Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Ruler

Murong Chao 慕容超

AD 385 - AD 410

Passages
83
Chapters
2
Histories
2

Overview

Murong Chao was a ruler.

IdentityHistorical · Male

Other names

TypeEnglishChinesePinyin
Courtesy name Zuming 祖明 Zuming

Life and dates

Birth

Death

Age

Attested activity

Show 9 more source-backed claims

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Key source chapters

  1. Book of Jin, Chapter 128 Volume 128 Records 28: Murong Chao 82 passages
  2. Book of Liang, Chapter 20 Volume 20: Liu Lijian; Chen Bozhi 1 passage

Career and standing

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Places and affiliations

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Works and attributed material

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Events and relationships

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Assessments and attributes

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Source notes

References in the histories

83 passages

Book of Jin, Chapter 128Volume 128 Records 28: Murong Chao · 82 passages
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初，超自長安行至梁父，慕容法時為兗州，鎮南長史悅壽還謂法曰：「向見北海王子，天資弘雅，神爽高邁，始知天族多奇，玉林皆寶。」 At first, when Chao traveled from Chang’an to Liangfu, Murong Fa then held Yan Province; the southern garrison chief clerk Yue Shou returned and said to Fa: “Just now I saw the prince of Beihai—his heaven-bestowed breadth is refined, his spirit lofty; only then did I know the celestial clan has many marvels, every tree of the jade grove a treasure.”
超輦而升城，尚書悅壽言於超曰：「天地不仁，助寇為虐，戰士尪病，日就凋隕，守困窮城，息望外援，天時人事，亦可知矣。 Chao was carried in a palanquin up the wall; Minister Yue Shou spoke to Chao: “Heaven and earth are not humane—they aid the bandit in cruelty; warriors are wasted and sick, daily nearing withering fall; we guard a poor exhausted city, breath stopped waiting for outside aid—heaven’s timing and human affairs are also knowable.
超繼已成之基，居霸者之業，政刑莫恤，畋遊是好，杜忠良而讒佞進，暗聽受而勳戚離，先緒俄頹，家聲莫振，陷宿豫而貽禍，啟大峴而延敵，君臣就虜，宗廟為墟。 Murong Chao inherited an established realm and a hegemon's legacy, yet neglected government and justice, delighted in hunting, shut out loyal men, advanced flatterers, and alienated his meritorious kin. His predecessors' legacy soon collapsed and his house's reputation went unrestored: he lost Suyu and brought disaster upon himself, opened Daxian to the enemy, and ended with ruler and ministers captive and the ancestral temples in ruins.
Book of Liang, Chapter 20Volume 20: Liu Lijian; Chen Bozhi · 1 passage
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