was asked for some proof of his statements, he produced the murdered monarch's head.
578
Fu Chien (苻健) (T. 建業). A.D. 316-355. Third son of
Fu Hung, whom he succeeded in 350. Just before his birth his
mother dreamt of a great bear, and as he grew up he showed
signs of a warlike temperament and a love for military exercises.
On his accession he discarded the title of Prince of Ch'in, and
acknowledged the suzerainty of the House of Chin. He drove 杜洪
Tu Hung from Ch'ang-an, and took it for his capital. A
year later he assumed the title of Great Khan and King of the
Great Ch'in dynasty, and after defeating an Imperialist army, he
proclaimed himself Emperor. He did away with the burdensome
regulations of Chao and tried to alleviate the sufferings of the
people. He encouraged learning and held scholars in high esteem.
In 354 Huan Wên defeated his army at Lan-t'ien, to the south-
east of Ch'ang-an, and encamped for a while on the 灞 Pa river,
but was ultimately compelled to make a disastrous retreat. He died of grief for the loss of his brother 苻雄 Fu Hsiung (T. 元才),
who had filled the posts of Chancellor and of General in his army. "If God," he cried, "wished me to tranquillise the empire, why did He carry off Yüan-ts'ai so soon?" He received unauthorised canonisation as 高祖明皇.
579 Fu Chien 苻堅 (T. 永固). A.D. 337-384. Son of Fu Hsiung (see Fu Chien), and cousin to the tyrant Fu Shêng whom he assassinated in 357, placing himself upon the throne in his stead. A wise and earnest man, he set himself to purify the administration and consolidate his power, paying special honour to Confucianism and prohibiting Taoism and divination. The death of 慕容恪 Mu-jung K'o enabled his general Wang Mêng to annex Yen in 370 (see Mu-jung Wei). He transferred 40,000 Turkic families to the neighbourhood of his capital, subdued
