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57-645: Before the Yan conquest, the area was inhabited by the Donghu people , Shanrong , and Gija Joseon . In 300 BC, the Yan general Qin Kai established Liaodong Commandery , with Xiangping as its capital. The Yan subsequently constructed its Great Wall , and Xiangping was the eastern terminus. During the reign of King Zhao of Yan , Qin Kai was sent to the Donghu as a hostage, and was deeply trusted by

114-619: A Liaodong native and former governor of Liaodong, declared himself the Marquis of Liaodong and governor of the newly established Pingzhou. Gongsun Du divided the Liaodong Commandery into three, establishing the Liangdong (辽东), Zhongliao (中辽), and Liaoxi (辽西) Commandaries. The newly established Liaodong Commandery contained 8 counties, including Xiangping, Jujiu (居就), and Anshi (安市) counties. Gongsun Du's grandson Gongsun Yuan (公孙渊) declared himself

171-448: A force of around 90,000 strong on a punitive expedition against Wei, but the campaign ended in disaster as the Yan was heavily routed at the Battle of Canhe Slope , with Bao barely escaping with his life. In 396, Murong Chui personally led a campaign against Wei, but despite early success, became extremely ill and was forced to withdraw. He soon died and was succeeded by Murong Bao. Bao's rule

228-423: A joint expedition against Qi. Led by the brilliant tactician Yue Yi , it was highly successful and within a year most of Qi's seventy walled cities had fallen, with the exception of Zimu and Lu. However, with the death of King Zhao and the expulsion of Yue Yi to Zhao by the new king, King Wei of Yan, General Tian Dan managed to recapture all of the cities from the 5 kingdoms. Despite the wars, Yan survived through

285-593: A largely common culture. In the Yu Gong (Tribute of Yu), a section of the Book of Documents which was most likely composed in the 4th century BC, the author describes a China that is divided into nine regions, each with its own distinctive culture and products. The core theme of this section is that these nine regions are unified into one state by the travels of the eponymous sage, Yu the Great and by sending each region's unique goods to

342-498: A massive retaliatory attack into Goguryeo territory, laying siege to Yodong fortress. The fortresses' defenders refused to surrender and successfully held off the Sui army. Frustrated by the invasion's lack of progress, one third of the Sui army disengaged itself from the siege and marched on the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang. The Sui army would later be destroyed at the pivotal Battle of Salsu ;

399-796: A sincere and straightforward people. They act prudently, love courage and esteem righteousness while rarely employing deception. Thus they excel in defensive positions, but are immobile and inflexible. To defeat them, immediately apply pressure with small attacks and retreat rapidly. When they turn to face our attacks, we should keep a distance. Attack the rear as well where and when they least expect it. When they withdraw to face another threat, chase them. This will confuse their generals and create anxiety in their ranks. If we avoid conflict against their strong points and use our armored chariots to set ambushes, we can capture their generals and ensure victory.(燕性愨，其民慎，好勇義，寡詐謀，故守而不走。擊此之道，觸而迫之，凌而遠之，馳而後之，則上疑而下懼，謹我車騎必避之路，其將可虜) Later Yan Yan , known in historiography as

456-432: Is represented by the star Zeta Capricorni in the "Twelve States" asterism , part of the lunar mansion " Girl " in the " Black Tortoise " symbol . Yan is also represented by the star Nu Ophiuchi in the "Left Wall" asterism in the "Heavenly Market" enclosure . Before the state of Qin unified China in 221 BC, each region had its own unique customs and culture, although all were dominated by an upper class that shared

513-590: The Central Plains and consolidated their rule over captured territory. When a rebellion broke out near the Wei capital, Gui negotiated peace, but Bao refused to accept it. He attacked the Wei army as they prepare to retreat, but the Yan army was severely defeated at the Battle of Baisi . After the loss at Baisi, Bao's brother, Murong Lin started a coup in Zhongshan but failed and escaped the city. Worried that Lin may occupy

