Ran Min (; died 352), also known as Shi Min (石閔), posthumously honored by the Former Yan as Heavenly King Wudao of (Ran) Wei ((冉)魏武悼天王), courtesy name Yongzeng (永曾), nickname Jinu (棘奴), was a military leader during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China and the only emperor of the short-lived state Ran Wei (冉魏). He was known for ordering the massacre of the Jie and other Hu (Xiongnu) people, during which 200,000 people, both Han and non-Han people, were killed between 349 and 350.
In the Book of Jin, Shi Min was described as over 1.9 meters (8 chi) tall and possessed unusual physical strength. In battle, he fought by wielding two weapons in both hands, consisting of a crescent shaped Chinese halberd by his right hand, and a double-edged spear by his left hand. His ride was a horse named Zhu Long (朱龍; "Red Dragon"), which was recorded in his final battle.
Family background Ran Min's father Ran Liang (冉良), who later changed his name to Ran Zhan (冉瞻), was from Wei Commandery (魏郡, roughly modern Anyang, Northern Henan) and was a descendant of an aristocratic family, but one who must have, in the serious famines 310, joined a group of refugees known as the Qihuo led by Chen Wu (陳午). When Later Zhao's founder Shi Le defeated Chen in 311, he captured the 11-year-old Ran Zhan as well, and for reasons unknown, he had his nephew Shi Hu adopt Ran Zhan as his son and change his name accordingly to Shi Zhan. Ran Min's mother was named Wang (王). It is not known when he was born, but he would have been known as Shi Min.
A Shi Zhan was mentioned to have died in battle when Shi Hu was defeated by Han-Zhao's emperor Liu Yao in 328, but it is not clear whether this Shi Zhan was Shi Min's father.
During Shi Hu's reign As Ran Min grew in age, Shi Hu became impressed by his bravery in battle and battlefield tactics, and he treated Shi Min as his own grandson. In the year 338, the Later Zhao army retreated after a long siege of Jicheng (棘城, in modern Jinzhou, Liaoning). On the way, they were defeated by Murong Ke's troops sent by Murong Huang, and suffered heavy losses. At that time, all the armies abandoned their armor and fled. The only army group that remained intact was the one commanded by Ran Min. Due to this achievement, Ran Min's reputation was greatly enhanced.
Later, Ran Min advised Shi Hu to eliminate Fu Hong, as he saw Fu Hong and his sons' great influence could destabilize the state. However, Shi Hu rejected his advice and instead promoted Fu Hong to a higher position.
In 339, when the Jin general Yu Liang considered launching a major campaign against Later Zhao, Shi Hu chose to react, and he had his general Kui An command five generals, one of whom was Shi Min, to attack Jin's northern regions. Shi Min was successful in his task, and the five generals together inflicted heavy damages, thwarting Yu's plans. For his accomplishments, Shi Min was created the Duke of Wuxing.
In 349, Ran Min participated in suppressing the Liang Du mutiny led by the garrison soldiers and made great military achievements. After that, his prestige increased, and all the veteran generals of the Han and non-Han ethnic groups were afraid of him.
After Shi Hu's death After Shi Hu's death in May 349, his youngest son and crown prince Shi Shi became emperor, but the government was controlled by Shi Shi's mother Empress Dowager Liu and the official Zhang Chai. Shi Shi's older brother Shi Zun, the Prince of Pengcheng, was unhappy about the situation, and a number of generals who were unimpressed with Empress Dowager Liu and Zhang, including Ran Min, suggested that he march to the capital Yecheng and overthrow them. Shi Zun did so – and also promised to create Ran Min crown prince if they were victorious.
On 12 June,bingxu day of the 5th month of the 5th year of the Yonghe era, per vol.98 of Zizhi Tongjian Shi Zun's army was stationed in Dangyin, with 90,000 soldiers, and Ran Min was appointed as the vanguard. Zhang Chai planned to send troops to intercept them, but when the soldiers and civilians of Yecheng heard that Shi Zun and his men had arrived, they all fled the city to surrender, and Zhang Chai was unable to stop them. Shi Zun successfully entered Yecheng, killed Zhang Chai, deposed Shi Shi, and ascended the throne as emperor. He then appointed Ran Min as the commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad, the general of the auxiliary state, and the recorder of the imperial secretariat, to assist in government Affairs.
Shi Zun claimed the imperial title. However, he did not appoint Ran Min crown prince as promised, but rather appointed another nephew Shi Yan (石衍) crown prince. Further, while he gave Ran Min important posts, he did not allow him to have control of the government, as Ran Min wished. Ran Min became disgruntled.
At this time, prince Shi Chong, who was stationed at Jicheng, led an army of 50,000. He decided to depose Shi Zun after he heard that Shi Zun had killed Shi Shi and established himself as the emperor. Shi Zun's attempt to persuade Shi Chong to withdraw failed, so he sent Ran Min and Li Nong to lead 100,000 elite soldiers to attack Shi Chong. Ran Min and his troops defeated Shi Chong at Pingji and captured him in Yuanshi County, killing more than 30,000 of his soldiers.
In winter 349, in fear of Ran Min, Shi Zun summoned a meeting of the princes before his mother, Empress Dowager Zheng, announcing that he would execute Ran Min. Empress Dowager Zheng opposed, reasoning that Ran Min's contributions during the coup against Shi Shi had to be remembered. Shi Zun hesitated, and meanwhile, Shi Jian, one of the princes attending the meeting, quickly reported the news to Ran Min, who acted quickly and surrounded the palace, capturing and executing Shi Zun, Empress Dowager Zheng, Shi Zun's wife Empress Zhang, Shi Yan, and several key officials loyal to Shi Zun. He made Shi Jian emperor, but he and Li Nong seized the control of the government.
