Yao Yizhong | |
|---|---|
| 姚弋仲 | |
| Grand Chanyu (大單于) | |
| In office 351–352 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Mu of Jin |
| Grand Commander of the Western Qiang (西羌大都督) | |
| In office 333–351 | |
| Monarch | Shi Hong/Shi Hu/Shi Shi/Shi Zun/Shi Jian/Shi Zhi |
| Prime Minister of the Right (右丞相) | |
| In office 351–351 | |
| Monarch | Shi Zhi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 280 |
| Died | 352 |
| Children | Yao Yi Yao Ruo Yao Xiang Yao Chang Yao Xu Yao Yinmai Yao Shuode Yao Shao Yao Jing Yao Huang 32 unnamed sons |
| Parent |
|
| Posthumous name | Emperor Jingyuan (景元皇帝) |
| Temple name | Shizu (始祖) |
Yao Yizhong (280–352), posthumously honored as Emperor Jingyuan, was a Qiang military general of the Later Zhao dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Starting out as a refugee leader during the Disaster of Yongjia, Yizhong later submitted to Later Zhao in 329, where he became a favorite general of the state's third ruler, Shi Hu. As Zhao collapsed in 350, he sided with Shi Zhi against the Ran Wei breakaway state, becoming one of Shi Zhi's top commanders, but ultimately could not prevent the state’s demise. After his death in 352, his fifth son Yao Xiang led his family to join the Jin dynasty (266–420) before becoming a roving warlord in the Central Plains. Yizhong's twenty-fourth son, Yao Chang, would go on to establish the Later Qin dynasty and posthumously honor him as an emperor in 384.