Gao1 Zu3(great great grandfather) 高祖 Liu2 Bang1
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| 8) Shun Di 顺帝 Liu Zhun 刘准 477-479 Shengming (升明 sh_ng ming) 477-479 Emperor Shun of LS ((刘)宋顺帝) (467━479), personal name Liu Zhun (刘准), courtesy name Zhongmou (仲谋), nickname Zhiguan (智观), was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty LS. He became emperor in 477 after his violent older brother Emperor Houfei was assassinated by his attendant at the instigation of the general Xiao Daocheng, but in his brief reign was effectively Xiao's puppet. In 479, Xiao forced him to yield the throne to Xiao, ending LS and starting Southern Qi. Later that year, the former Emperor Shun was killed by guards who were supposed to protect him, and the Liu clan was soon slaughtered as well. Background Liu Zhun was born in 467, and ostensibly, his parents were Emperor Ming and Emperor Ming's concubine Consort Chen Farong -- but history does not provide a conclusive account of his actual parentage. Historical accounts, written during the succeeding Southern Qi Dynasty, indicate that Emperor Ming was impotent, and that although he had 12 sons, those were the results of his having seized his brothers' pregnant concubines and kept the children if they bore males, or his having had his concubines have sexual relations with others. (However, the fact that Emperir Ming's wife Empress Wang Zhenfeng had two daughters, although no sons, may argue against such allegations, because it appeared rather unlikely that Emperor Ming would do this over female children─indeed, the allegations stated that he would only do this if his brothers' concubines bore males─or that the morally upright Empress Wang would engage in sexual relations with others, thus suggesting that the allegations were made to delegitimize Emperor Ming's sons Emperor Houfei and Liu Zhun vis-a-vis Southern Qi.) Those accounts allege that his biological father was Emperor Ming's brother Liu Xiufan (刘休范) the Prince of Guiyang, and his biological mother was a concubine of Liu Xiufan. In any case, whether he was born of Consort Chen or not, she raised him. In 471, he was created the Prince of Ancheng. After Emperor Ming's death in 472, Liu Zhun's older brother Liu Yu the Crown Prince became emperor (as Emperor Houfei). Liu Zhun himself was made the governor of the important capital region, Yang Province (扬州, modern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu), but actual governance was carried out by his staff members. In 474, after Liu Xiufan rebelled and sieged the capital Jiankang, the official Chu Cheng (褚澄), not knowing that assassins sent by Emperor Houfei's general Xiao Daocheng had already assassinated Liu Xiufan, seized Liu Zhun and surrendered Liu Zhun's headquarters to Liu Xiufan's army, claiming that Liu Xiufan had declared Liu Zhun to be his son. (Liu Xiufan himself made no such public declaration before his death.) However, when Liu Xiufan's army later found out that he was already dead, it collapsed, and Liu Zhun was not harmed. By 477, Emperor Houfei had shown himself to be a cruel and violent ruler, often roving outside the palace with his guards and killing any person or animal that they encountered. Xiao, in fear of being killed by Emperor Houfei, engaged his associates to have him assassinated, and then used his personal control of the army to effectively force other high level officials Yuan Can and Liu Bing to grant him near-imperial powers. He then made Liu Zhun emperor (as Emperor Shun), but the 10-year-old emperor was little more than Xiao's puppet. Reign Upon hearing of Emperor Houfei's death, the general Shen Youzhi accused Xiao Daocheng of wanting to usurp the throne, and he started a rebellion from his Jing Province (荆州, modern central and western Hubei), although he then ill-advisedly became bogged down in his progress in sieging Yingcheng (郢城, in modern Wuhan, Hubei). Meanwhile, an attempted coup by Yuan Can and Liu Bing to seize back power for the imperial clan failed in late 477, and both Yuan and Liu Bing were killed, permitting Xiao to further consolidate his power. By spring 478, Shen also had been defeated, and he committed suicide. Xiao no longer had opposition. He began to have himself bestowed with higher and higher offices and honors, posturing himself for the throne. He was also gradually assassinating