Murong Wei

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Murong Wei was born into the most prominent branch of the Xianbei Murong during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. His grandfather Murong Huang, Emperor Wenming of Former Yan, had laid the foundations of Yan power in Liaodong. His father Murong Jun, Emperor Jingzhao, formally proclaimed himself emperor in 352, the first year of Yuanxi, expanded Former Yan from Liaodong into the Central Plains, and moved the capital to Ye, southwest of present-day Linzhang, Hebei. Murong Wei's mother was Lady Kezuhun, from a major Xianbei clan.

Murong Wei was a son of Murong Jun and was initially enfeoffed as Prince of Zhongshan. In 356, the twelfth year of Yonghe, Crown Prince Murong Ye died, leaving the succession open. In 357 Murong Jun made the eight-year-old Murong Wei crown prince. According to the Book of Jin, “Account of Murong Jun,” Murong Jun's final instructions entrusted the government to Grand Marshal Murong Ke, Minister over the Masses Yang Wu, Minister of Works Murong Ping, and General of the Guards Murongyu Gen.

Accession and the Regency of Murong Ke

In 360, the fourth year of Guangshou, Murong Jun died. Because Murong Wei was still a child, some officials wanted to place Murong Jun's younger brother Murong Ke on the throne. Murong Ke refused, saying that the state already had an established heir and that taking the throne would violate his principles. Murong Wei therefore succeeded as emperor. He proclaimed a general amnesty, changed the era name to Jianxi, and made his mother Lady Kezuhun empress dowager. Murong Ke became Grand Chancellor and Director of the Department of State Affairs, exercising powers compared to those of the Duke of Zhou. Murong Ping was made Grand Tutor; Murongyu Gen became Grand Preceptor; and Murong Chui was made Grand Commander of Henan, General Who Conquers the South, governor of Yanzhou and Jingzhou, Protector of the Southern Barbarians, and commander at Liang.

Murong Wei was only eleven on accession and the source text characterizes him as mediocre and weak, so major state affairs were entrusted to Murong Ke. As one of the outstanding members of the Former Yan royal house, Murong Ke kept the state comparatively stable during his regency. Conflict among the regents nevertheless emerged almost immediately. Grand Preceptor Murongyu Gen relied on his status as an old retainer and meritorious official, behaved arrogantly toward the ruler, and resented Murong Ke's control of the court. He first tried to persuade Murong Ke to depose Murong Wei and seize the throne, but Murong Ke firmly refused. He then accused Murong Ke and Murong Ping before Empress Dowager Kezuhun and Murong Wei of planning rebellion. Murong Wei showed an unusual degree of judgment, telling the empress dowager that the two men were kinsmen of the ruling house and ministers entrusted by the late emperor and that it was more likely the grand preceptor himself intended rebellion. Murong Wei then ordered Palace Attendant Huangfu Zhen and Guard Commander Fu Yan to arrest Murongyu Gen and his followers. They were executed in the palace, and a general amnesty followed.

External Campaigns and Territorial Expansion

After internal affairs stabilized, Former Yan continued expanding under Murong Ke's leadership. In 361, the second year of Jianxi, the former General Who Pacifies the South, Lü Hu, occupied Yewang, present-day Qinyang, Henan, secretly contacted Eastern Jin, and plotted to bring Jin forces against Ye. Murong Wei sent Murong Ke and others with fifty thousand troops to suppress him. Fu Yan urged an immediate assault, but Murong Ke adopted a prolonged siege, reasoning that as time passed and the enemy's position became desperate, weaknesses would emerge. The siege lasted from the third to the eighth month, when Yewang fell. Lü Hu fled south to Eastern Jin and later rebelled against Jin and returned to Former Yan.

In 363 Murong Wei sent General Who Pacifies the East Murong Zhong to capture Xingyang and General Who Guards the South Murong Chen to attack Changping. In 364 he sent Murong Ping against Xuchang, Xuangu, and Chen Commandery; all three fell, after which Yan forces attacked commanderies in Runan and moved more than ten thousand households into Youzhou and Jizhou. The same year, Sun Xing, governor of Yuzhou, proposed using five thousand infantry to attack Luoyang in advance, and Murong Wei accepted the proposal. The Eastern Jin defender Chen You soon withdrew to Luhun, and Yan forces captured the fortified positions south of the Yellow River. In 365 Murong Ke captured Jinyong, northwest of Luoyang, and killed the Eastern Jin general Shen Jing. Murong Zhu was appointed governor of Luozhou to hold Jinyong, while Murong Chui received command over the military affairs of ten provinces and was stationed at Luyang with ten thousand troops. Former Yan then reached its greatest territorial extent.

