Murong Yi

Murong Yi (; died 386) was a

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

-led Chinese Western Yan dynasty. He was a son of the

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

Prince of Yidu, Murong Huan (慕容桓), a son of the founder of Former Yan,

Murong Huang Murong Huang (; 297–348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), formally Prince Wenming of (Former) Yan ((前)燕文明王) was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When he first succeeded his father Murong Hui in 3 ...

. In 386, after the temporary ruler

Duan Sui Duan Sui (; died 386) was a Chinese sovereign, monarch of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Yan, Western Yan dynasty. He was the only ruler of the short-lived state who was not a member of the Murong clan, the imperial clan of the Western Yan. He ...

was ambushed and killed by Murong Heng (慕容恆) and

Murong Yong Murong Yong (; died 394), courtesy name Shuming (叔明), was the last emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Yan dynasty. He was the grandson of Murong Yun (慕容運), the uncle of Former Yan's founder Murong Huang. As a member of Former ...

, they supported Murong Yi as the Prince of Yan. The Western Yan people—400,000 men and women—then abandoned

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

, which had been the

Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...

capital but had been captured by the prior Western Yan ruler

Murong Chong Murong Chong (; 359–386), formally Emperor Wei of (Western) Yan ((西)燕威帝), was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei. It ...

-- to head back to their homeland in the east. While on the journey, however, Murong Heng's brother Murong Tao (慕容韜) killed Murong Yi at Linjin (臨晉, in modern

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

). He was replaced by Murong Chong's son

Murong Yao Murong Yao (; died 386), also known as Murong Wang (慕容望), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Western Yan dynasty of China. He was the son of Murong Chong (Emperor Wei), the son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun. Murong Chong was killed i ...

. Western Yan rulers 386 deaths Year of birth unknown {{China-royal-stub