persuaded Murong Bao to conduct another southern expedition. Murong Bao dispatched troops from Longcheng, but encountered rebellions led by Duan Sugu and others at Yilian, causing the troops to disperse. While attempting to retreat to Longcheng, Murong Bao discovered that Lan Han had secretly conspired with Duan Sugu to lure Murong Nong out of the city under false pretenses of surrender. Once Longcheng fell, Murong Bao fled south. Lan Han proclaimed Murong Ce as emperor and sent messengers to welcome Murong Bao back. Mistakenly believing Lan Han’s loyalty, Murong Bao returned to Longcheng. Lan Han then lured Murong Bao to a lodging outside the city walls, where he was murdered at the age of forty-four.

Duan Yuanfei's Warning, His Years as Heir, and His Measures on Accession

Murong Bao, styled Daoyou and called by the childhood name Kugou, was the fourth son of Murong Chui, and as a youth was "light and headstrong, without constancy of purpose, and fond of men who flattered him." When Murong Chui set him up as heir, his stepmother the empress Cheng'ai, Lady Duan, told Murong Chui that the heir's quality was easy and gracious but soft and irresolute, so that in a time of peace he would be a benevolent and enlightened lord but in a time of trouble no hero to save the age; that to entrust him with the great work gave her no hope of prosperity to come; that the princes of Liaoxi and Gaoyang were the worthy among his sons and one of them should be chosen; that the prince of Zhao, Murong Lin, was treacherous and proud and habitually contemptuous of the heir, so that when the emperor should pass away there would surely be trouble; and that this was his family matter and should be deeply considered. Murong Chui would not accept it; and when Lady Duan spoke of it again he asked whether she wished to make him into Duke Xian of Jin, and she wept and withdrew. Murong Bao and Murong Lin, hearing of it, bore her deep resentment. As heir he "whetted and cultivated himself, honoured Confucian learning, was skilled in discussion and good at composition," and moreover "cringed to the petty ministers about Chui to win a fine reputation," so that the officials of the court praised him to a man and Murong Chui thought him able to keep the family inheritance and esteemed him. On Murong Chui's death he took the throne that same year, proclaimed an amnesty and changed the era to Yongkang, making the grand commandant Kuru Guanwei grand tutor and the grand master of light Duan Chong grand guardian, with the rest appointed in various degrees; and he at once sent the guard general and prince of Zhao, Murong Lin, to force Lady Duan to kill herself, accusing her of having often told the late emperor that the ruler could not keep the succession and of saying that unless the Duan family were destroyed she would be killed, at which Lady Duan cursed him for forcing his stepmother to die and declared that he could certainly not preserve the altars of state, and killed herself. In accordance with Murong Chui's testamentary charge he reviewed the households, abolished the military camps and distributed them among the commanderies and counties, fixed the old registers of the great clans and set out their ranks; yet "the laws were stern and the government harsh, high and low were of different minds, and of the common people nine households in ten thought of rebellion."

The Contest over the Heir: Murong Ce and Murong Hui

Murong Hui was gifted in many arts and of heroic capacity, and Murong Chui esteemed him greatly; when Murong Bao went north on campaign Murong Chui had Hui act for him in the Eastern Palace, superintending the government, with the treatment of an heir apparent, which showed where his intention lay. When Murong Chui campaigned against Northern Wei, because Longcheng was the old capital and the seat of the ancestral temple he sent Hui to hold it, entrusting him with the defence of the north-east and choosing carefully the officials to assist him and raise his prestige; and on his deathbed he left a charge that Murong Hui should be heir. But Murong Bao doted on his youngest son, the duke of Puyang, Murong Ce, and his intention as to the heir did not lie with Murong Hui. Murong Bao's eldest son, the duke of Changle, Murong Sheng, thinking himself of the same father and senior to Murong Hui, was ashamed that Hui had preceded him, and so praised Murong Ce as fit to be heir while slandering Murong Hui. Murong Bao, greatly pleased, asked the prince of Zhao, Murong Lin, and the others, who all flattered his wish and agreed that Murong Ce should be heir; and so Murong Bao with Murong Lin and the rest formed the plan, made Murong Ce's mother empress and Murong Ce heir apparent, and advanced Murong Sheng and Murong Hui to princely rank. This was the immediate cause of Murong Hui's estrangement and of the unending strife within the Later Yan imperial house.

