Wei (Dingling)

Wei
魏
Kingdom
388–392
Capital		Huatai
Government		Monarchy
Tian Wang
•	388-391	Zhai Liao
•	391-392	Zhai Zhao
Historical era		Sixteen Kingdoms
•	Zhai Liao's last break with Later Yan	387
•	Established	388
•	Disestablished	392
•	Zhai Zhao's execution by Western Yan	393
Succeeded by Later Yan Western Yan

Wei (Chinese: 魏; pinyin: Wèi) was a state of Dingling ethnicity that existed from 388 to 392, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. It is often referred to as Zhai Wei to be distinguished from numerous other states named Wei in history. Its founder Zhai Liao had previously been vacillating between being a vassal of Later Yan, Western Yan, and Jin dynasty, and in 388, after his last overture to reconcile with Later Yan's emperor Murong Chui was rejected, he declared his own state, over the territory of modern central and eastern Henan. In 392, Wei, then under Zhai Liao's son Zhai Zhao, was destroyed by Later Yan forces. Because of its relatively small size and short lifespan, Wei is generally not included by historians among the Sixteen Kingdoms.

The rulers of Wei used the title "Heavenly King" (Tian Wang).

Rulers of Wei

Temple names	Posthumous names	Family names and given name	Durations of reigns	Era names and their according durations
Chinese convention: use family name and given name
None	None	Zhai Liao (翟遼 zhái liáo)	388-391	Jianguang (建光 jiàn guāng) 388-391
None	None	Zhai Zhao (翟釗 zhái zhāo)	391-392	Dingding (定鼎 dìng dǐng) 391-392

See also

• List of past Chinese ethnic groups

References

• Historical Dictionary of Medieval China, p. 119, at Google Books