some of Emperor Shun's brothers. In winter 478, Emperor Shun created Xie Fanjing, the granddaughter of the official Xie Zhuang (谢庄), as his wife and empress. In 479, Xiao first had Emperor Shun create him the Duke of Qi and grant him the nine bestowments, and then create him the Prince of Qi. in summer 479, Xiao was prepared to seize the throne, and he prepared a ceremony at which Emperor Shun was to ascend a high platform and issue an edict giving the throne to him. However, the 12-year-old Emperor Shun was fearful, and he hid under a statue of a buddha, crying. Xiao sent his general Wang Jingze (王敬则) into the palace, and Empress Dowager Wang, fearful of what the consequences might be, personally led the eunuchs to search for Emperor Shun as well, finally finding him. Wang Jingze calmed Emperor Shun with false promises, finally getting him to get on the wagon that Wang Jingze prepared. He asked Wang, "Are you going to kill me?" Wang responded, "I will not kill you -- just letting you live elsewhere. Do not be sad -- this is what your Liu clan did to the Sima clan as well." (This was a reference to how Emperor Shun's great-grandfather Emperor Wu had seized the throne from Jin Dynasty.) Emperor Shun resumed crying, and said, "When I am reincarnated, may it be that I will never be again reborn in an emperor's household!" Wang brought Emperor Shun to the platform and had him complete the ceremony. Xiao accepted the throne, ending LS and starting Southern Qi (as its Emperor Gao). Death Xiao Daocheng created Liu Zhun the Prince of Ruyin and built him a mansion in the vicinity of the capital Jiankang, but put him under heavy guard. Less than a month after Xiao's taking of the throne, someone rode a horse near Liu Zhun's mansion, and the guards mistook the situation as someone wanting to seize Liu Zhun and start a rebellion, so they killed Liu Zhun themselves. Xiao not only did not punish them, but instead awarded them, and subsequently started a slaughter of the Liu clan. He did, however, bury the former emperor with imperial honors.
Qi Dynasty 479-502 1) Emperor Gao of Southern Qi (Gao Di 高帝 g_o di) Xiao Daocheng (萧道成 xi_o dao ch_ng 479-482 Jianyuan (建元 jian yuan) 479-482 Emperor Gao of Southern Qi ((南)齐高帝) (427━482), personal name Xiao Daocheng (萧道成), courtesy name Shaobo (绍伯), nickname Doujiang (斗将), was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He served as a general under the preceding dynasty LS's Emperor Ming and Emperor Houfei, and, in 477, fearful that the young but cruel Emperor Houfei would kill him, assassinated Emperor Houfei and seized power, eventually taking the throne in 479 to start Southern Qi. Background Xiao Daocheng was born in 427. His ancestors traced their line to the famed Han Dynasty prime minister Xiao He, and if their records were accurate, Xiao Daocheng was 24 generations after Xiao He. During the Jin and LS dynasties, Xiao's ancestors served as low-level officials. His father Xiao Chengzhi (萧承之) was a general under Emperor Wen of LS, and for his contributions in campaigns against rival Northern Wei was created the Baron of Jinxing. Xiao Daocheng himself first studied the Confucian classics at the university set up by Emperor Wen and headed by the hermit Lei Cizong (雷次宗) when he was 12, but by age 15 he was serving in the military. He continued serving as a military officer during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Xiaowu (Emperor Wen's son). Under Emperor Ming of LS By the time that Emperor Xiaowu's brother Emperor Ming and Emperor Xiaowu's son Liu Zixun were fighting for the throne in 466 after the brief reign and assassination of Emperor Xiaowu's son Emperor Qianfei, Xiao Daocheng was a general, and his allegiance was with Emperor Ming. He participated in the campaign against the army nominally commanded by Liu Zixun's brother Liu Zifang (刘子房) the Prince of Xunyang and governor of Kuaiji Commandery (会稽, roughly modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang), and he subsequently defeated the army sent south by Xue Andu (薛安都) the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui). For these contributions, Emperor Ming created him the Marquess of Xiyang and made him the acting governor of South Xu Province (南徐州, modern western central Jiangsu). Later, he became the governor of Southern Yan Province (南兖州, modern eastern