Battle of Fei River
383 CE · Fei River, Anhui, China
The Battle of Fei River was fought in 383 CE in Fei River, Anhui, China between Eastern Jin vs Former Qin; decisive Jin victory against overwhelming numbers; the Former Qin state disintegrated.
Battle of Fei River: quick facts
- Date
- 383 CE
- Location
- Fei River, Anhui, China
- Belligerents
- Eastern Jin vs Former Qin
- Commanders
- Xie Xuan and Xie Shi vs Fu Jian
- Result
- decisive Jin victory against overwhelming numbers; the Former Qin state disintegrated.
- Era
- ⛩️ East Asia
- Quiz difficulty
- hard
What happened at the Battle of Fei River?
The Battle of Fei River was one of the most decisive battles in Chinese history, where the vastly outnumbered Eastern Jin forces defeated the enormous army of the Former Qin. When the Qin commander ordered his troops to pull back from the river to allow the Jin forces to cross for a set-piece battle, the withdrawal turned into a panicked rout. The victory preserved the Eastern Jin dynasty and ensured the continued division of China between north and south for another two centuries.
Did you know?
The Former Qin emperor Fu Jian reportedly commanded over 870,000 soldiers at the Fei River, but his massive army was so poorly coordinated that a simple order to withdraw became an unstoppable rout.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of Fei River on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.