Death of Murong Ke and the Misgovernment of Murong Ping

In 367, the eighth year of Jianxi, Murong Ke fell seriously ill and died. Before his death, he recommended Murong Chui to succeed him as Grand Marshal, saying that the Prince of Wu possessed talents as a general and statesman ten times greater than his own. Murong Wei did not accept the recommendation. Yang Wu also died that year, leaving Murong Ping as the sole surviving regent and effective head of government.

Murong Ping was greedy and jealous and lacked Murong Ke's ability and prestige. At the time, Vice Director Yue Wan proposed abolishing military dependents and hidden tax households and releasing concealed population into the state's registers. Murong Wei approved. Under Yue Wan's plan more than two hundred thousand households were released, shocking court and society. Murong Ping strongly resented the reform and had Yue Wan secretly assassinated. Government thereafter deteriorated steadily.

Huan Wen's Northern Expedition and Murong Chui's Flight

In 369, the tenth year of Jianxi, the Eastern Jin Grand Marshal Huan Wen launched his third northern expedition with fifty thousand infantry and cavalry against Former Yan. Murong Li, Fu Yan, and Murong Zang, sent by Murong Wei, failed to stop him and suffered successive defeats. Murong Wei and Murong Ping became alarmed. They appealed to Former Qin for aid, promising territory west of Hulao, while also preparing to flee back to Longcheng, present-day Chaoyang, Liaoning. Murong Chui volunteered to fight and decisively defeated Huan Wen at Fangtou, southwest of present-day Xun County, Henan, reportedly killing more than thirty thousand and reversing the military situation.

Murong Chui's victory, however, produced suspicion rather than reward. Murong Ping quarreled with him over distribution of military credit, and Empress Dowager Kezuhun had long disliked him. The two therefore plotted to kill Murong Chui. When he learned of the plan, Murong Chui fled with his family to Former Qin. His departure became one of the decisive turning points in Former Yan's collapse, both because he carried detailed knowledge of Yan's strengths and weaknesses and because he later assisted Former Qin in the conquest of Yan.

Fall of Former Yan

During Huan Wen's expedition, Former Yan had promised Former Qin territory west of Hulao in exchange for aid, but after the crisis passed it reneged. Fu Jian, ruler of Former Qin, used this as a pretext and in 370, the eleventh year of Jianxi, sent Wang Meng to invade Former Yan. Wang Meng attacked Huguan while Yang An attacked Jinyang, present-day Taiyuan. Murong Wei ordered Murong Ping to lead more than three hundred thousand elite troops of the central and outer forces. Murong Ping, however, forbade soldiers from freely taking water and firewood while monopolizing water sources and hills and selling fuel and water to his own men for profit. Morale collapsed. Wang Meng burned the Yan baggage train at night, and the flames were visible from Ye. Murong Wei, terrified by the sight, ordered Murong Ping to distribute money and goods to the troops and fight, but it was too late. Former Qin defeated the Yan army, killing or capturing more than 150,000, while Murong Ping escaped alone on horseback to Ye.

Wang Meng pursued to Ye, and Fu Jian sent further reinforcements. With the Former Qin army at the city, Murong Wei fled with Murong Ping and others toward Longcheng. Most guards deserted as soon as they left the capital, leaving only a little more than ten men. The Former Qin commander Guo Qing pursued. Because the road was difficult and bandits appeared repeatedly, Left Guard General Meng Gao and Palace General Ai Lang were killed defending Murong Wei. Murong Wei lost his horse and had to flee on foot. He was eventually captured by Guo Qing at Gaoyang.

Brought before Fu Jian, Murong Wei was asked why he had fled instead of surrendering. He replied that when a fox is about to die, it turns its head toward the hill of its birth, and that he had only wished to die near the graves of his ancestors. Fu Jian took pity on him, released him, and ordered him to return and lead Former Yan's civil and military officials in surrender. In the twelfth month of the same year, Fu Jian moved Murong Wei, members of the Murong royal house, and forty thousand Xianbei households to Chang'an. Murong Wei was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xinxing and appointed to the Department of State Affairs. Former Yan formally ceased to exist.

