Yao Chang

Who was Yao Chang?

Yao Chang, courtesy name Jingmao, formally Emperor Wuzhao of Qin, was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Qiang state Later Qin. His father Yao Yizhong had been a powerful general and Qiang chieftain under the Later Zhao emperor Shi Hu, but after Later Zhao's collapse after Shi Hu's horses death, Yao Chang's older brother Yao Xiang tried to start an independent state but was defeated and killed by Former Qin forces. Yao Chang became a Former Qin general, but after an incident in 384 after the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān's defeat at the Battle of Fei River, Yao Chang feared that Fu Jiān would kill him and therefore rebelled. He subsequently captured and killed Fu Jiān, who had saved his life when Yao Xiang was defeated, causing many historians to view him as a traitor and murderer.