Murong Ping
Encyclopedia
Murong Ping was a regent
of the Chinese
/Xianbei
state Former Yan
during the reign of Murong Wei
(Emperor You), after the death of the previous, far more capable regent Murong Ke
. He, along with Murong Wei's mother Empress Dowager Kezuhun
, is often blamed for Former Yan's decline and fall.
vassal, the Xianbei
chief Murong Hui
(慕容廆), the father of Former Yan's founder Murong Huang
. Although historical records do not give his age, it was probably close in range to Murong Jun
, Murong Huang's heir apparent
. (This is corroborated in that his grandnephew Murong Wei
, at one point, referred to him as an uncle rather than a granduncle, perhaps out of confusion in his young age.) It is not known who his mother was.
The first reference to him in history was in 339
, when he was mentioned as one of Murong Huang's generals (along with another brother, Murong Jun (慕容軍, note different tone and character than his nephew who would later inherit the throne), Muyu Gen (慕輿根), and Muyu Ni (慕輿泥)) who conducted a successful raid against Later Zhao
's border region.
, Murong Huang died, and was succeeded by his son Murong Jun
, who was then still using the Jin-created title Prince of Yan. In 349
, Later Zhao's emperor Shi Hu
died, and his state soon fell into internectine wars between his sons and his adoptive grandson Shi Min. Murong Jun therefore decided to advance south. In Murong Jun's campaigns over the next few years, which saw him seize much of Later Zhao's territory and capture Shi Min (who had by then changed him name to Ran Min, to the family name that his father had before his adoption by Shi Hu) and destroy his short-lived state Ran Wei, Murong Ping served as a major general. Murong Ping led the army that sieged Ran Wei's capital Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan
, Hebei
), after Ran Min's capture, in 352
, against Ran Min's wife Empress Dong
and son Ran Zhi
, and the city fell to him, formally ending Ran Wei. He was put in charge of Yecheng's defenses. In 354
, Murong Jun, who had by now completely broken from Jin and claimed imperial title, put him in charge of military operations in the Luoyang
region (although Former Yan would not be able to capture Luoyang at this time) and also created him the Prince of Shangyong. Over the next few years, Murong Ping would be involved in leading armies against various former Later Zhao generals who were still trying to maintain independence and vacillating between Former Yan, Former Qin
, and Jin. His campaigns were of mixed successes and failures.
In 360
, Murong Jun grew seriously ill, and he commissioned his capable brother Murong Ke
as regent for his son Murong Wei
. Murong Ping, Yang Mu (陽鞪), and Muyu Gen were to serve as Murong Ke's assistants. Murong Jun soon died, and Murong Wei succeeded him.
Murong Ke and Murong Ping were planning a rebellion. Empress Dowager Kezuhun believed Muyu, but the young emperor did not and refused to authorize his actions. Murong Ke soon found out and, after consulting with Murong Ping, executed Muyu and his clan.
Murong Ke was clearly the regent at this point, but he consulted Murong Ping on all major decisions. His regency was considered a successful one, as he governed the empire with efficiency while expanding its borders southward, at Jin's expense. Murong Ping's role in this success is unclear. In 361
, the magician Ding Jin (丁進), whom Murong Wei trusted, tried to flatter Murong Ke by suggesting to him to kill Murong Ping, but Murong Ke became angry and executed Ding.
In 366
, both Murong Ke and Murong Ping offered to resign their posts and return all of their authorities to Murong Wei. Murong Wei declined.
In 367
, Murong Ke grew ill. He tried to persuade Murong Ping, Murong Wei, and Murong Wei's older brother Murong Zang (慕容臧) the Prince of Le'an that one of his main responsibilities, as the commander of the armies, should be transferred to Murong Chui
the Prince of Wu, his brother, as he saw Murong Chui as a capable general, but after Murong Ke died later that year, Murong Ping declined to do so, and instead gave that post to Murong Wei's younger brother Murong Chong
the Prince of Zhongshan. Murong Ping himself assumed the regency and held power in conjunction with Empress Dowager Kezuhun.
, when four of Former Qin's dukes rebelled against the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān
, they sought help from Former Yan. Many officials, including Murong Jun's brother Murong De
the Prince of Fanyang, saw this as a perfect opportunity to conquer Former Qin, but Murong Ping declined to take any actions against Former Qin, so Former Qin forces crushed the four rebel dukes.
In 368 as well, the key official Yue Wan (悅綰), concerned about the growing corrupt practice by noble families of putting commoners into their fiefs—a practice that would mean that those commoners were only responsible to them, not responsible for paying taxes to the empire, leading to the empire's treasury being so lacking that it was unable to pay its officials—petitioned Murong Wei for a reform ending the practice. Murong Wei approved the reform and put Yue in charge of it, and Yue restored over 200,000 people to the tax-paying ranks. The nobles were all resentful of Yue, who died later in 368—and while most historians believed that he died of natural causes, having been already ill previously — the Book of Jin
stated that he was poisoned by Murong Ping, who had much to lose from Yue's reform.
In 369
, the Jin general Huan Wen
launched a major attack against Former Yan, defeating every army that Murong Ping sent against him, including the most major one commanded by Murong Zang, advancing to the vicinity of Yecheng, by now Former Yan's capital. In panic, Murong Ping and Murong Wei considered fleeing to the old capital Helong (和龍, in modern Jinzhou
, Liaoning
). Murong Chui, whose authority had been curtailed by Murong Ping previously, offered to make one last try to resist. Meanwhile, Murong Ping also sent messengers to Former Qin, requesting assistance—offering to cede to Former Qin the Luoyang region, which Murong Ke had captured in 365
if Former Qin would assist. Murong Chui, along with Murong De, were able to deal Huan a major defeat, and Former Qin forces soon arrived and dealt Huan another defeat. Huan would not be able to launch a major attack against Former Yan again.
However, Murong Ping and Empress Dowager Kezuhun soon engaged in two damaging decisions. Still resentful of Murong Chui (whose wife was her sister but whom he did not favor), Empress Dowager Kezuhun denied him and his soldiers rewards and in fact considered killing him, a decision that Murong Ping concurred in because he was also apprehensive of Murong Chui. Murong Chui, hearing the news, fled to Former Qin and became a general for Fu Jiān. They also refused to cede the Luoyang region to Former Qin, as previously promised. In anger, late in 369, Fu Jian sent a 60,000-men force, commanded by his prime minister Wang Meng, against Former Yan.
In spring 370, Wang first advanced on Luoyang and forced its surrender. He then advanced on Hu Pass (壺關, in modern Changzhi
, Shanxi
), defeating all Former Yan resistance on the way. He then captured Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan
, Shanxi
). Murong Ping led a 300,000-men strong force against Wang, but apprehensive of Wang, he stopped at Lu River (潞川, in modern Changzhi as well). Wang soon arrived to prepare to face off against him. Meanwhile, Murong Ping made the worst display of his corruption at this time—keeping guards at forests and streams, disallowing commoners and even his own soldiers from cutting firewood or fishing unless they paid a usage fee in either money or silk. He soon had a stash of wealth, but completely lost the morale of his soldiers. Murong Wei, hearing this, sent a messenger to rebuke him and ordering him to distribute the wealth to the soldiers, but the damage was done. In winter 370, the armies engaged, and despite the numerical advantage that Murong Ping had, Wang crushed him, and Murong Ping fled back to Yecheng by himself. Murong Wei abandoned Yecheng and tried to flee to Helong, but was captured on the way, ending Former Yan. Murong Ping fled to Goguryeo
, which, however, arrested him and delivered him back to Former Qin. Fu Jiān pardoned him and made him an imperial assistant. In 372
, Murong Chui told Fu Jiān that Murong Ping was the cause of Former Yan's destruction and should be killed; instead Fu Jiān effectively exiled Murong Ping by making him a governor of a remote commandery. This was the last historical record of him, and it is not known when or how he died.
When Murong Chui restored the regime as Later Yan
, Murong Yi (慕容懿), grandson of Murong Ping, succeeded his title as Duke of Shangyong.
