Yao Xing

Emperor Wenhuan of Later Qin
後秦文桓帝
Emperor of Later Qin
Emperor of Later Qin
Reign394–416
PredecessorYao Chang
SuccessorYao Hong
Born366
Died416 (aged 49–50)
Burial
Ou Mausoleum (偶陵)
SpouseEmpress Zhang
Empress Qi
IssueYao Hong
Consort Yao
Names
Yao Xing (姚興)
Era dates
  • Huáng chū (皇初): 394–399
  • Hóng shǐ (弘始): 399–416
Posthumous name
Emperor Wenhuan (文桓皇帝, lit. "civil and diligent")
Temple name
Gaozu (高祖)
HouseYao
DynastyLater Qin
FatherYao Chang

Yao Xing (Chinese: 姚興; 366–416), courtesy name Zilüe (子略), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wenhuan of Later Qin (後秦文桓帝), was an emperor of the Qiang-led Chinese Later Qin dynasty.[1] He was the son of the founding emperor Yao Chang (Emperor Wuzhao). For most of his reign, he did not use the title of emperor, but used the title Heavenly King (Tian Wang). During his reign, he destroyed the rival Former Qin and proceeded to expand his hegemony over nearly all of western China, as he temporarily seized all of Western Qin's territory and forced Southern Liang, Northern Liang, Western Liáng, and Qiao Zong's Western Shu (西蜀) all to at least nominally submit to him, but late in his reign, defeats on the battlefield, particularly at the hands of the rebel general Helian Bobo (who founded Xia), and internecine struggles between his sons and nephews greatly damaged the Later Qin state, and it was destroyed soon after his death. Yao Xing was an avid Buddhist, and it was during his reign that Buddhism first received official state support in China.[2] The monk Kumarajiva also visited Chang'an at Yao Xing's request in 401.[3]

  1. ^ Swartz, Wendy; Campany, Robert Ford; Lu, Yang; Choo, Jessey (2014-03-11). Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook. Columbia University Press. p. 556. ISBN 978-0-231-53100-9.
  2. ^ McNair, Amy. "Patronage of Buddhist Buildings and Sovereignty in Medieval China: Four Cases from the Northern Wei Dynasty". In Stifter und Mäzene und ihre Rolle in der Religion: Von Königen, Mönchen, Vordenkern und Laien in Indien, China und anderen Kulturen. Edited by Barbara Schuler. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2013, pp. 19-42.
  3. ^ Muyou, Fan (2016). "A Reexamination of the Influence of Kumārajīva's Thought on His Translation of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa". The Eastern Buddhist. 47 (1): 57–80. ISSN 0012-8708. JSTOR 26799794.