courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China
China, officially the People's R ...
Boxiu (伯休), formally Duke Ai of Yangping (陽平哀公), was an official and general of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China. He was a younger brother of
Fu Jiān
Fu or FU may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
* Fool Us, Penn & Teller's magic-competition television show
*Fǔ, a type of ancient Chinese vessel
* Fu (poetry) (赋), a Chinese genre of rhymed prose
*'' FU: Friendship Unlimited'', a 2017 Mara ...
, the third emperor of the dynasty.
Early life
Fu Rong, when he was young, was known for his virtues. His uncle, the state founder
Fu Jiàn
Fu or FU may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
*Fool Us, Penn & Teller's magic-competition television show
*Fǔ, a type of ancient Chinese vessel
*Fu (poetry) (赋), a Chinese genre of rhymed prose
*'' FU: Friendship Unlimited'', a 2017 Marath ...
(note tone difference) wanted to make him the Prince of Anle. However, Fu Rong declined and although Fu Jiàn was surprised he accepted his nephew's refusal. After Fu Jiàn's death, his son and successor Fu Sheng greatly favored Fu Rong, and often had Fu Rong attend him in the palace.
After Fu Jiān overthrew the arbitrarily violent Fu Sheng in 357 and claimed the title of "Heavenly Prince" (''
Tian Wang
Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term '' Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King cons ...
''), he made Fu Rong the Duke of Yangping, and made Fu Rong one of his chief advisors. Ancient historians left behind records stating that Fu Rong was a tall and handsome gentleman, and that he was intelligent with an excellent memory, he was also physically strong, skilled at horsemanship, archery, as well as the use of
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s. They also stated that he was skillful at ruling on legal cases and in governing the state. In 359, Fu Jiān offered to make Wang Meng the prime minister, but Wang Meng initially declined and recommended Fu Rong instead. Fu Jiān refused to accept Wang's declination. Throughout the years, Fu Rong largely acted as a voice for caution, urging Fu Jiān against risky actions. For example, in 360, Fu Jiān was going to relocate some
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 t ...
tribes that had surrendered near the capital
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 ...
, but after Fu Rong argued that it was too risky to locate recently surrendered peoples near the capital, Fu Jiān relented.
Career as Fu Jiān's advisor
After Former Qin destroyed rival
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, ...
in 370, Fu Jiān initially put Wang Meng in charge of the six provinces that Former Yan possessed, as
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
, but in 372 he recalled Wang to again be prime minister, and made Fu Rong the viceroy of the six provinces. Although he was away from the capital, he urged Fu Jiān not to incorporate so many Xianbei officials (particularly those from Former Yan's imperial
Murong
Murong (; LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the MongolsТаски ...
clan) into his own government, a suggestion Fu Jiān did not accept. Indeed, from this point on, although it was clear that Fu Jiān still trusted his brother deeply, he rarely listened to Fu Rong's cautionary suggestions.
In 379, while Fu Jiān's son
Fu Pi
Fu Pi (; died 386), courtesy name Yongshu (永叔), formally Emperor Aiping of (Former) Qin ((前)秦哀平帝), was an emperor of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China. He was Fu Jiān's oldest son, although not his crown prince, and after F ...
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The pr ...
), Fu Jiān had initially ordered Fu Rong to mobilize the six eastern provinces and meet him personally at Xiangyang, but at Fu Rong's urgings (that it would be overly costly to mobilize so many troops for the battle at Xiangyang), Fu Jiān cancelled the order.
In 380, when his cousin Fu Luo (苻洛) the Duke of Xingtang rebelled in You Province (幽州, modern
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
, and northern
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...
), Fu Rong was the supreme commander of the forces attacking Fu Luo, although he did not personally engage Fu Luo before the general Lü Guang defeated and captured Fu Luo. Later that year, Fu Jiān recalled Fu Rong to serve as a prime minister, replacing Wang Meng, who had died in 375. Fu Pi took over as viceroy of the six provinces.
In 382, Fu Rong urged against a campaign that Fu Jiān launched, under Lü's command, against the Xiyu kingdoms, but Fu Jiān did not listen to him.
Battle of Fei River
Late that year, Fu Jiān resolved to attack Jin, hoping to destroy and unite China. Most officials were opposed. He summoned Fu Rong to a private conversation, hoping that Fu Rong would support it, but Fu Rong, citing Wang's urging against it on his deathbed, opposed—arguing that it would be a dangerous venture and that what Fu Jiān truly had to look out for were the Xianbei and Qiang generals who might rebel. Fu Jiān did not listen to him, but instead put him in charge of commanding the invasion force against Jin. In 383, the campaign was launched, as Fu Rong led some 300,000 men and headed toward the Jin city of Shouyang (壽陽, in modern
Lu'an
Lu'an (), is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, it had a total population of 4,393,699 inhabitants whom 1,752,537 liv ...
,
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
), capturing it with relative ease. Fu Jiān soon joined him personally, and they prepared further movements. However, Jin forces, commanded by Xie Shi (謝石), dealt Fu Rong's forward troops minor defeats, and the morale dropped. Eventually, the armies were stalemated across the Fei River (which no longer exists but probably flowed through Lu'an, near the
Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east ...
), Former Qin forces to the west and Jin forces to the east.
The Jin general
Xie Xuan
Xie Xuan (謝玄) (343–388), courtesy name Youdu (幼度), formally Duke Xianwu of Kangle (康樂獻武公), was a Jin Dynasty (266–420) general who is best known for repelling the Former Qin army at the Battle of Fei River, preventing the Fo ...
sent a message to Fu Rong, suggesting that the Former Qin forces retreat slightly to allow Jin forces to cross the Fei River, so that the armies could engage. Fu Jiān overruled the generals' reluctance for the plan, wanting to attack Jin forces as they were crossing the river, and Fu Rong agreed, ordering a retreat. However, the Former Qin forces fell into a panic while retreating, and Jin forces attacked. Fu Rong tried to personally calm the troops, but as he was doing so, his horse suddenly fell, and he was killed by Jin forces. His death brought further panic to the Former Qin forces, and it entirely collapsed. Former Qin would not able to restart its attack against Jin, and a chain of events eventually led to its near destruction in 385.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fu, Rong
Former Qin generalsFormer Qin prime ministers4th-century births383 deathsSixteen Kingdoms people killed in battles