570-495: The Han dynasty during the war between Han and Chu in order to keep his title, but once the war was finished he revolted. Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han ) sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to put down the rebellion, and they captured and executed Zang Tu. His son Zang Yan fled to exile among the Xiongnu . Lu Wan became the new King of Yan and reigned there for most of Liu Bang's life, until

627-481: The Khitan and Goguryeo. However, he was largely unsuccessful in his campaigns, even losing Liaodong to Goguryeo in 404. Taking advantage of Fu Xunying's funeral in 407, Murong Bao's adopted son, Murong Yun , launched a coup and killed Murong Xi. Murong Yun was originally named Gao Yun and a descendant of the Goguryeo royal family. Upon ascending, he changed his name back to Gao Yun. Depending on one's interpretation, he

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684-713: The King of Yan in 237 AD, but was killed during Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign the next year. Sima Yi ordered all of Gongsun Yuan's officials to be killed, and all men aged 15 and above in Xiangping to be massacred. Over 10,000 bodies were stacked in a mound to terrorise the locals. With the Kingdom of Yan vanquished, the Kingdom of Wei merged Pingzhou with Youzhou, and set the capital of Liaodong Commandery at Xiangping, governing over 9 counties. The important new martial position of Dongyi Jiaowei (东夷校尉)

741-481: The Kumo Xi and Goguryeo but was also very strict and suspicious of his own officials. In 401, he was killed during a coup, and his uncle Murong Xi replaced him as Heavenly King . Murong Xi is described in records as a remarkably cruel and wasteful ruler, acting on the whims of his lovers, the sisters Fu Song'e and Fu Xunying . Xi engaged in several costly construction projects and launched repeated campaigns against

798-599: The Later Yan ( simplified Chinese : 后燕 ; traditional Chinese : 後燕 ; pinyin : Hòu Yān ; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms . The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and other Yan states from the period. Historiographers also consider the Former Yan and Later Yan as separate states despite both being ruled by

855-554: The Northern Wei invasion in 396, they were reduced to Liaoning and parts of northeastern Hebei, where they made Longcheng their new capital. Their territory was further reduced during their war with Goguryeo as they lost the Liaodong Peninsula . The Later Yan rulers initially declared themselves "emperors", but towards the end they adopted the lesser title of " Tiān Wáng" ( Heavenly King ). Some historians consider Murong Xi

912-641: The Qin dynasty . In 207 BC, the Qin dynasty collapsed and China resumed a state of civil war . King Wu Chen of Zhao eventually sent General Han Guang to conquer Yan for Zhao, but upon his conquest, Han Guang appointed himself King of Yan. Han Guang had sent General Zang Tu to assist Xiang Yu , the king of Chu , in his war against Qin. When Zang Tu returned, Han Guang was ordered to become King of Liaodong instead. When Han Guang refused, Zang Tu killed him and declared himself King of both Yan and Liaodong. Zang Tu submitted Yan to

969-565: The Warring States period from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, Yan was one of the last states to be conquered by the armies of Qin Shihuang : Yan fell in 222 BC, the year before the declaration of the Qin Empire . Yan experienced a brief period of independence after the collapse of the Qin dynasty in 207 BC, but it was eventually absorbed by the victorious Han . During its height, Yan stretched from

1026-570: The Xianbei leader Murong Huang seized Xiangping. Later on, he would declare himself the King of Yan of the Former Yan Dynasty. In 380 AD, Former Yan was destroyed by Former Qin , and Liaodong was seized. In 384 AD, Murong Chui established the kingdom of Later Yan . In 404 AD, the Goguryeo seized Liaodong, and renamed Xiangping to Liaodong/Yodong. The name of Xiangping was never used again. Most of Later Yan 's lands were annexed by Goguryeo, and