Service under Former Qin and Death

Murong Wei spent more than a decade as a subject of Former Qin. In 383, the eighth year of the Eastern Jin Taiyuan era, Former Qin launched its great southern invasion of Eastern Jin, culminating in the Battle of Fei River. Murong Wei took part as General Who Pacifies the South and commander of a detached force. After Former Qin's defeat, he withdrew north with the army and escorted Fu Jian's wife Lady Zhang back to him. At Xingyang his uncle Murong De urged him to take advantage of Former Qin's weakened condition and restore Yan, but Murong Wei refused.

In 384, the ninth year of Taiyuan, Murong Chui rebelled in Hebei and founded Later Yan. Soon afterward Murong Wei's younger brother Murong Hong rebelled in Guanzhong and founded Western Yan. Murong Hong demanded that Fu Jian return Murong Wei in exchange for peace, but Fu Jian refused. Fu Jian summoned Murong Wei and rebuked him. After Murong Wei repeatedly knocked his head on the ground and apologized, Fu Jian pardoned him and ordered him to write letters calling on Murong Chui, Murong Hong, and Murong Chong to submit. Murong Wei secretly sent a messenger to Murong Hong, stating that he himself was a man in an iron cage and could not return, that there was no need to worry about him, and that Murong Hong should establish the great enterprise, appoint Murong Chui as chief minister, Murong Chong as grand chancellor and Grand Marshal, and himself as General-in-Chief and Minister over the Masses with authority to make appointments. He told Murong Hong that, once news of Murong Wei's death arrived, he should proclaim himself emperor.

As Western Yan and Former Qin fought repeatedly around Chang'an, Murong Wei and Murong Su plotted to join several thousand Xianbei residents inside the city in revolt and coordinate with the Western Yan attack. Using the occasion of his son's marriage, Murong Wei planned to invite Fu Jian to his residence and kill him there. Fu Jian did not attend because of heavy rain, and the plot was exposed. Fu Jian summoned Murong Wei and Murong Su and executed both men. He also ordered the Xianbei population inside Chang'an, regardless of sex or age, to be massacred. Murong Wei died at thirty-five. Neither Western Yan nor Later Yan posthumously honored him. When Murong De later founded Southern Yan, he posthumously honored Murong Wei as Emperor You.

Murong Wei was a son of Murong Jun, Emperor Jingzhao of the Former Yan, first prince of Zhongshan and afterward made heir apparent. On Murong Jun's death the ministers meant to set up his brother Murong Ke as emperor, and Murong Ke declined, saying that with an heir established it would not be consonant with his honour to take the throne himself; so they set up Murong Wei. He took the imperial title, proclaimed an amnesty, changed the era to Jianxi, made his mother, the lady Kezuhun, empress dowager, and appointed Murong Ke grand steward and supervisor of the department of state affairs to act as the duke of Zhou had done; Murong Ping grand tutor, to assist in the government; Muyu Gen grand preceptor; Murong Chui commander of the Henan army, general of the south, pastor of Yanzhou and governor of Jingzhou with the wardenship of the southern barbarians, holding Liangguo; Sun Xi general of the west and governor of Bingzhou; Fu Yan commander of the guards, and the rest in ranks according to their service.

Murong Wei was mediocre and weak, and the affairs of state were wholly given over to Murong Ke. Muyu Gen, relying on his standing as an old servant and a man of merit, grew proud and thought lightly of his sovereign, and envied Murong Ke's holding of the government, waiting for a chance to rise. He first told Murong Ke that with the sovereign young and the empress dowager meddling in politics he should guard against such turns as those of Yang Jun and Zhuge Ke, and then urged him, once the burial was over, to depose the emperor, reduce him to a prince of the realm and take the throne himself for the endless glory of Yan. Murong Ke asked him if he were drunk and what mad words these were, reminding him of the late emperor's charge; and Muyu Gen, much frightened, begged pardon and withdrew. Murong Ke told Murong Chui of it, and Murong Chui advised putting him to death; but Murong Ke held that the late emperor was newly dead, two enemies watched for their chance, the tomb was not yet built, and the regents destroying one another would belie the hopes of near and far, and that he might be borne with a while.

