Qifu Guoren

Qifu Guoren (Chinese: 乞伏國仁; died 388), also known by his posthumous name as the Prince Xuanlie of Western Qin (西秦宣烈王), was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Western Qin dynasty of China.

Qifu Guoren's father Qifu Sifan (乞伏司繁) was a Xianbei tribal chief in the modern southern/southwestern Gansu region who, after being defeated by the Former Qin general Wang Tong (王統), surrendered in 371 and was allowed to keep his tribe together as a Former Qin vassal.

When the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān sought to conquer Jin Dynasty (266–420) to unite China in 383, Qifu Guoren was initially going to serve as a general in his advance troops, but at that time, Qifu Guoren's uncle Qifu Butui (乞伏步頹) rebelled, and Fu Jiān sent Qifu Guoren to put down his uncle's rebellion.

In 385, after hearing about Fu Jiān's death at the hands of another rebel general, Yao Chang (the founder of Later Qin), Qifu Guoren did declare himself chanyu and changed the era name, thus effectively declaring a break from Former Qin, and thus this date was typically considered the founding date of Western Qin.

He divided his domain into 12 commanderies, and he established his capital at Yongshicheng (勇士城, in modern Lanzhou, Gansu).