1083-680: The Yellow River to the Yalu River and from the mountains of Shanxi to the Liaodong Peninsula . As the northernmost of all the Chinese states during this time period, Yan faced incursions from steppe nomads and as such, built great walls. According to Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian , King Wu of Zhou deposed King Zhou of Shang at the Battle of Muye ( c.  1046 BC ) and conferred titles to nobles within his domain, including

1140-601: The Zhai Wei state at Huatai (滑台, in modern Anyang , Henan ) in 388. Rebellions frequently broke out in Yan territory, and the Yan was in a constant state of warfare. In 392, Murong Chui campaigned against and destroyed Zhai Wei. In 394, seeking to establish Later Yan as Former Yan's true successor, Chui began a campaign to conquer Western Yan. He captured the Western Yan capital and executed Murong Yong, annexing Shanxi for Later Yan. Then, he sent his generals to capture Shandong from

1197-521: The Donghu people. When Qin Kai returned to Yan, he raised a force and decimated the Donghu, and per the Records of the Grand Historian , 'drove the Donghu a thousand li east'. With the expansion of their borders, the Yan started to build the earliest version of the Yan Great Wall. The Yan Great Wall started in the west at Zaoyang (造陽) and ended in the east at Xiangping. The Kingdom of Yan was conquered by

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1254-513: The Eastern Jin and was one of the few officials who supported the ill-fated invasion of 383, which saw the Qin's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fei River . As Chui's army remained mostly intact after the battle, he escorted the injured Fu Jian back to the north. Sensing weakness, Chui began carrying out his restoration. Rather than kill Fu Jian, he requested to be transferred to Hebei , where Former Yan once ruled, ostensibly to maintain order in

1311-427: The Eastern Jin dynasty, bringing the state to its peak. At this point, Murong Chui was already at an advanced age, and so he began empowering his Crown Prince, Murong Bao . In 388, he assigned Bao to run the government from Zhongshan while still retaining his decision-making power on important matters. Chui also introduced a separate governing system between his Han Chinese and "Hu" subjects within Yan by appointing Bao

1368-893: The Grand Chanyu, tasked with supervising the tribes. This system was further developed during the reign of Murong Sheng , who established the Yan Ministry to manage the tribes, and then Murong Xi , who set up the Grand Chanyu Administration. Previously in 386, to counter Western Yan, Later Yan allied themselves with the Tuoba -Xianbei state of Northern Wei . Initially, Wei relied on Later Yan's assistance against their rival tribes, but an incident in 391 led to relations breaking down. Wei aligned themselves with Western Yan, and hostilities continued even after Western Yan fell. In 395, to further elevate his Crown Prince, he sent Murong Bao to lead

1425-692: The Han vassal state of Buyeo was initially placed under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu Commandery, but the king of Buyeo during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han requested to change the jurisdiction of Buyeo under the Liaodong Commandery instead. In the chaos of the late Eastern Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period, Liaodong Commandery prospered, due to its location far from the warlordism and warfare going on in China, and many scholars and talented individuals sought refuge at Xiangping. In 189 AD, Gongsun Du (公孙度),

1482-472: The King of Zhou in present-day Xi'an and was awarded a position in the king's court. Some time during the 7th century BC in the late Western Zhou or early Eastern Zhou , Yan absorbed the State of Ji , a smaller kingdom to the north and moved its capital to that of Ji in modern-day Xicheng District , Beijing. To the south, the bordering states of Zhao and Qi were Yan's main rivals. The mountainous border in

1539-640: The Qin in 222 BC. In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang divided China into 36 commanderies , retaining the Yan-established Liaodong Commandery, with its commandery capital set at Xiangping. During both the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties , the Qin's Liaodong Commandery was retained, but the most important matters of governance of the Northeast were handled at the Four Commanderies of Han . For example,

1596-567: The Tang army for some time, but an army sent to relieve the fortress was destroyed. The Tang were able to breach the fortress walls with a rapid cavalry assault, and Yodong was eventually captured and its inhabitants enslaved. Emperor Taizong of Tang would later intercede and offer freedom to the prisoners and the fortress was incorporated into a new Imperial prefecture. However, the Tang unsuccessfully besieged Ansi and were forced to retreat into Northern China. The Goguryeo kingdom eventually collapsed in