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
/Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
state Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity 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, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
during the reign of Murong Wei
Murong Wei
Murong Wei , courtesy name Jingmao , formally Emperor You of Yan was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
(Emperor You), after the death of the previous, far more capable regent Murong Ke
Murong Ke
Murong Ke , courtesy name Xuangong , formally Prince Huan of Taiyuan , was a famed general and statesman of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
. He, along with Murong Wei's mother Empress Dowager Kezuhun
Empress Kezuhun (Jingzhao)
Empress Kezuhun was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan. Her husband was Murong Jun .-During Murong Jun's reign:...
, is often blamed for Former Yan's decline and fall.
Early life
Murong Ping was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, sons of the JinJìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
vassal, the Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
chief Murong Hui
Murong Hui
Murong Hui , Xianbei chief and Duke Xiang of Liaodong, posthumously honored as Prince Wuxuan of Yan.Murong Hui had initially been a Xianbei chief who fought Jin forces during the late reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, Jin's founding emperor, but he submitted as a Jin vassal in 289...
(慕容廆), the father of Former Yan's founder Murong Huang
Murong Huang
Murong Huang , courtesy name Yuanzhen , formally Prince Wenming of Yan was a ruler of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan and the commonly recognized founder of the state...
. Although historical records do not give his age, it was probably close in range to Murong Jun
Murong Jun
Murong Jun , courtesy name Xuanying , formally Emperor Jingzhao of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese state Former Yan...
, Murong Huang's heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
. (This is corroborated in that his grandnephew Murong Wei
Murong Wei
Murong Wei , courtesy name Jingmao , formally Emperor You of Yan was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
, at one point, referred to him as an uncle rather than a granduncle, perhaps out of confusion in his young age.) It is not known who his mother was.
The first reference to him in history was in 339
339
Year 339 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius...
, when he was mentioned as one of Murong Huang's generals (along with another brother, Murong Jun (慕容軍, note different tone and character than his nephew who would later inherit the throne), Muyu Gen (慕輿根), and Muyu Ni (慕輿泥)) who conducted a successful raid against Later Zhao
Later Zhao
The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity...
's border region.
During Murong Jun's reign
In 348348
Year 348 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Salia...
, Murong Huang died, and was succeeded by his son Murong Jun
Murong Jun
Murong Jun , courtesy name Xuanying , formally Emperor Jingzhao of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese state Former Yan...
, who was then still using the Jin-created title Prince of Yan. In 349
349
Year 349 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Limenius and Catullinus...
, Later Zhao's emperor Shi Hu
Shi Hu
Shi Hu , courtesy name Jilong , formally Emperor Wu of Zhao , was an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao...
died, and his state soon fell into internectine wars between his sons and his adoptive grandson Shi Min. Murong Jun therefore decided to advance south. In Murong Jun's campaigns over the next few years, which saw him seize much of Later Zhao's territory and capture Shi Min (who had by then changed him name to Ran Min, to the family name that his father had before his adoption by Shi Hu) and destroy his short-lived state Ran Wei, Murong Ping served as a major general. Murong Ping led the army that sieged Ran Wei's capital Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), after Ran Min's capture, in 352
352
Year 352 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Decentius and Paulus...
, against Ran Min's wife Empress Dong
Empress Dong (Ran Min)
Empress Dong was the only empress of the short-lived Chinese state Ran Wei. Her husband was its only emperor, Ran Min. When he proclaimed the new state in 350 after overthrowing the Later Zhao emperor Shi Jian and declared himself emperor, he created her empress and created her oldest son Ran...
and son Ran Zhi
Ran Zhi
Ran Zhi was a crown prince of the short-lived Chinese state Ran Wei. His father was the state's only emperor, Ran Min.Ran Zhi, as Ran Min's oldest son, was created crown prince when he proclaimed the new state in 350 after overthrowing the Later Zhao emperor Shi Jian and declared himself...
, and the city fell to him, formally ending Ran Wei. He was put in charge of Yecheng's defenses. In 354
354
Year 354 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constantius...