The Northern Wei Advance, the Defeat at Baishi, and the Plot of Muyu Hao

In 395 Murong Bao led an army against the Tuoba state and at first won some success, advancing to Wuyuan and receiving the submission of more than thirty thousand households of Wei tribesmen and harvesting more than a million hu of grain, but was then broken at Canhepi by Tuoba Gui, the picked troops of Later Yan being destroyed. Murong Chui himself led a campaign against Wei in 396 and died on the way, whereupon Tuoba Gui came south with a hundred thousand men: the Wei army attacked Bingzhou first, and the general of the flying cavalry, Murong Nong, met them and was beaten, and on returning to Jinyang the commander there, Sima Muyu Song, shut the gates and refused him entry; Murong Nong fled back to Zhongshan with a few thousand men, and reaching Luchuan was overtaken by the Wei pursuers and lost all his troops but himself. Murong Bao assembled his ministers in the Eastern Hall, and the governor of Zhongshan urged that with the Wei army strong and coming on in victory after a thousand li of fighting, they should not fight on the plain but choose strong ground; Muyu Sui urged that the Wei troops were mostly cavalry, quick and violent but carrying no more than ten days' grain, so that the commanderies and counties should be ordered to make every thousand households into one fort, dig deep ditches, raise high walls and clear the countryside, so that the Wei army would have no grain and nothing to eat, and within sixty days would be at its wit's end and withdraw; a president of the Secretariat held that the Wei army was a hundred thousand strong and the enemy of the empire, that the common people even if gathered could not protect themselves, and that this was in truth to gather grain and arms to aid a strong enemy, besides shaking the people's hearts and showing weakness to the foe, whereas holding strong passes was the better plan; and Murong Lin said that the Wei army, flushed with victory, had a vanguard that could not be stopped, so that they should prepare defences and wait until the Wei troops were weary and then attack. So they built walls and stored grain for a long stand. The Wei army attacked Zhongshan without success and went on to occupy Boling and Lukou, where the commanders fled at the rumour of them and the commanderies and counties surrendered to Wei. Hearing of disorder within Wei, Murong Bao led out his whole army to fight, a hundred and twenty thousand foot and thirty-seven thousand horse, encamping at Quyang and Baishi; the Wei army reached Xinliang, and Murong Bao, fearing their keen spirit, sent the general of the northern expedition by night to raid their camp, and he came back beaten. The Wei army advanced in ranks of two chariots abreast, and as the two armies faced each other Murong Bao's officers and men were all afraid and the whole army lost its edge; Murong Nong and Murong Lin urged him to return to Zhongshan, and he drew off, whereupon the Wei army pursued, and Murong Bao and Murong Nong with him abandoned the main body and fled with twenty thousand men. It happened that the wind was fierce and the snow heavy, and the frozen dead lay piled on the roads; and Murong Bao, fearing to be overtaken, ordered his men to throw away their robes and weapons, so that not a single weapon was brought back. When the Wei army attacked Zhongshan it camped in the Fanglin garden, and that night the president of the Secretariat, Muyu Hao, plotted to kill Murong Bao and make Murong Lin emperor; Muyu Hao's wife's brother Su Ni told Murong Bao, who sent Murong Long to arrest him, and Muyu Hao with several dozen conspirators cut their way out of the gate and fled to Wei. Murong Lin, frightened and uneasy, overawed the guard of the left, the prince of Beidi, Murong Jing, with troops, meaning to have him lead the palace guards against Murong Bao; and Murong Jing refusing on proper grounds, Murong Lin in anger killed him and fled to the Dingling.