1653-580: The Warring States period. In 227 BC, with Qin troops on the border after the collapse of Zhao, Crown Prince Dan sent an assassin named Jing Ke to kill the king of Qin (later Qin Shi Huang ), hoping to end the Qin threat. The mission failed, with Jing Ke dying at the hands of the King of Qin in Xianyang . Surprised and enraged by such a bold act, the king of Qin called on Wang Jian to destroy Yan. Crushing

1710-462: The bulk of the Yan army at the frozen Yi River , Ji fell the following year and the ruler, King Xi, fled to the Liaodong Peninsula. In 222 BC, Liaodong fell as well, and Yan was overrun by Qin. Yan was the third to last state to fall, and with its destruction the fates of the remaining two kingdoms were sealed. In 221 BC, Qin conquered all of China, ending the Warring States period and founding

1767-496: The capital as tribute. Other texts also discussed these regional variations in culture and physical environments. One of these texts was The Book of Master Wu , written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the other states. Wu Qi , the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were reflective of the terrain they live in. Of Yan, he said: Yan's defensive formations are solid but lack flexibility(燕陳守而不走). and: The Yan are

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1824-806: The city for Huatai. There, De declared himself the Prince of Yan in 398, founding the Southern Yan and splitting the state into two. Supplanted by the Northern Wei, the Later Yan ceased to be a major player on the Central Plains as their territory was reduced to present-day Liaoning . In 398, Murong Bao was assassinated by his granduncle, Lan Han , who was then killed by Bao's son, Murong Sheng , shortly after. Sheng demoted his imperial title from Emperor to Commoner Heavenly King in 400. He had success in waging war against

1881-441: The city, and at this point had occupied most of Hebei. In 386, Murong Chui made Zhongshan (中山, in modern Baoding , Hebei) his capital, as the city underwent significant development during the war. Later that year, his cousin, Murong Yong of Western Yan occupied Shanxi and declared himself emperor. By now, both Murong Wei and Fu Jian had died, so Chui also changed his title to emperor. The Dingling rebels under Zhai Liao founded

1938-510: The emperor discovered that he had sent officials to the courts of the rebel Chen Xi and the Xiongnu chanyu Modu . Summoned to the imperial court, Lu Wan feigned illness and then fled to the Xiongnu, who honored him as the King of the Eastern Nomads ( Donghu ) until his death. In the meantime, Yan came under direct control of the Han dynasty and was treated as a princely appanage . Yan

1995-506: The final war of 668. The Tang established Liaocheng Prefecture (遼城州) at Liaodong City. Liaodong became the capital of the Andong Protectorate in 676. However, the capital was moved again the following year. Yan (state) Yan ( Chinese : 燕 ; pinyin : Yān ; Old Chinese pronunciation: * ʔˤe[n] ) was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty . Its capital

2052-466: The key city of Longcheng , Bao decided to abandon Zhongshan for Longcheng. Hereafter, more infighting ensued; at Longcheng, Bao survived rebellions by his son, Murong Hui and his general Duan Sugu (段速骨). Meanwhile, at Zhongshan, a cousin, Murong Xiang held out against Wei and declared himself emperor, but was soon killed and replaced by Murong Lin. However, Zhongshan then fell to Wei, and Lin fled to Ye, where he convinced his uncle, Murong De to abandon

2109-523: The last Former Yan emperor, Murong Wei, was still alive at the Qin capital, Chang'an . To distinguish between Former Yan and other Yan states of the period, historiographers refer to Chui's state as the Later Yan. He led his forces to besiege Fu Pi at Ye while his generals secured the rest of Hebei. Unlike the Former Yan dynasty, the upper echelons of the Later Yan were dominated by the Xianbei clans rather than Han Chinese. The Later Yan also had to cooperate with