central Jiangsu), defending the important city of Huaiyin (淮阴, in modern Huaian, Jiangsu). It was said that while at this post, he began to engage a group of talented followers. During Emperor Ming's reign, there were rumors that Xiao Daocheng's facial features were unusual and were signs that he would become emperor. By 471, Emperor Ming, who had already carried out a campaign of killing most of his brothers and some high level officials in fear that they would not be loyal to his son Liu Yu the Crown Prince after his death, became suspicious of Xiao, particularly because there were also rumors that Xiao was secretly communicating with Northern Wei. Emperor Ming sent his general Wu Xi (吴喜), a friend of Xiao's, with a sealed pot of wine to Huaiyin to deliver to Xiao. Xiao became fearful that the wine was poisoned and was preparing to flee to Northern Wei. Wu secretly told Xiao that the wine was not poisoned, and drank some himself, before Xiao would dare to drink. Once Wu returned to the capital Jiankang, he assured Emperor Ming that Xiao was loyal, but after details of Wu's leaking the information to Xiao became known to Emperor Ming, Emperor Ming forced Wu to commit suicide, but did not take any actions against Xiao. Soon thereafter he recalled Xiao to Jiankang. Xiao's followers largely suspected that Emperor Ming would kill him and suggested that he resist, but Xiao believed that Emperor Ming would not do so, and therefore returned to Jiankang, where he became a commanding general of Crown Prince Yu's guards. (In secret, Xiao told his followers that he believed that LS would not last much longer, and that he would need their support when opportunity presented itself.) When Emperor Ming grew gravely ill in 472, on the recommendation of the high level official Chu Yuan (to whom, along with Yuan Can, Emperor Ming entrusted Crown Prince Yu to), who was a friend of Xiao, Xiao became a commanding general of the capital defense force. Emperor Ming soon died, and Crown Prince Yu took the throne as Emperor Houfei. Under Emperor Houfei of LS In 474, Emperor Houfei's uncle Liu Xiufan (刘休范) the Prince of Guiyang and governor of Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian), angry that he had not been made the regent, rebelled and made a quick advancement toward Jiankang. At a major military strategy session, although there were a number of high level officials, powerful associates of the emperor, and senior generals present, no one dared to speak first until Xiao Daocheng proposed the strategy of not sending an army out to engage Liu Xiufan but rather defending the strong defensive posts in the outskirts of Jiankang and not actively engaging Liu Xiufan, forcing him into a stalemate and causing him to run out of food supplies. Without significant opposition, Xiao's plan was adopted. Liu Xiufan's forces soon arrived, and he made a direct assault against Xiao's defensive position. With Xiao's approval, his officers Huang Hui (黄回) and Zhang Jing'er (张敬儿) falsely surrendered to Liu Xiufan, and then further informed Liu Xiufan that Xiao wished to surrender as well. While pretending to secretly convey the information, Zhang and Huang then assassinated Liu Xiufan. However, because they had to then discard Liu Xiufan's head to avoid Liu Xiufan's guards, the news was not known initially, and Liu Xiufan's forces intensified their siege against the various defense positions. Xiao was barely able to hold his position, but Liu Xiufan's general Ding Wenhao (丁文豪) was able to defeat and kill Liu Mian (刘_) and Wang Daolong (王道隆) and put the palace under siege. Soon, however, news of Liu Xiufan's death became gradually known, and Ding's forces collapsed. In the aftermaths of Liu Xiufan's defeat, Xiao was promoted, and he, along with Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, and Emperor Houfan's distant uncle Liu Bing, were in charge of the affairs of government and known as the "four nobles" (四贵). In 476, when Emperor Houfei's cousin Liu Jingsu (刘景素) the governor of South Xu Province, who received wrong information that Jiankang had fallen into a state of confusion, started a rebellion, Xiao coordinated the campaign against Liu Jingsu (although he did not personally command troops), and LIu Jingsu was defeated and killed. In 477, Emperor Houfei, by now aged 14, was growing increasingly impulsive