The Revolt of Murong Hui, the Flight to Longcheng, and the Killing by Lan Han

At the outset, hearing of the Wei invasion, Murong Bao had sent Murong Hui with the troops of You and Bing to Zhongshan; and when Murong Lin had fled, Murong Bao in fear first took away Murong Hui's command and prepared to send troops to meet him. Murong Lin's attendant Duan Pingzi, fleeing back from the Dingling, reported to Murong Bao that Murong Lin was recruiting troops among the Dingling with a strong army, plotting to strike Murong Hui's force and seize Longcheng in the east. Murong Bao, with the heir apparent Murong Ce and Murong Nong and Murong Long, met Murong Hui at Ji with more than ten thousand men, appointing the duke of Kaifeng, Murong Xiang, to hold Zhongshan; and Murong Hui, gathering worthy men with all his strength and setting his army in order, twenty thousand horse and foot, advanced in ranks and met Murong Bao in the southern suburb of Ji. Murong Bao divided part of Murong Hui's troops to Murong Nong and Murong Long, and sent the duke of Xihe, Kuru Guanjì, with three thousand men to help hold Zhongshan. Murong Hui showed resentment that Murong Ce had been made heir, and Murong Bao told Murong Nong and Murong Long, who both said that Hui was a young man holding a whole region alone and had grown proud, and that they saw no other disloyalty in him and would reprove him with courtesy. The soldiers of You and Ping, remembering Murong Hui's kindness and authority, were unwilling to leave him, and all begged Murong Bao that the prince of Qinghe, being godlike by nature and of surpassing resource, with whom they had sworn to live and die, should be sent to lead them against the Wei army and raise the siege of the capital, after which the emperor might return. But Murong Bao's close ministers, jealous of Murong Hui's courage and resource, spoke against him and would not let him lead troops, so that his officers and men were resentful. The favourites urged Murong Bao to kill Murong Hui, and the attendant censor Qiu Ni Gui, hearing of it, told Murong Hui and urged him to kill the two princes, depose the heir and make himself heir with the command of the civil and military, and so restore the state; but Murong Hui would not. Afterwards someone told Murong Bao that Hui was certain to rebel and should be destroyed early lest great trouble follow, while Murong Nong said that with robbers abroad, the state unsettled and the central plain in disorder, Hui could hold the old capital and keep the people at peace, and had come at the news of the capital's danger by forced marches from a thousand li away with a fame that could overawe the barbarians, and had shown no sign of rebellion, so that they should bear with him for the present, since with the state's peril at their doorstep to kill within the family would only damage his authority; but Murong Bao said that Hui's treasonable design was already formed, and that if he rose he would surely kill his uncles first and then himself, and that when the thing failed they should remember what he had said that day. Murong Nong and the others pressing him, the plan against Hui was dropped; and Hui, hearing of it, was the more afraid and fled to Huangyu valley in Guangdu, sending Qiu Ni Gui and others with more than twenty strong men to attack Murong Nong and Murong Long separately, so that Murong Long was killed that night and Murong Nong gravely wounded. Soon afterwards Hui submitted again, and Murong Bao, meaning to destroy him, soothed and lured him while secretly sending the guard of the left to kill him, which failed; and Hui fled back to his troops and led them against Murong Bao, who fled to Longcheng with a few hundred men. Hui pursued him and sent envoys demanding the execution of the wicked ministers about him and his own appointment as heir, which Murong Bao refused; and Hui laid siege to Longcheng, whereupon the palace attendant Lang with more than a hundred volunteers attacked him by night, beat him and scattered his men, and Hui fled alone toward Zhongshan, cutting his way through the besiegers into the city. In Zhongshan meantime Murong Xiang had made himself emperor, set up officials and changed the era, giving himself up to wine and women in luxury and killing without limit, putting to death more than five hundred princes and officials and shaking all within and without so that none dared oppose him; and famine in Zhongshan killed several dozen princes and ministers. Murong Lin entered Zhongshan with the Dingling troops, killed Murong Xiang with more than three hundred of his kin and partisans, and made himself emperor; and as the food in Zhongshan grew even scarcer and the famine worse, Murong Lin left with his men and occupied Xinshi, fought the Wei army at Yitai and was beaten, whereupon the Wei army entered Zhongshan and Murong Lin fled to Ye.