2166-464: The last ruler of Later Yan, while others consider it to be Gao Yun , an adopted member of the imperial family of Goguryeo ethnicity. Murong Chui was the son of Murong Huang , the founder of the Xianbei Former Yan dynasty , and a key military general; in 369, he saved the state from ruin by defeating an Eastern Jin invasion led by Huan Wen at the Battle of Fangtou . On the other hand, he

2223-403: The later kingdom of Northern Yan set Liaodong Commandery within the confines of the area west of today's Liaoning . The region was contested territory between the northern Korean Kingdom of Goguryeo and the various imperial dynasties of China. The two political forces competed with each-other over trade and influence in the area by constructing fortresses in strategic locations. Yodong fortress

2280-624: The many disparate peoples of the East, as far north as the Heilongjiang area and southwards, the entirety of the Korean peninsula. In 277 AD, Sima Rui (司馬蕤) was given the title of King of Liaodong, and Liaodong Commandery was reestablished as the Kingdom of Liaodong. 6 years later, Sima Rui was given another title, the King of Donglai, and the Liaodong Kingdom was reverted to Liaodong Commandery. In 334 AD,

2337-411: The minister took advantage and seized power. While this crisis happened, in 314 BC Qi invaded and in a little over several months practically conquered the country. However, due to the misconduct of Qi troops during the conquest of Yan a revolt eventually drove them away and the borders of Yan were restored. Yan's new king, King Zhao of Yan then plotted with the states of Zhao, Qin , Han and Wei for

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2394-552: The northern nomadic tribes. The currency of Yan was crafted into the shape of a knife, a form closely associated with the nomads. This form of currency might have been specially made for trade with the nomads, demonstrating the importance of commercial relations with them. The strongest opposition came from the Qi, one of the strongest states in China. A succession crisis started in Yan in 325 BC when king Zikuai symbolically resigned his throne in favor of his minister Zizhi to prove his humility;

2451-466: The region. There, he cooperated with Fu Jian's son, Fu Pi , under mutual suspicion while secretly contacting the old Yan families and officials to join his movement. In 384, the Dingling people led by Zhai Bin rebelled around Luoyang. Fu Pi sent Chui to attack them, but during the campaign, Chui finally rebelled, joining forces with Zhai Bin. Initially, Murong Chui only took the title of Prince of Yan, as

2508-515: The rulers of the Yan. In the 11th century BC, Yan's capital was based in what is now Liulihe Township , Fangshan District , Beijing , where a large walled settlement and over 200 tombs of nobility have been unearthed. Among the most significant artifacts from the Liulihe Site is a bronze ding with inscriptions that recount the journey of the eldest son of the Duke of Yan, who delivered offerings to

2565-466: The same imperial family, and the Later Yan's founder, Murong Chui , had intended his state to be a restoration. Due to the devastation inflicted on the old Yan capital, Ye , the city of Zhongshan (中山, in modern Baoding , Hebei) became the first capital of the Later Yan. The Later Yan managed to recover most of their old territory in Liaoning , Hebei , Shaanxi , Shandong and Henan by 394. However, after

2622-608: The title. In 577 AD, during the Northern Zhou dynasty, the king of Goguryeo was given the title of the King of Liaodong. Shortly thereafter, Northern Qi disestablished Liaodong Commandery. Yodong fortress was located at the same place and had a similar size as the Western Han Xiangping. In 598 AD, Goguryeo launched an attack across the Liao river against the newly-risen Sui dynasty . The Chinese retaliated in 612 by launching

2679-555: The various fortified settlements (塢堡; wubao) in the northeast, who were typically led by the non-Chinese and had a large degree of autonomy over their strongholds. Soon after Chui's rebellion, the Western Yan and Later Qin also broke away around Chang'an, constraining Fu Jian and preventing him from sending aid to the east. Despite rebelling, Chui upheld a framing of still being indebted to Fu Jian. While besieging Ye, he attempted to assure Fu Pi's safety and allowed him an escape route to