Muyu Gen then plotted secretly with the left guard Muyu Gan to kill Murong Ke and Murong Ping and seize the throne. He went into the palace and told the empress dowager Kezuhun and Murong Wei that the grand steward and grand tutor were about to rebel and asked for the guards to put them down and secure the state. The empress dowager was ready to agree, but Murong Wei said that the two lords were kinsmen of the state and the late emperor's trusted ministers and would never do such a thing, and that it was perhaps the grand preceptor who meant to rebel. He had the palace attendant Huangfu Zhen and the guard commander Fu Yan seize Muyu Gen and his fellows and behead them within the palace, proclaimed an amnesty, and sent Fu Yan with twenty thousand cavalry to display force south of the Yellow River, reaching the Huai and returning, his army's name greatly feared.

Earlier the general of the south, Lü Hu, appointed by Murong Jun, had secretly been in touch with the Eastern Jin, which had given him office; after Murong Jun's death he plotted to bring Jin troops against Ye, was detected, and Murong Wei sent Murong Ke and others with fifty thousand men against him. In these years Murong Wei could still lean on Murong Ke and the other regents, and the Former Yan kept up considerable military strength.

After Murong Ke's death in 367 the government passed to Murong Ping and the empress dowager Kezuhun, who pushed Murong Chui out until he fled to the Former Qin. In 370 Fu Jian of the Former Qin sent Wang Meng and others in a great invasion; the Yan armies lost battle after battle, Ye fell, and Murong Wei was taken as he fled, and the Former Yan ended. Taken to Chang'an, he was made a president of the board by Fu Jian and enfeoffed as marquis of Xinxing; about 385, on the discovery of a plot among the Murongs to kill Fu Jian, he was put to death. His life, from a child on the throne to a captive of a fallen state, spans little more than ten years, and his case is often used to show the weak sovereigns and the quarrels of ministers and princes in the later years of the Former Yan.

During Murong Wei's reign the Former Yan took in roughly parts of the modern Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi and Henan, one of the strong commands that held the central plains after the collapse of the Later Zhao. Its strength rested on the work of two generations, Murong Huang and Murong Jun, and by the time he took the throne the quarrels of the imperial clan and the old servants had already appeared: Murong Ke held the state together as regent while Murong Ping, Muyu Gen and others each had his own designs. Within three years of Murong Ke's death the Former Yan came apart under the Former Qin's attack.

The fall was bound up especially closely with Murong Chui's going over. Murong Chui was the ablest general of the Former Yan, but suspected by Murong Ping and the empress dowager he fled west to the Former Qin, and the state lost its foremost commander. When Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin campaigned north in 369 Murong Chui had beaten him; but the next year, pressed from both the Former Qin and the Jin, the Former Yan had its capital stormed by Wang Meng's army. Of Murong Wei's lot after his capture the histories say little, and his death came of the Murong clan's plots to restore their state.

Later discussion of the rise and fall of the Former Yan commonly takes Murong Ke's death as the mark of the turn, holding that the regents who followed were unable to meet the suspicions within and the pressure of the Former Qin without, and that Murong Wei's own weakness was one element in that situation rather than the whole cause.

Major Activities

Political Activities

During Murong Wei's reign, Former Yan moved from prosperity toward decline. Early in the reign, under Murong Ke's regency, Murongyu Gen and his faction were executed after plotting against the government, stabilizing the transition of power. Externally, Former Yan continued to expand, capturing Luoyang, Xuchang, and other territories and reaching its greatest extent. After Murong Ke's death, however, Murong Wei failed to restrain Murong Ping's corruption and misgovernment, leading to deteriorating administration and collapsing military morale. According to the source text, he also failed to adopt reform proposals offered by Shen Shao and other officials.

Military Campaigns

Military operations in the first half of Murong Wei's reign depended primarily on Murong Ke. Lü Hu's rebellion was suppressed in 361; Xuchang, Xuangu, and Chen Commandery were captured in 364; and Luoyang fell in 365, with the Jin general Shen Jing killed. In 369, during Huan Wen's northern expedition, Murong Chui won Former Yan's last great military victory by defeating the Jin army at Fangtou. In 370, under Murong Ping's corrupt command, the Yan army was crushed by Wang Meng of Former Qin and the state was destroyed.