At Longcheng, Li Yan urged Murong Bao to march south, to his great pleasure, while Murong Sheng earnestly remonstrated that their officers and men were weary and the Wei army had but lately settled the central plain, so that they should husband their strength, watch for a change and wait for a later time. The general Muyu Teng urged instead that with the great army already gathered they should use the moment to complete the work of advance, that men might be commanded to obey but could not be consulted on founding an enterprise, and that the emperor alone should decide and not seek opinions everywhere and so damp the army's spirit; and Murong Bao said that his plan was settled and that he would kill anyone who argued further. He marched from Longcheng, making Li Yan the great marshal of the vanguard, Murong Nong commanding the centre and himself the rear, thirty thousand horse and foot, halting at Yilian; and there the senior guards Duan Suguh and Song Chimei, because the soldiers feared to fight, killed the minister of works, the prince of Lelang, and set up the prince of Gaoyang, Murong Chong, as emperor. Murong Bao fled alone to Murong Nong and led troops against Duan Suguh, but the soldiers, afraid of war and mutinous, threw down their weapons and fled, and Murong Nong's men too broke up, so that Bao and Nong galloped back to Longcheng. Murong Bao's own followers secretly joined Duan Suguh, who attacked Longcheng, and Murong Nong, deceived by Lan Han, went secretly out of the city to Duan Suguh's camp and was killed; the soldiers all scattered and Murong Bao with Murong Sheng and Muyu Teng fled south. Lan Han then held Longcheng and sent envoys to welcome Murong Bao, who had reached Ji; and Murong Bao wished to go north to Longcheng, but Murong Sheng and the others held that Lan Han's loyalty was unproved and that if he went back alone he would regret it beyond remedy should Lan Han prove of two minds. Murong Bao took the advice and went south from Ji; and reaching Liyang, hearing that Murong De had made himself emperor, he took fright and turned back. He then sent Muyu Teng to Julu to gather the scattered soldiers, Murong Sheng to Jizhou to win over the bold men, and others to Neihuang to collect his old followers, and all answered and agreed to assemble at the appointed time. It happened that Lan Han sent the general of the left, Su Chao, to welcome him, and Murong Bao, thinking that Lan Han was Murong Chui's brother-in-law and Murong Sheng Lan Han's son-in-law, and that he must therefore be loyal without a second mind, returned to Longcheng; and Lan Han brought him into a lodging outside the city and killed him, at the age of forty-four. After Murong Sheng took the throne he gave Murong Bao the posthumous name emperor Huimin with the temple name Liezong (or Liezu).

Major Activities

Political Achievements

As the second monarch of Later Yan, Murong Bao oversaw the transition following the establishment of the dynasty by Murong Chui. Despite efforts to reorganize administration and census records according to previous precedents, his political legacy is defined more by the destabilization caused by his judicial severity and the subsequent fragmentation of the ruling class.

Military Achievements

His primary military engagement involved campaigning against Northern Wei, though this resulted in significant strategic losses rather than territorial gains. His inability to maintain stability through successful defense allowed neighboring powers to exploit the weakness of the Later Yan regime.

Literary Contribution

No specific literary works are attributed directly to Murong Bao in the available historical records, although his period saw continued development in the cultural traditions inherited from the earlier Yan states.

Travels and Campaign Routes

Major movements included the migration from Former Yan to Former Qin in 369, the northern campaigns reaching Wuyuan in 395, and several unsuccessful attempts to expand southward towards the end of his life.

Relations with Contemporaries

He maintained complex relationships with both allies and rivals, notably facing betrayal from subordinates like Lan Han and experiencing profound familial discord involving his brothers and successors.

