Fan Ben (; died 349), was a politician and emperor of the Cheng-Han dynasty during the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

. He was the son of

Fan Changsheng Fan Changsheng (范長生 fàn chángshēng) (died 318) was a Taoist priest and leader who was instrumental in the establishment of the Cheng Han state during the Sixteen Kingdoms era in China. He led a Taoist community of over one thousand families ...

, and after the fall Cheng-Han to the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

in 347, he led a restoration of the state, briefly ruling over it before his defeat and death in 349. Despite proclaiming himself emperor, most, if not all, historians do not acknowledge his reign and consider

Li Shi Li Shi or Lishi may refer to: * Lishi (理事; "Noumenon and Phenomenon"), a Zen Buddhist concept, see Five Ranks#Interplay of Absolute and Relative People * Li Shi (emperor) (died 361), emperor of Cheng Han * Lishi (Three Kingdoms) (李氏, ...

as the last true ruler of Cheng-Han.

Life

Fan Ben's family was from Danxing County (丹興縣; in present-day

Qianjiang District Qianjiang District (), formerly Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, is a district (formerly an autonomous county), in the southeastern part of Chongqing, China, bordering Hubei province to the east and northeast. While it is governed as a d ...

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

) in Fuling Commandery (涪陵郡). His father, Fan Changsheng, was a famous

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

leader who supported the Ba-Di rebel,

Li Xiong Li Xiong (李雄) (274–334), courtesy name Zhongjuan (仲雋), formally Emperor Wu of Cheng (Han) (成(漢)武帝), was the first emperor of the Di-led Chinese Cheng Han dynasty and commonly regarded as its founder (although some historians ...

, in forming the state of Cheng-Han in 304. Li Xiong showed him great favour and appointed him Prime Minister. Fan Ben also served in Cheng-Han's government as a Palace Attendant. After Changsheng's death in 318, his office was inherited by Fan Ben. In 347, the Jin general,

Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓� ...

, conquered Cheng-Han and received the emperor, Li Shi's surrender. However, some remnants of Cheng-Han continued to resist Jin despite their takeover. In May 347, after Huan Wen left

Yi province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

, the rebel generals, Deng Ding (鄧定) and Kui Wen (隗文), captured

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. Due to Changsheng's immense reputation in the region, they proclaimed Fan Ben as their leader. According to historical records, he supposedly tricked many people of Shu into joining them through the use of the occult and mysticism. Fan Ben's rule lasted until 349. In the summer of that year, Jin's Inspector of Yizhou,

Zhou Fu Zhou Fu (, also romanised as Chow Fuh; (道光十七年十一月二十三日 in Chinese calendar) December 20, 1837 – (九月二十一 in Chinese calendar) October 21, 1921) was a Han Chinese official of the Qing dynasty. He was Viceroy of L ...

and the general, Zhu Dao (朱燾) campaigned against him. They were able to kill him and restore order to the province.(夏，四月，益州刺史周撫、龍驤將軍朱燾出範賁，斬之，益州平。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.98

References

* Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'' * Cui, Hong (501-522). ''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'' () is a Chinese biographical historical work of the Sixteen Kingdoms compiled by the Northern Wei official Cui Hong between 501 and 52 ...

'' (''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Ben Cheng Han emperors Jin dynasty (266–420) rebels 349 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) people killed in action