Shi Jian could not endure Ran Min's hold on power, and he sent his brother Shi Bao, the Prince of Leping, and the generals Li Song (李松) and Zhang Cai (張才) against Ran Min, but after they were defeated Shi Jian pretended as if they had acted independently and executed them all. Another brother of his, Shi Zhi the Prince of Xinxing, then rose in the old capital Xiangguo, in alliance with the Qiang chieftain Yao Yizhong and the Di chieftain Pu Hong against Ran Min and Li Nong. Shi Jian then tried to have the general Sun Fudu (孫伏都), a fellow ethnic Jie, attack Ran Min, but Ran Min quickly defeated him, and Shi Jian, trying to absolve himself, then ordered Ran Min to execute Sun. Ran Min, however, began to realize that Shi Jian was behind Sun's attack, and he decided that he needed to disarm the Jie people, who knew that he was not a Jie but ethnically Han. He ordered that all Han not be allowed to carry arms, and most non-Chinese fled Yecheng after that. Ran Min put Shi Jian under house arrest with no outside communication.
As the non-Chinese tribes continued fleeing Yecheng, Ran Min realized that he would not be able to use the Jie and other Hu (胡; mainly tribes of Xiongnu background) people, so he issued an order to the ethnic Han according to which each civil servant who killed one Hu and brought his head to him would be promoted in rank by three degrees, and a military officer would be transferred to the service at his Supreme Command. Ran Min himself led the Han in killing the Jie and Hu without regard for wealth, sex or age; during the day tens of thousands of heads were severed. Troop commanders in various parts of the state also received a rescript from Ran Min to purge the Hu soldiers under their command.Jinshu, Ch. 107, Shijian (石鑒). 宣令內外六夷敢稱兵杖者斬之。胡人或斬關，或逾城而出者，不可勝數。使尚書王簡、少府王郁帥眾數千，守鑒於禦龍觀，懸食給之。令城內曰：「與官同心者住，不同心者各任所之。」敕城門不復相禁。於是趙人百里內悉入城，胡羯去者填門。閔知胡之不為己用也，班令內外趙人，斬一胡首送鳳陽門者，文官進位三等，武職悉拜牙門。一日之中，斬首數萬。閔躬率趙人誅諸胡羯，無貴賤男女少長皆斬之，死者二十餘萬，屍諸城外，悉為野犬豺狼所食。 In total over 200,000 people were killed; it was recorded that "corpses were piled outside the city walls, where they were all eaten by jackals, wolves, and wild dogs." Among the people who died in the massacre, many were in fact ethnic Han who had high big noses, deep-set eyes and thick full beards, which were considered by people of that time to be the indicators of non-Han. This massacre by Ran Min has an adverse effect to the ethnic Jie population.The Buddhist Conquest of China, Erik Zürcher, p. 111
In the first month of the Chinese year 350, Ran Min wanted to "eliminate the traces of the Shi family" and used the prophecy of "After Zhao, come Li," as an excuse to change the country's name to "Wey" (衞), change his own surname to "Li", implement a general amnesty, and change the reign era to Qinglong. Some researchers believe that Ran Min's move was "still for the purpose of continuing the great unity of the Later Zhao Dynasty and maintaining the system of governance." However, the changes were received negatively as many of the imperial family members and generals fled Yecheng to join Shi Zhi, who soon proclaimed himself the new Emperor of Zhao at Xiangguo.
At this time, Shi Kun, Zhang Ju, and Wang Lang led an army of 70,000 to attack Yecheng. Ran Min led over a thousand cavalrymen to resist them in the north of the city. Ran Min, armed with a double-edged spear, charged forward. Shi Kun's forces were completely crushed, leaving with 3,000 rebel heads taken. Subsequently, Ran Min and Li Nong led 30,000 cavalrymen to attack Zhang Hedu, who occupied Shidu. In the leap (second) month, Shi Jian secretly sent eunuchs to send a letter to Zhang Shen and others, asking them to take advantage of the situation and attack Yecheng. The eunuchs reported this to Ran Min and Li Nong, who returned quickly, deposed and killed Shi Jian along with 38 of Shi Hu's grandsons. The Shi clan in Yecheng was completely wiped out.
As emperor of Ran Wei
After initially offering the throne to Li Nong, Ran Min openly declares himself as Emperor of the new state of Wei (魏). He honored his mother Lady Wang with the title of Empress Dowager, appointed his wife Lady Dong an empress, and made his oldest son Ran Zhi his crown prince. His other sons and his ally Li Nong were made princes, Li Nong's sons were given titles of dukes. He proclaimed a general amnesty, hoping to have the generals who became independent abide by his edicts, but few of them accepted, though most Han generals outwardly did not defy him either. For unknown reasons, he soon killed Li and his sons. He sent a letter to Emperor Mu of Jin's court with a mixed message, appearing to invite Jin to send forces north and agreeing to submit, but the letter could also be read as a defiant challenge. Jin did not react,([永和六年]夏，四月，....魏主闵杀李农及其三子，并尚书令王谟、侍中王衍、中常侍严震、赵昇。闵遣使临江告晋曰：“逆胡乱中原，今已诛之；能共讨者，可遣军来也。”朝廷不应。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.98 although it began to also seek allegiance of the generals in the former territory of Later Zhao southern provinces.
After Ran Min established Wei, he offered Xin Mi, an intellectual and calligrapher, with the position of Ceremonials chamberlain. However, Xin Mi declined this offer and instead he wrote a letter to advise Ran Min to surrender and join the Eastern Jin. After this, Xin Mi then starved himself to death. The letter of Xin Mi for Ran Min is preserved in his personal biography in the Book of Jin and Quan shanggu Sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen.