Gao1 Zu3(great great grandfather) 高祖 Liu2 Bang1
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| 2) Shi Zong 世宗 Xiao Ming Di 孝明帝 Xiao Kui 萧岿 562-585 Tianbao (天保 ti_n b_o) 562-585 Emperor Ming of Western Liang ((西)梁明帝) (542━585), personal name Xiao Kui (萧岿), courtesy name Renyuan (仁远), was a (disputed) emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. As he, his father Emperor Xuan, and his son Emperor Jing controlled little territory and relied heavily on military support from Northern Zhou and Northern Zhou's successor state Sui Dynasty, most traditional historians did not consider them true emperors of Liang. Background Xiao Kui was born in 542, during the reign of his great-grandfather Emperor Wu of Liang. His father was Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Cha the Prince of Yueyang, and his mother was Xiao Cha's concubine Lady Cao. Xiao Kui's grandfather Xiao Tong had been Emperor Wu's crown prince, but the succession was diverted away from Xiao Tong's line after Xiao Tong's death in 530─to Xiao Tong's younger brother Xiao Gang. Xiao Kui's father Xiao Cha was displeased about this development, and so prepared to contend for the throne eventually. After Liang was thrown into a state of confusion after the rebel general Hou Jing captured the capital Jiankang in 549, holding Emperor Wu and later Xiao Gang (Emperor Jianwen) as hostages, Xiao Cha feared that his uncle Xiao Yi, who appeared intent on eliminating actual or potential competitors for the throne, and so surrendered his realm of Yong Province (雍州, modern northwestern Hubei) to Western Wei, seeking Western Wei's protection. Xiao Yi claimed the throne in 552 after defeating Hou, but was himself defeated by Western Wei forces in 554 and executed in 555.
Western Wei declared Xiao Cha the Emperor of Liang (as Emperor Xuan), as a vassal of Western Wei. As Xiao Kui's older brother and Emperor Xuan's original heir apparent Xiao Liao (萧□) had died earlier, Emperor Xuan created Xiao Kui crown prince. Emperor Xuan was, however, never able to gain much support among Liang's provinces and was only able to hold a small amount of territory around his capital Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei). He relied on the support of Western Wei and its successor state Northern Zhou, and in turn had his authorities severely curtailed by the commandant of Jiangling that Western Wei/Northern Zhou stationed at Jiangling to defend him as well as to watch over him. He was said to die from his depression in 562, and Xiao Kui inherited the throne (as Emperor Ming), continuing to be a vassal of Northern Zhou. Reign During Northern Zhou Emperor Ming honored his grandmother Empress Dowager Gong as grand empress dowager, his father Emperor Xuan's wife Empress Wang as empress dowager, and his mother Consort Cao as consort dowager. (Grand Empress Dowager Gong and Consort Dowager Cao both died in 562, and Empress Dowager Wang died in 563.) For reasons unclear in historical records, Emperor Ming was not recorded as having created an empress, and while at some point during his reign he created his son Xiao Cong crown prince, it is not known when that occurred. He was said to be a learned ruler, writing some 14 different works on filial piety as well as on fortunetelling, but as his fortunetelling works suggested, he was also said to be highly superstitious. He was said to be filially pious and kind, and was also a capable administrator, being able to allow his war-weary subjects to rest and recover. After Emperor Wen of Chen died in 566 and was succeeded by his young son Emperor Fei of Chen, the Chen Dynasty high level officials became locked in a power struggle, and in 567 Emperor Fei's uncle Chen Xu the Prince of Ancheng killed Liu Shizhi (刘师之) and Dao Zhongju (到仲举) and took over power. The general Hua Jiao (华皎), the governor of Xiang Province (湘州, roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), apprehensive about Chen Xu's intentions toward him, secretly submitted to Liang and Northern Zhou, seeking aid from both. Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou and his regent Yuwen Hu commissioned Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhi (宇文直) the Prince of Wei with an army, and Emperor Ming also gathered his own troops, commanded by his general Wang Cao (王操), to aid Hua. However, when their forces, along with Hua's, encountered the Chen forces, commanded by the generals Chunyu Liang (淳于量) and Wu Mingche at Dunkou (沌口, in modern Wuhan, Hubei), they were defeated by Chen forces, and both Hua and Yuwen Zhi were forced to flee to Jiangling. The Northern Zhou general Yuan Ding (元定) and the Liang general Li Guang (李广) were captured. Wu took this opportunity to seize Liang's Hedong Commandery (河东, in modern Jingzhou) as well. Yuwen Zhi blamed the defeat on the Liang general Yin Liang (殷亮), and Emperor Ming, while knowing that Yin was not at fault, was unwilling to oppose Yuwen Zhi, and so executed Yin. In spring 568, Wu put Jiangling under siege and redirected the waters to try to flood it. Emperor Ming, escorted by the Northern Zhou commandant Tian Hong (田弘), fled to the nearby fort of Ji'nan (纪南). The vice commandant Gao Lin (高琳) and Wang remained at Jiangling and defended it for over 100 days, until the Liang generals Ma Wu (马武) and Ji Che (吉彻) counterattacked and defeated Wu, forcing him to withdraw and allowing Emperor Ming to return to Jiangling. In fall 570, the Liang general Zhang Zhaoda (章昭达) put Jiangling under siege, while capturing the Northern Zhou-built fort of Anshu (安蜀, near the Three Gorges). Jiangling nearly fell, and only after Yuwen Zhi sent aid via forces commanded by Li Qianzhe (李迁哲) to relieve the city did Zhang withdraw. In 571, Hua, who had served as an official under Emperor Ming since his defeat in 567, went instead to the Northern Zhou capital Chang'an. On the way, he met Yuwen Zhi at Yuwen Zhi's defense post of Xiangyang (襄阳, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei). He pointed out to Yuwen Zhi that Liang had lost so much territory that it was poor and unable to fend for itself, advocating that it would be sound policy for Northern Zhou to loan several provinces to Liang. Yuwen Zhi agreed and submitted the proposal to Emperor Wu; in response, Emperor Wu gave three provinces─Ji (基州), Ping (平州), and Ruo (□州) (together making up about modern Jingmen and Yichang, Hubei) to Liang. In 577, after Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu conquered Northern Qi and seized its territory, Emperor Ming went to greet Emperor Wu at Northern Qi's former capital Yecheng. Initially, while Emperor Wu treated Emperor Ming with ceremonial respect, he did not consider Emperor Ming as an important vassal. Emperor Ming sensed this, and, at a feast, discussed how Emperor Ming's father Emperor Xuan owed much to Emperor Wu's father, Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai, and in doing so was so emotional that he wept bitterly. Emperor Wu was impressed, and treated him with greater respect. Emperor Ming also spent much effort to flatter Emperor Wu─including comparing him to the mythical emperors Emperor Yao and Shun. Emperor Wu was flattered, and rewarded Emperor Ming with much treasure, as well as some of the Northern Qi emperor Gao Wei's concubines. In 578, Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu died and was succeeded by his erratic and cruel son Emperor Xuan. In 580, Emperor Xuan died as well, and Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian seized power as regent over Emperor Xuan's young son Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou. The Northern Zhou general Weichi Jiong, suspicious of Yang's intentions, rose at Yecheng against Yang. Most Liang generals advised Emperor Ming to align himself with Weichi─reasoning that if Weichi were successful, he would be rewarded with being loyal to the imperial Yuwen clan, while if Weichi were not successful, he could nevertheless take this opportunity to seize some territory. However, when Emperor Ming sent the official Liu Zhuang (柳庄) to Chang'an to observe the situation, Yang, citing that he had previously been a guest of Emperor Ming while he was stationed as a general at Jiangling (although historical records do not indicate when he was there), begged Liang's loyalty. Liu, believing that Weichi would not succeed, returned to Jiangling and advised Emperor Ming