, Murong Jun, who had by now completely broken from Jin and claimed imperial title, put him in charge of military operations in the Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
region (although Former Yan would not be able to capture Luoyang at this time) and also created him the Prince of Shangyong. Over the next few years, Murong Ping would be involved in leading armies against various former Later Zhao generals who were still trying to maintain independence and vacillating between Former Yan, Former Qin
Former Qin
The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...
, and Jin. His campaigns were of mixed successes and failures.
In 360
360
Year 360 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Iulianus...
, Murong Jun grew seriously ill, and he commissioned his capable brother Murong Ke
Murong Ke
Murong Ke , courtesy name Xuangong , formally Prince Huan of Taiyuan , was a famed general and statesman of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
as regent for his son Murong Wei
Murong Wei
Murong Wei , courtesy name Jingmao , formally Emperor You of Yan was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
. Murong Ping, Yang Mu (陽鞪), and Muyu Gen were to serve as Murong Ke's assistants. Murong Jun soon died, and Murong Wei succeeded him.
During Murong Ke's regency
Muyu Gen, a more senior official than Murong Ke or Murong Ping, was unwilling to submit to Murong Ke, and he falsely told the young emperor and his mother Empress Dowager KezuhunEmpress Kezuhun (Jingzhao)
Empress Kezuhun was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan. Her husband was Murong Jun .-During Murong Jun's reign:...
Murong Ke and Murong Ping were planning a rebellion. Empress Dowager Kezuhun believed Muyu, but the young emperor did not and refused to authorize his actions. Murong Ke soon found out and, after consulting with Murong Ping, executed Muyu and his clan.
Murong Ke was clearly the regent at this point, but he consulted Murong Ping on all major decisions. His regency was considered a successful one, as he governed the empire with efficiency while expanding its borders southward, at Jin's expense. Murong Ping's role in this success is unclear. In 361
361
Year 361 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Taurus and Florentius...
, the magician Ding Jin (丁進), whom Murong Wei trusted, tried to flatter Murong Ke by suggesting to him to kill Murong Ping, but Murong Ke became angry and executed Ding.
In 366
366
Year 366 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratianus and Dagalaifus...
, both Murong Ke and Murong Ping offered to resign their posts and return all of their authorities to Murong Wei. Murong Wei declined.
In 367
367
Year 367 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lupicinus and Iovanus...
, Murong Ke grew ill. He tried to persuade Murong Ping, Murong Wei, and Murong Wei's older brother Murong Zang (慕容臧) the Prince of Le'an that one of his main responsibilities, as the commander of the armies, should be transferred to Murong Chui
Murong Chui
Murong Chui , courtesy name Daoming , formally Emperor Wucheng of Yan was a great general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan who later became the founding emperor of Later Yan...
the Prince of Wu, his brother, as he saw Murong Chui as a capable general, but after Murong Ke died later that year, Murong Ping declined to do so, and instead gave that post to Murong Wei's younger brother Murong Chong
Murong Chong
Murong Chong , formally Emperor Wei of Yan , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Yan. He was a son of the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun and a younger brother of Former Yan emperor Murong Wei....
the Prince of Zhongshan. Murong Ping himself assumed the regency and held power in conjunction with Empress Dowager Kezuhun.
Regency
Murong Ping, while apparently having military abilities, was incompetent and corrupt as a regent. In 368368
Year 368 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...
, when four of Former Qin's dukes rebelled against the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān
Fu Jian
Fu Jian may refer to:* Fú Jiàn , founding emperor of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Jingming* Fú Jiān , ruler of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Xuanzhao-See also:...
, they sought help from Former Yan. Many officials, including Murong Jun's brother Murong De
Murong De
Murong De , name changed in 400 to Murong Beide , courtesy name Xuanming , formally Emperor Xianwu of Yan , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Southern Yan...
the Prince of Fanyang, saw this as a perfect opportunity to conquer Former Qin, but Murong Ping declined to take any actions against Former Qin, so Former Qin forces crushed the four rebel dukes.