His Measures, the Judgements on His Character, and the Several Causes of the Collapse

Murong Bao's military and political activity falls into two phases: as heir leading the campaign against Northern Wei and being beaten at Canhepi, and as emperor facing the Wei invasion and strife within the imperial house and in the end abandoning Zhongshan for the north. He also carried out a review of households, the abolition of the military camps with their distribution among the commanderies and counties, and the fixing of the old clan registers, seeking by Murong Chui's testamentary charge to put the military and civil order in repair. But the Jin History records at the same time that "the laws were stern and the government harsh, high and low were of different minds, and of the common people nine households in ten thought of rebellion," which shows that in practice these measures estranged court and locality. The historians' judgement of his character is plain: as a youth he was "light and headstrong, without constancy of purpose, and fond of men who flattered him"; and though as heir he had a side of self-cultivation, honour for Confucian learning, skill in discussion and good composition, he also "cringed to the petty ministers about Chui to win a fine reputation," so that his good name came of management rather than achievement. His stepmother Lady Duan's verdict that in peace he would be a benevolent and enlightened lord but in trouble no hero to save the age was afterwards almost a gloss on his reign.

As to the causes of the collapse, the loss of Later Yan's territory and its fall cannot be attributed wholly to Murong Bao's character and ability. The military pressure of Northern Wei at that time was extreme: Tuoba Gui came south with a hundred thousand men and Bingzhou and the approaches to Zhongshan fell one after another, an external condition Later Yan could not bear. But the factors the sources record are no less important: first, the mishandling of the succession, Murong Chui having charged that Murong Hui be heir while Murong Bao set up Murong Ce, which directly kindled the strife within the imperial house; second, the battle at Baishi, where he abandoned the main army and fled with twenty thousand men and made his soldiers throw away their weapons, losing both his host and his arms; third, the wavering treatment of kinsmen and servants of merit, wishing to destroy Murong Hui and yet enduring him, until Murong Hui's revolt killed Murong Long and gravely wounded Murong Nong; and fourth, his haste to march south after fleeing to Longcheng, which provoked the mutiny of Duan Suguh and Song Chimei and left Murong Nong to die through Lan Han's deceit. His southern plan and the affair of Lan Han's welcome show respectively the will of Later Yan's remnant to strike back and the crisis of internal security, and show too that his rule never built a political base it could rely on.

Personal Relations

• Father**: Murong Chui (Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan)
• Mother**: Empress Dowager Chengzhao, Lady Duan
• Stepmother**: Consort Duan Yuanfei (Empress Dowager Ci'an/Consort Du, who committed suicide)
• Eldest Son**: Murong Sheng (Emperor Zhaowen of Later Yan)
• Second Son**: Murong Hui (Prince of Qinghe, killed by Murong Xiang)
• Third Son**: Murong Ce (Crown Prince, murdered by Lan Han)
• Fourth Son**: Murong Yuan (Duke of Chengyang)
• Adopted Son**: Murong Yun (also known as Gao Yun, Emperor Huidi of Bei Yan)
• Daughter**: A lady of the Murong clan married to Tuoba Gui, Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei
• None specifically recorded in standard histories.
• Served as part of the administrative structure of the Later Yan empire founded by his father.
• Lan Han (Minister/Shangshu, uncle of Murong Chui, who orchestrated his assassination)
• Tuoba Gui (Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei)
• Murong Hui (his own brother, due to succession disputes)

Historical Assessment

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

Historical accounts often characterize his governance as marked by inconsistency—alternating between periods of studying Confucian classics and implementing draconian legal measures that alienated the populace.

Tang and Song Periods

Evaluated primarily through the lens of traditional historiography regarding the rise and fall of the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Ming and Qing Periods

Scholars analyzed the structural causes of the decline of Later Yan, citing the loss of elite manpower at Canhe Slope and the failure of central leadership as decisive factors.

Modern Assessments

Modern historians focus on the systemic failures of the Later Yan state, emphasizing how personal vendettas and succession crises undermined the legitimacy and survival of the regime.