to side with Yang. Emperor Ming agreed, and subsequently, when Yang defeated Weichi, commented to Liu, "If I had listened to the others, the empire would have been destroyed." During Sui Dynasty In spring 581, Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen. Soon thereafter, Emperor Ming sent his brother Xiao Yan (萧岩) the Prince of Anping to Chang'an to congratulate Emperor Wen and to pledge loyalty. In 582, Emperor Wen, to further honor Emperor Ming, offered to take one of his daughters as the wife to Emperor Wen's favored son Yang Guang the Prince of Jin. Emperor Ming, after trying to divine the fortunes, determined that all of his daughters were inappropriate choices─but then remembered that he had a daughter, who was born in the second month of the year and thus, by superstitions of the time, considered ill fortune and therefore was raised by her maternal uncle Zhang Ke (张轲). He summoned her back to the palace, and the diviners indicated that she would be a fit, and therefore she was married to Yang Guang. (Emperor Wen also wanted to give his own daughter Princess Lanling to Emperor Ming's son Xiao Yang (萧□) the Prince of Yi'an, but for reasons unclear ultimately did not do so.) Because of this marital relationship, Emperor Wen decided to withdraw the Commandant of Jiangling from Jiangling. Thereafter, for a brief duration, Emperor Ming was able to rule his state with decreased interference from Sui. In 583, when Sui moved its capital from the old city of Chang'an to a nearby, newly constructed capital Daxing (大兴), Emperor Ming sent his crown prince Xiao Cong to congratulate Emperor Wen. In spring 584, Emperor Ming himself went to the new capital to pay homage to Emperor Wen, and both of them dressed in imperial garbs, although Emperor Ming dressed slightly less impressively to show his status as a vassal. In summer 585, Emperor Ming died. Xiao Cong succeeded him (as Emperor Jing). 3) Xiao Jing Di 孝靖帝 or Ju Gong 莒公 Xiao Cong (萧琮 xi_o cong) 585-587 Guangyun (广运 gu_ng yun) 562-585 Emperor Jing of Western Liang ((西)梁靖帝) (as later honored by Xiao Xi in 617), personal name Xiao Cong (萧琮), courtesy name Wenwen (温文), known during Sui Dynasty as the Duke of Ju (莒公) then Duke of Liang (梁公), was the (disputed) final emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. As he and his father Emperor Ming heavily relied on the military support of Sui Dynasty, most traditional historians did not consider them true emperors of Liang. In 587, after Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan (萧岩) and brother Xiao Huan (萧□), surrendered to Chen Dynasty after suspecting Sui intentions, Emperor Wen of Sui abolished Liang, directly seized the Liang territory, and made Emperor Jing one of his officials, ending Liang. Background It is not known when Xiao Cong was born, and his mother's name is also lost in history. All that is known about his birth is that he was either the oldest or the second son of his father Emperor Ming of Western Liang -- although the fact that he was initially created the Prince of Dongyang, rather than crown prince, by his father suggests that he was the second son, not the oldest. (If that were the case, his older brother's name is lost to history.) In his youth, he was considered knowledgeable and free-spirited. It is not known when Xiao Cong was created crown prince, but it must be before 583, when Emperor Ming sent him, as Liang's crown prince, to congratulate his suzerain Emperor Wen of Sui on moving his capital from the old city Chang'an to the nearby new capital of Daxing (大兴). In 585, Emperor Ming died, and Xiao Cong succeeded to the throne (as Emperor Jing). Reign In 585, Emperor Jing sent his general Qi Xin (戚昕) to attack Chen Dynasty's city of Gong'an (公安, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), but Qi was unable to capture Gong'an and forced to withdraw. Also in 585, Sui's Emperor Wen, upon hearing that Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Cen (萧岑) the Prince of Wu Commandery was relying on his honored position and difficult to control, summoned Xiao Cen to Daxing and detained him there, although creating him the Duke of Huaiyi. Thereafter, Emperor Wen also reestablished