and violent, often wandering outside the palace with his guards and killing all people or animals they encountered. One day, he suddenly charged into Xiao's headquarters, and saw Xiao sleeping naked. He was intrigued by the large size of Xiao's belly, and he woke Xiao up, drew a target on Xiao's belly, and prepared to shoot Xiao with arrows. Xiao pled for his life, and Emperor Houfei's attendant Wang Tian'en (王天恩) pointed out that if he killed Xiao with an arrow, he would lose Xiao's belly as a wonderful target─and so at Wang's suggestion, Emperor Houfei shot Xiao with bone-made round-point arrows and was pleased when he was able to target Xiao's bellybutton successfully. Xiao became fearful after the incident, and he initially discussed with Yuan and Chu the possibilities of deposing the emperor, but could not get them to go along with his plan. Xiao therefore acted on his own, associating with Emperor Houfei's attendants, and eventually getting one of them, Yang Yufu (杨玉夫), to kill Emperor Houfei while Emperor Houfei was asleep. Xiao then forced Yuan and Liu Bing to effectively grant him near-imperial powers, leading to concerns that Xiao would next take the throne. Under Emperor Shun of LS Xiao Daocheng made Emperor Houfei's brother Liu Zhun the Prince of Ancheng emperor (as Emperor Shun). In response, the general Shen Youzhi arose with the troops of his Jing Province (荆州, modern central and western Hubei), accusing Xiao of wanting to usurp the throne. Yuan Can and Liu Bing also believed that that was Xiao's intent, and, as Xiao prepared for a campaign against Shen, secretly planned another uprising within Jiankang to overthrow Xiao. However, Yuan, believing that the plot would not succeed without Chu Yuan's support, told Chu of the plot as well, and Chu, who was friendly with Xiao, quickly informed Xiao. Yuan, not aware of this, continued his preparations, aligning with a number of generals and preparing to rise. However, Liu Bing panicked during the preparation stage, and fled to Yuan's defense post at the fortress of Shitou Cheng several hours in advance of the scheduled time, alarming Xiao and allowing him to further start a counterinsurrection, arresting and killing several generals aligned with Yuan and Liu Bing before they could act. Xiao's troops then sieged Yuan's defenses at Shitou, killing Yuan and Liu Bing. Meanwhile, the provincial governors that Shen invited to join him all declined and either resisted him or stood by. Shen nevertheless had a strong army, and the imperial army generals were apprehensive about facing him. He initially progressed quickly toward Jiankang, but as he went past Yingcheng (郢城, in modern Wuhan, Hubei), he was provoked by insults of Liu Shilong (柳世隆), the chief of staff for Liu Zan (刘赞) the Prince of Wuling and governor of Ying Province into stopping and putting the well-fortified Yingcheng under siege. In 478, with his forces unable to capture Yingcheng, Shen Youzhi's soldiers began to desert. Shen then aggravated the situation by imposing severe punishments on the commanding officers of deserting soldiers─which in turn caused them to desert. Shen's officer Liu Rangbing (刘攘兵) then surrendered to Liu Shilong, causing his forces to collapse. He tried to retreat to Jiangling (the capital of Jing Province), but by the time he did so, Zhang Jing'er, whom Xiao had made the governor of Yong Province (雍州, modern southwestern Henan and southwestern Hubei) with the intent of having him attack Shen from the rear, had already captured Jiangling and killed Shen Yuanyan, whom Shen Youzhi had left in charge of Jiangling. Shen's remaining army, seeing that Jiangling had fallen, collapsed, and he initially tried to flee, but realizing that his escape route had been cut off, committed suicide. Xiao was now without substantial opposition, particularly after he killed Huang Hui, who had been implicated in conspiracies with Liu Jingsu and Yuan Can earlier, later that year after Huang showed signs of insubordination. He began to put his sons into important posts as well. He also engaged the nobly born official Wang Jian as a key assistant and, with Chu's tacit agreement, started making moves toward the throne, including quietly assassinating Emperor Houfei's brothers. In 479, over a brief time span of two months, he had Emperor Shun create him the Duke of Qi, and then the Prince of Qi, and bestow him the nine bestowments, all progressive steps toward the throne. In summer 479, he forced the fearful Emperor Shun into yielding the throne to him, ending LS and starting Southern Qi, as its Emperor Gao. Reign A major trend that Emperor Gao tried to start after he took the throne was a move against wastefulness and luxury and a move toward frugality. He himself appeared to be fairly frugal, although the actual effects his edicts on those subjects had on his officials and nobles are unclear. Later in 479, when someone was riding a horse near the mansion of the former Emperor Shun (now the Prince of Ruyin), the guards that Emperor Gao posted to watch over the former emperor panicked, believing someone was about to start a rebellion, and they killed the former emperor themselves. Emperor Gao not only did not punish these guards, but he rewarded them and further carried out a massacre of LS's imperial clan. Later that year, he created his son Xiao Ze, who had by that point already been known as an able general, crown prince, and created his other sons, as well as Xiao Ze's oldest son Xiao Zhangmao, princes. Meanwhile, Emperor Gao received reports that Northern Wei was about to make an attack and claim to be trying to reestablish LS on the behalf of Liu Chang (刘昶) the Prince of Danyang, a son of LS's Emperor Wen who had in 465 fled to Northern Wei over fears that Emperor Qianfei would kill him. Emperor Gao prepared the northern borders in anticipation of a major attack, which Northern Wei did launch in winter 479. The Northern Wei attack, however, after Northern Wei forces made a failed siege of Shouyang. However, realizing that Jiankang was relatively defenseless (as throughout Jin and LS, a wall had never been built around Jiankang), he started a construction project to build a wall around Jiankang. Northern Wei and Southern Qi forces would continue to have minor border battles for another year, until spring 481, but there would be no further major campaigns by either side. In spring 482, Emperor Gao died. Crown Prince Ze succeeded him as Emperor Wu. 2) Emperor Wu of Southern Qi (Wu Di 武帝 w_ di) Xiao Ze (萧赜 xi_o ze) 482-493 Yongming (永明 y_ng ming) 483-493 Emperor Wu of Southern Qi ((南)齐武帝) (440━493), personal name Xiao Ze (萧赜), courtesy name Xuanyuan (宣远), nickname Long'er (龙儿), was the second emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi Dynasty. He was considered to be an able and diligent emperor, although he was also criticized for wastefulness. Background Xiao Ze was born in the LS capital Jiankang in 440, when his father Xiao Daocheng was just 13 years old. He was the oldest son of his father, and his mother Liu Zhirong was Xiao Daocheng's wife. By 466, when Xiao Daocheng was a LS general, Xiao Ze was a county magistrate at Gan County (赣县, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangsi), when he was stuck in the civil war between Emperor Ming, whose claim his father Xiao Daocheng supported, and Emperor Ming's nephew Liu Zixun, who also claimed the throne. Because of Xiao Daocheng's support for Emperor Ming, Xiao Ze, who was deep in the territory controlled by Liu Zixun, was arrested and imprisoned. His associate Huan Kang (桓康) fled with Xiao Ze's wife Pei Huizhao and his two sons Xiao Zhangmao and Xiao Ziliang (萧子良), and then organized some 100 people, along with Xiao Ze's distant relative Xiao Xinzu (萧欣祖), to make a surprise attack on Gan and rescue Xiao Ze. Xiao Ze then started an uprising at Gan against Liu Zixun. After Liu Zixun was defeated later that year, for Xiao Ze's contributions, Emperor Ming created him the Viscount of Gan, but he declined. In 477, after Xiao Daocheng assassinated Emperor Ming's violent and arbitrary son and successor Emperor Houfei, the general Shen Youzhi, from his base of Jing Province (荆州, modern central and western Hubei), started a campaign against Xiao Daocheng. At that time, Xiao Ze, who had just previously been the chief of staff for Emperor Houfei's brother Liu Xie (刘燮) the governor of Ying Province (郢州, modern eastern Hubei), was returning to Jiankang with Liu Xie. He had reached Xunyang (寻阳, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi) when news of Shen's uprising arrived. His associates all recommending speeding back to the capital Jiankang, but Xiao Ze instead took up defense