In 368 as well, the key official Yue Wan (悅綰), concerned about the growing corrupt practice by noble families of putting commoners into their fiefs—a practice that would mean that those commoners were only responsible to them, not responsible for paying taxes to the empire, leading to the empire's treasury being so lacking that it was unable to pay its officials—petitioned Murong Wei for a reform ending the practice. Murong Wei approved the reform and put Yue in charge of it, and Yue restored over 200,000 people to the tax-paying ranks. The nobles were all resentful of Yue, who died later in 368—and while most historians believed that he died of natural causes, having been already ill previously — the Book of Jin
Book of Jin
The Book of Jin is one of the official Chinese historical works. It covers the history of Jin Dynasty from 265 to 420, which written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Tang Dynasty, with the lead editor being the Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, drawing mostly from the official...
stated that he was poisoned by Murong Ping, who had much to lose from Yue's reform.
In 369
369
Year 369 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Galates and Victor...
, the Jin general Huan Wen
Huan Wen
Huan Wen , courtesy name Yuanzi , formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery , was a general of the Jin Dynasty...
launched a major attack against Former Yan, defeating every army that Murong Ping sent against him, including the most major one commanded by Murong Zang, advancing to the vicinity of Yecheng, by now Former Yan's capital. In panic, Murong Ping and Murong Wei considered fleeing to the old capital Helong (和龍, in modern Jinzhou
Jinzhou
Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
). Murong Chui, whose authority had been curtailed by Murong Ping previously, offered to make one last try to resist. Meanwhile, Murong Ping also sent messengers to Former Qin, requesting assistance—offering to cede to Former Qin the Luoyang region, which Murong Ke had captured in 365
365
Year 365 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...
if Former Qin would assist. Murong Chui, along with Murong De, were able to deal Huan a major defeat, and Former Qin forces soon arrived and dealt Huan another defeat. Huan would not be able to launch a major attack against Former Yan again.
However, Murong Ping and Empress Dowager Kezuhun soon engaged in two damaging decisions. Still resentful of Murong Chui (whose wife was her sister but whom he did not favor), Empress Dowager Kezuhun denied him and his soldiers rewards and in fact considered killing him, a decision that Murong Ping concurred in because he was also apprehensive of Murong Chui. Murong Chui, hearing the news, fled to Former Qin and became a general for Fu Jiān. They also refused to cede the Luoyang region to Former Qin, as previously promised. In anger, late in 369, Fu Jian sent a 60,000-men force, commanded by his prime minister Wang Meng, against Former Yan.
In spring 370, Wang first advanced on Luoyang and forced its surrender. He then advanced on Hu Pass (壺關, in modern Changzhi
Changzhi
Changzhi is a prefecture-level city in Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. It lies between the city of Huozhou in Shanxi and the city of Hebi in Henan....
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
), defeating all Former Yan resistance on the way. He then captured Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
). Murong Ping led a 300,000-men strong force against Wang, but apprehensive of Wang, he stopped at Lu River (潞川, in modern Changzhi as well). Wang soon arrived to prepare to face off against him. Meanwhile, Murong Ping made the worst display of his corruption at this time—keeping guards at forests and streams, disallowing commoners and even his own soldiers from cutting firewood or fishing unless they paid a usage fee in either money or silk. He soon had a stash of wealth, but completely lost the morale of his soldiers. Murong Wei, hearing this, sent a messenger to rebuke him and ordering him to distribute the wealth to the soldiers, but the damage was done. In winter 370, the armies engaged, and despite the numerical advantage that Murong Ping had, Wang crushed him, and Murong Ping fled back to Yecheng by himself. Murong Wei abandoned Yecheng and tried to flee to Helong, but was captured on the way, ending Former Yan. Murong Ping fled to Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, which, however, arrested him and delivered him back to Former Qin. Fu Jiān pardoned him and made him an imperial assistant. In 372
372
Year 372 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Arintheus...
, Murong Chui told Fu Jiān that Murong Ping was the cause of Former Yan's destruction and should be killed; instead Fu Jiān effectively exiled Murong Ping by making him a governor of a remote commandery. This was the last historical record of him, and it is not known when or how he died.
When Murong Chui restored the regime as Later Yan
Later Yan
The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
, Murong Yi (慕容懿), grandson of Murong Ping, succeeded his title as Duke of Shangyong.