Murong Yao (; died 386), also known as Murong Wang (慕容望), was an

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

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 th ...

-led Western Yan dynasty of China. He was the son of

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 ...

(Emperor Wei), the 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 ...

emperor

Murong Jun Murong Jun (; 319–360), courtesy name Xuanying (宣英), formally Emperor Jingzhao of (Former) Yan ((前)燕景昭帝), was an emperor of the Former Yan. He was the dynasty's second ruler, but after first using the Jin dynasty-created title o ...

. Murong Chong was killed in 386 by his general Han Yan (韓延) after he, against his people's desire to return to their homeland, wanted to settle in

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 ...

. Two intervening brief reigns by

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 ...

and Murong Yi took place, but after Murong Tao (慕容韜) killed Murong Yi, Murong Tao's brother Murong Heng (慕容恆), who did not approve of Murong Tao's actions, supported Murong Yao as emperor. However, the people did not favor Murong Yao and abandoned him in favor of the general

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 ...

, who then killed Murong Yao in a coup and replaced him with Murong Zhong, the son of Western Yan's founder Murong Hong the Prince of Jibei.

References

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