position at Pencou (湓口, also in modern Jiujiang) to block the Yangtze River in anticipation of Shen's advancing east. When Xiao Daocheng received Xiao Ze's report, he gladly stated, "He is really my son!" (As it turned out, the defense was not needed, as Shen became mired in his siege of Yingcheng (郢城, in modern Wuhan, Hubei), and eventually his forces collapsed when he could not capture Yingcheng quickly, but Xiao Ze's tactical setup would have provided additional difficulty for Shen had he advanced further.) Xiao Ze was subsequently created the Marquess of Wenxi, and then the Duke of Wenxi, as his father progressed toward taking the throne. In 479, after Xiao Daocheng took the throne from Emperor Shun, ending LS and establishing Southern Qi as its Emperor Gao, Xiao Ze was created the crown prince. As crown prince As crown prince, Xiao Ze was often involved in the important matters of state. In 479, for example, when the official Xie Duo (谢□) publicly displayed refusal to submit to Emperor Gao after he took the throne, Xiao Ze suggested that Emperor Gao execute Xie to warn others, but Emperor Gao refused, instead finding another excuse to remove Xie. In 480, Xiao Ze's wife, Crown Princess Pei Huizhao, died. He would not have a wife after that point, although he had a multitude of concubines. Because Xiao Ze was only 13 years younger than his father Emperor Gao, and he felt that he contributed greatly to the establishment of Southern Qi, he often interjected himself into governmental matters, and he often used items that were properly only usable by the emperor. He also trusted his jester Zhang Jingzhen (张景真), who was so luxurious in his lifestyle to be like an emperor. When the official Xun Boyu (荀伯玉) reported this to Emperor Gao while Xiao Ze happened to be away from the capital Jiankang to worship the ancestors, Emperor Gao was enraged. Xiao Ze's brother Xiao Ni the Prince of Yuzhang found this out and quickly rode on a horse to personally warn Xiao Ze. Xiao Ze quickly returned to Jiankang, and the next day, Emperor Gao sent Xiao Ze's two sons, Xiao Zhangmao the Prince of Nan Commandery and Xiao Ziliang the Duke of Wenxi, to rebuke Xiao Ze for him and to order Zhang put to death in Xiao Ze's name. It took about a month for Emperor Gao's furor to subside, after a feast organized by the official Wang Jingze (王敬则) at the crown prince's palace. For some time, however, Emperor Gao considered replacing Xiao Ze as crown prince with Xiao Ni, but because Xiao Ni continued to serve his brother faithfully and carefully, their brotherly relations were not affected. In 482, Emperor Gao died, and Xiao Ze took the throne as Emperor Wu. Early reign Immediately after taking the throne, Emperor Wu posthumously honored his wife Crown Princess Pei as Empress Mu, and he created his oldest son (by her) Xiao Zhangmao crown prince. He also allowed a number of late-LS officials who had opposed or been opposed by Emperor Gao, including Shen Youzhi, Yuan Can, Liu Bing, and Liu Jingsu (刘景素), to be reburied with proper honors, reasoning that they were faithful officials who deserved recognition. He largely handed important governmental matters himself, while having Wang Jian, Wang Yan (王晏), his brother Xiao Ni, and his son Xiao Ziliang as the key advisors. However, his associates Lu Wendu (吕文度), Ru Faliang (茹法亮), and Lu Wenxian (吕文显) were also powerful behind the scenes.In 483, in what is considered a major blot on his record, Emperor Wu, still resentful that Xun Boyu had informed Emperor Gao of his misbehavior, had Xun and the general Yuan Chongzu (垣崇祖), whom he suspected of the same and who was a friend of Xun's, put to death under false accusations of treason. He also put to death the ambitious general Zhang Jing'er (张敬儿) and the official Xie Chaozong (谢超宗). In 485, displeased that Li Shuxian (李叔献) the governor of Jiao Province (交州, modern northern Vietnam) had been nominally submissive but had actually acted independently, Emperor Wu sent the general Liu Kai (刘楷) to attack Li. Li, in fear, fled back to Jiankang in submission. Later that year, Emperor Wu reestablished the national university and merged the imperial research facility Zongmingguan (总明观) into it, having Wang Jian as its head. In late 485, with the people fearful that Emperor Wu was using a new census bureau to discover cases of tax fraud and prosecute