Travels and Career Path

Murong Wei's life centered chiefly on Ye and Chang'an. He resided at Ye after taking the throne and was moved to Chang'an following Former Yan's fall. During the Battle of Fei River he accompanied the army south as far as Yuncheng and returned north after the defeat. During his attempted flight to Longcheng in 370 he was captured at Gaoyang.

Relations with Contemporaries

Murong Wei was closely tied to the regents Murong Ke and Murong Ping, trusting Murong Ke in the first half of his reign and later allowing Murong Ping broad freedom. His relationship with Murong Chui deteriorated under the influence of the empress dowager and Murong Ping, contributing to Murong Chui's flight to Former Qin. His relationship with his mother, Empress Dowager Kezuhun, was complicated by her persistent political intervention. After the fall of Yan, Murong Wei entered a ruler-subject relationship with Fu Jian and was eventually killed for plotting restoration.

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Murong Huang, Emperor Wenming of Former Yan
• Father: Murong Jun, Emperor Jingzhao of Former Yan
• Mother: Lady Kezuhun, empress dowager
• Uncles: Murong Ke, Murong Chui, and Murong De, all sons of Murong Huang
• Great-uncle: Murong Ping, younger brother of Murong Huang
• Brothers: Murong Chong, Murong Hong, Murong Su, and others
• Empress: Lady Kezuhun, daughter of his maternal great-uncle Kezuhun Yi
• Grand Chancellor: Murong Ke
• Grand Tutor: Murong Ping
• Grand Preceptor: Murongyu Gen, executed
• Officials: Huangfu Zhen, Fu Yan, Yue Wan, Shen Shao, Liang Chen
• Fu Jian, ruler of Former Qin: after the conquest of Yan, made Murong Wei Marquis of Xinxing
• Wang Meng, Former Qin commander: led the campaign that destroyed Former Yan
• Murongyu Gen: plotted rebellion and was executed
• Murong Chui: became the target of suspicion and fled to Former Qin
• Fu Jian: Murong Wei plotted to kill him and was executed after the plan was exposed

Historical Assessment

Contemporary Assessments

• The Book of Jin, “Account of Murong Wei,” records Li Ji's assessment that Murong Wei “delighted in hunting and excursions and entertained his heart with strings and flutes,” criticizing his devotion to hunting and music.
• Before his death Murong Ke recommended Murong Chui to Murong Wei, saying that the Prince of Wu's abilities as a general and statesman exceeded his own tenfold, implying concern over Murong Wei's choices in appointing officials.
• After Murong Wei was captured, Fu Jian asked why he had fled instead of surrendering. Murong Wei answered with the image of the fox turning its head toward its native hill at death, and Fu Jian took pity and released him, showing a complex contemporary response to him.

Northern and Southern Dynasties through Sui and Tang

• Fang Xuanling and the other compilers of the Book of Jin wrote that Murong Wei was “mediocre and weak” and that state affairs were therefore entirely entrusted to Murong Ke.
• The Book of Jin also describes him as weak and incapable and excessively extravagant, directly criticizing his indulgence.
• Cui Hong's Spring and Autumn of the Sixteen Kingdoms lists Murong Wei among the last rulers of Former Yan and narrates the state's fall without offering a positive reassessment.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records the main events of Murong Wei's reign. In his annotation on the execution of Murongyu Gen, Hu Sansheng remarked that although Murong Wei was young and weak, he could distinguish loyal from treacherous ministers, crediting him with some judgment in that episode.
• Zhu Xi's Outline of the Comprehensive Mirror largely followed the narrative of the Comprehensive Mirror and did not rehabilitate Murong Wei's image as a ruler who lost his state.

Modern Scholarship

• Lü Simian's History of the Two Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties treats Murong Ping's corruption and Murong Wei's weakness as principal causes of Former Yan's fall and identifies Murong Chui's flight as a turning point.
• Wang Zhongluo's History of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties treats Murong Wei as a typical failed ruler of the Sixteen Kingdoms, criticizing his weakness, indulgence of powerful ministers, and ultimate loss of the state.
• Tian Yuqing's Aristocratic Politics of the Eastern Jin discusses the Former Yan political situation and notes the damaging effects of empress-dowager intervention and domination by powerful ministers during Murong Wei's reign.