the post of the Commandant of Jiangling (Liang's capital) and posted troops at Jiangling, effectively reasserting control over Liang. (Sui had withdrawn troops from Jiangling in 582, giving Emperor Ming more autonomy than before.) Perhaps because of this, Emperor Jing's general Xu Shiwu (许世武) secretly offered to submit to the Chen general Chen Huiji (陈慧纪) the Marquess of Yihuang (the cousin to Chen's emperor Chen Shubao), but Emperor Jing discovered Xu's plot and executed him. In 587, Emperor Wen summoned Emperor Jing to Daxing to visit him. Emperor Jing led a train of some 200 officials, but as he was departing Jiangling, the people of Jiangling, believing that he would be detained and not be able to return, wept bitterly. Emperor Wen, claiming that he feared for Jiangling's safety in Emperor Jing's absence, sent his general Cui Hongdu (崔弘度) the Duke of Wuxiang to Jiangling. When Cui arrived in the nearby Ruo Province (□州, roughly modern Yichang, Hubei), Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan and brother Xiao Huan, suspicious that Cui was instead planning to attack, sent the official Shen Jungong (沈君公, uncle of Chen Shubao's Empress Shen Wuhua) to Chen Huiji, offering to surrender. Chen Huiji quickly arrived at Jiangling, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Huan led the people of Jiangling in leaving the city and fleeing into Chen territory. When Emperor Wen heard of this, he issued an edict abolishing Liang. He sent his official Gao Jiong to Jiangling to pacify the people who remained and to post guards to tend to the tombs of Emperor Ming and Emperor Ming's father Emperor Xuan. The former Emperor Jing was created the Duke of Ju. Under Sui Dynasty Just two years later, in 589, Sui conquered Chen, unifying China. In 594, Emperor Wen, citing the fact that the emperors of Northern Qi, Liang, and Chen were not being sacrificed, ordered that the former Northern Qi prince Gao Renying (高仁英), Chen Shubao, and Xiao Cong be given regular supplies so that they could make periodic sacrifices to their ancestors. In 604, Emperor Wen died, and his son Yang Guang succeeded him (as Emperor Yang). As Emperor Yang's wife Empress Xiao was Xiao Cong's younger sister, Emperor Yang afforded Xiao Cong greater respect and changed his title from Duke of Ju to Duke of Liang. He also commissioned a number of Xiao Cong's relatives as officials. Xiao Cong himself was made a high level official, but rarely carried out the duties of his office. When Emperor Yang sent the official Yang Yue (杨约), brother of the chancellor Yang Su, to try to encourage Xiao Cong to change his ways, Xiao Cong explained to Yang Yue, in veiled terms, that he did not want to draw attention to himself. Xiao Cong was also known for maintaining his own self-respect, and while he was living away from his ancestral lands, he refused to yield to the great clans of the north, and therefore offended a good number of northern nobles. In 607, Emperor Yang killed a number of high level officials─Gao Jiong, Heruo Bi (贺若弼), and Yuwen Bi (宇文弼), for criticizing his large rewards to the submissive Qimin Khan of Tujue. Xiao Cong had a deep friendship with Heruo, and therefore drew Emperor Yang's suspicions, and at the time, there was a popular song which included, in its lyrics, the line, "Xiao Xiao will rise again!" (The lyrics might have meant, "the recession will end.") This caused the superstitious Emperor Yang to suspect Xiao Cong further, and Xiao Cong was removed from his post and died without any offices. His year of death is not known. He might have been sonless, as his nephew Xiao Ju (萧钜) inherited the title of Duke of Liang.[1] While it would be customary for dukes to receive posthumous names, Xiao Cong, if he received one from Sui, did not have one recorded in history. In 617, when Xiao Yan's grandson Xiao Xi rebelled against Sui rule and briefly reestablished Liang, he honored Xiao Cong as Emperor Jing. Footnotes 1. ^ However, the New Book of Tang, one of the official histories of the succeeding Tang Dynasty, in its table of chancellors' family trees, listed one Xiao Xuan (萧铉), later a prefectural prefect, as Xiao Cong's son. See New Book of Tang, vol. 71, part 2.[1] |