them, Tang Yuzhi (唐宇之) rose in Fuyang and captured a number of commanderies, claiming imperial title in spring 486. His rebellion was, however, soon suppressed. In 487, the migrant Huan Tiansheng (桓天生), who claimed to be a descendant of Huan Xuan, rose in Nanyang, with aid from Northern Wei. However, after several months, he was defeated. Late reign In 490, in response to peace overtures that Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei made, Emperor Wu made peace with Northern Wei. In fall 490, Emperor Wu's son Xiao Zixiang (萧子响) the Prince of Badong and governor of Jing Province, who had been interested in military matters, was accused of making improper trades of weapon with barbarian tribes. His staff members secretly informed Emperor Wu of this, and when Xiao Zixiang learned of this, he killed the staff members who reported on him. In response, Emperor Wu sent a small detachment of soldiers under the command of general Hu Xiezhi (胡谐之), to force Xiao Zixiang to give up his post and return to Jiankang to receive punishment. Hu, however, mishandled the situation as he refused all attemptes by Xiao Zixiang to surrender, forcing Xiao Zixiang to engage him in battle and defeat him. Xiao Zixiang subsequently tried to head to Jiankang alone to confess his guilt, but on the way, he was intercepted by the general Xiao Shunzhi (萧顺之), whom Crown Prince Zhangmao, who was fearful of Xiao Zixiang, had secretly instructed to find someway to have Xiao Zixiang killed, and Xiao Shunzhi strangled Xiao Zixiang to death. Emperor Wu, while mourning Xiao Zixiang, publicly declared his guilt and posthumously demoted him to marquess. In 491, in contravention with the traditional Confucian ceremonies of ancestral worship, Emperor Wu ordered that his parents (Emperor Gao and his wife Liu Zhirong) and grandparents (Emperor Gao's father Xiao Chengzhi (萧承之) and mother Chen Daozhi (陈道止) be offered, as sacrifices, items that they favored as foods, rather than the Confucian requirement of sacrificing one pig, one cow, and one goat each. The items offered those ancestors, instead, were: * Emperor Gao: ground pork sauce, pickled vegetable soup * Liu Zhirong: green tea, fried dough strips, grilled fish * Xiao Chengzhi: leavened bread, duck porridge * Chen Daozhi: young bamboo shoots, duck eggs Emperor Wu was heavily criticized by Confucian scholars for disobeying tradition (particularly because he also commissioned his sister-in-law, Xiao Ni's wife Princess Yu, to be in charge of the ancestral worship), but this act appeared to show quite a bit of humanity in his relationship with his parents and grandparents. Also in 491, a project that Emperor Wu commissioned in 489 -- the revision of the penal statutes to eliminate contradictory provisions in the statutes written by the Jin officials Zhang Fei (张斐) and Du Yu -- was completed, which greatly eliminated arbitrary and unfair enforcement of the laws. However, while Emperor Wu also ordered that the national university add a department for legal studies to eliminate the issue where officials were not familiar with penal laws, the order was not actually carried out. In 493, Crown Prince Zhangmao, to whom Emperor Wu had delegated part of imperial authority late in his reign, died. Emperor Wu created Crown Prince Zhangmao's son, Xiao Zhaoye the Prince of Nan Commandery, as crown prince to replace his father. Later that year, he died, and while there was initially an attempt by the official Wang Rong (王融) to have Xiao Ziliang made emperor instead, Xiao Zhaoye took the throne to succeed Emperor Wu. The Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang, in his Zizhi Tongjian, had these comments about Emperor Wu: When Shizu [Emperor Wu's temple name] reigned, he was attentive to the important matters of state, oversaw what was importantant, was strict and intelligent, and resolute and decisive. He gave his commandery governors and county magistrate long office terms, and if their subordinates violated the law, he would send the imperial swords to the governors or magistrates to have them carry out the capital punishments. Therefore, during his era of Yongming, the people were rich and peaceful, and there was little crime. However, he also favored feasting and gaming, and while he expressed displeasure at luxuries and wastefulness, he could not avoid them himself. |