2736-573: The war continued until 614, but the battle effectively ending the Goguryeo–Sui War in favor of Goguryeo. Following the conflict with the Sui dynasty, Goguryeo strengthened its border defenses in preparation for a future war with the Chinese. This war came when in 642 the Tang Dynasty invaded Goguryeo, successfully breaching the latter's border defenses. Yodong fortress, which was garrisoned with 10,000 soldiers and holding 40,000 civilians, held off

2793-455: The west between Zhao and Yan became the area in which their armies often clashed. Despite this, the war between Zhao and Yan usually dragged on into a stalemate, requiring the help of other kingdoms to conclude. At the turn of the 3rd century BC, General Qin Kai launched a series of campaigns against the Donghu and Gojoseon , expanding the kingdom's frontiers nearly one thousand kilometers east to northwestern Korean Peninsula . A Great Wall

2850-588: The west. Members of the Fu clan that surrendered were also welcomed and allowed to serve under him. The battle for Ye lasted around a year as Fu Pi held firmly to the city. During this time, the Zhai-Dingling rebelled and Chui had to fight a brief alliance between Qin and Jin. The war in Hebei and famines that accompanied it devastated the region's economy, but Fu Pi finally abandoned Ye for Jinyang in late 385. Later Yan captured

2907-563: Was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing ). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu at times. The history of Yan began in the Western Zhou in the early first millennium BC. After the authority of the Zhou king declined during the Spring and Autumn period in the 8th century BC, Yan survived and became one of the strongest states in China. During

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2964-512: Was also a subject of suspicion within the imperial family. After defeating Huan Wen, the regent, his uncle Murong Ping became apprehensive of his newfound reputation and wanted to kill him, prompting Chui to flee to the Di -led Former Qin dynasty. In the next few years, Qin conquered Yan and reunified northern China. Although Qin's ruler, Fu Jian treated him favourably, Chui harboured ambitions to restore his state. He fought for Qin in campaigns against

3021-455: Was constructed on Yan's new northern borders, and five commanderies , Shanggu , Yuyang , Youbeiping , Liaoxi and Liaodong , were subsequently established for the defense against the Donghu. The Central Plains states seemed to hold Yan culture and other peripheral states like Qin in low regard. Archaeological discoveries in the state of Yan have uncovered ornaments that, while inscribed with Chinese writing, were close in style to that of

3078-403: Was established prior to the year 612, possibly as early as 397. The fortress was considered to be a formidable defensive obstacle as it was located near the strategically important Liao River . The fortress protected the roads leading into Korea and the nearby Goguryeo cities of Yodong and Baegam . One source refers to the fortress as the anchor of the Korean kingdom's border defense. The fortress

3135-518: Was established to govern over non-Han peoples. In 274 AD, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin , Pingzhou (平州) was reestablished, governing the Liaodong (辽东郡), Xuantu (玄菟郡) and Changli (昌黎郡) Commandaries. The position of Dongyi Jiaowei was renamed Hudongyi Jiaowei (护东夷校尉), and given simulatenously to the regional inspector/cishi of Pingzhou, with the Jiaowei's authority extended to managing the relations with

3192-412: Was immediately troubled by conflict between him and his family members, along with his sudden and unpopular attempt at rectifying the state's household registry. Shortly after Bao's ascension, the Wei ruler, Tuoba Gui invaded Yan. Bao concentrated his forces to Zhongshan and other major cities, believing that Wei would besiege them and withdraw once their supply ran out. Instead, Wei forces quickly overran

3249-400: Was well-stocked with provisions and maintained a large complement of troops in case of a siege. In 435 AD, during the Northern Wei dynasty, Jangsu of Goguryeo sent tribute, and Northern Wei gave Jangsu the title of King of Goguryeo and Duke of Liaodong Commandery. In 492 AD, Munjamyeong of Goguryeo was given the title of Duke Kaiguo of Liaodong. In 519, Anjang of Goguryeo was regiven

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