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Xiao Baoyin (蕭寶寅) (487–530), courtesy name Zhiliang (智亮), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. In 502, as Southern Qi was on the edge of being taken over by the general Xiao Yan, who was preparing by killing the imperial princes, Xiao Baoyin fled to rival Northern Wei and became an official and general in the Northern Wei government. In 527, as Northern Wei was embroiled in agrarian rebellions, Xiao Baoyin rebelled and tried to reestablish Southern Qi, but was soon defeated and forced to flee to a rebel leader, Moqi Chounu (万俟醜奴), and he served under Moqi until both were captured in 530 by the paramount general Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Tianguang. He was forced to commit suicide.
A courtesy name, also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the Sinosphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty, during the king Wu Ding's reign, who was recorded as the twenty-first Shang king by the written records of Shang dynasty unearthed. Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Bamboo Annals describe a Xia dynasty before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period, and Shang writings do not indicate the existence of the Xia. The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.
The Southern Qi (479-502) was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated by Emperor Wu's intelligent but cruel and suspicious cousin Xiao Luan, who took over as Emperor Ming, and proceeded to carry out massive executions of Emperor Gao's and Emperor Wu's sons and grandsons, as well as officials whom he suspected of plotting against him. The arbitrariness of these executions was exacerbated after Emperor Ming was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan, whose actions drew multiple rebellions, the last of which, by the general Xiao Yan led to Southern Qi's fall and succession by Xiao Yan's Liang Dynasty.
Xiao Baoyin was born in 487, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, to whom his father Xiao Luan was a cousin. He was Xiao Luan's sixth son, and his mother was Xiao Luan's wife Liu Huiduan (劉惠端). She also bore two older brothers of his, Xiao Baojuan, Xiao Baoxuan (蕭寶玄), and a younger brother, Xiao Baorong, but died in 489, when Xiao Baoyin was just two. During Emperor Wu's reign, Xiao Luan carried the title of Marquess of Xichang and was a high-level official. After Emperor Wu's death in 493, Xiao Luan served as prime minister to Emperor Wu's grandson and successor Xiao Zhaoye, but in 494 killed the frivolous Xiao Zhaoye, briefly replacing Xiao Zhaoye with Xiao Zhaoye's brother Xiao Zhaowen before seizing the throne himself (as Emperor Ming). He created his sons imperial princes, and Xiao Baoyin carried the title of Prince of Jian'an.
Emperor Wu of Southern Qi ( 齊武帝) (440–493), personal name Xiao Ze (蕭賾), courtesy name Xuanyuan (宣遠), nickname Long'er (龍兒), 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.
Emperor Ming of Southern Qi ( 齊明帝) (452–498), personal name Xiao Luan (蕭鸞), courtesy name Jingqi (景栖), nickname Xuandu (玄度), was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi in the 5th century. He was a nephew of the founding emperor Emperor Gao, who later became prime minister during the reign of Emperor Gao's great-grandson Xiao Zhaoye.
Xiao Baojuan (蕭寶卷) (483–501), né Xiao Mingxian (蕭明賢), commonly known by his posthumously demoted title of Marquess of Donghun (東昏侯), courtesy name Zhizang (智藏), was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He was known as a violent ruler who executed high-level officials at his whim, and this drew several major rebellions, the last of which, by his general Xiao Yan, overthrew him and eventually his dynasty, with Xiao Yan establishing Liang Dynasty. He is known as the Marquess of Donghun because Xiao Yan demoted him to that title after he was killed in a siege of the capital Jiankang.
Emperor Ming died in 498, and was succeeded by Xiao Baoyin's older brother Xiao Baojuan. Xiao Baojuan was a violent ruler, but treated his brothers generally well, and Xiao Baoyin was given important official titles. In 500, after Xiao Yan rebelled against Xiao Baojuan after Xiao Baojuan had killed Xiao Yan's brother, the general Xiao Yi (蕭懿), Xiao Yan and another rebel general, Xiao Yingzhou (蕭穎冑), declared Xiao Baoyin's younger brother Xiao Baorong emperor (as Emperor He) at Jiangling, plunging Southern Qi into civil war. In 501, the general Zhang Xintai (張欣泰) tried to rebel against Xiao Baojuan at the capital Jiankang, and he seized Xiao Baoyin, preparing to declare him emperor. However, Zhang was soon defeated, and Xiao Baojuan, believing Xiao Baoyin to be not involved in the plot, did not punish him. Xiao Yan, however, won victory after victory, and soon put Jiankang under siege.
Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝) (464–549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), nickname Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty of Chinese history. His reign, until the end, was one of the most stable and prosperous during the Southern Dynasties. He came from the same family that ruled Southern Qi, but from a different branch.
Jiangling is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City.
Jiankang, or Jianye, as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu, the Jin dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.
Around the new year 502, during Xiao Yan's siege of Jiankang, Xiao Baojuan's generals Wang Zhenguo (王珍國) and Zhang Ji (張稷), fearful that Xiao Baojuan would hold them responsible for not being able to lift the siege, assassinated him and offered the city to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan entered the city and assumed regent powers (although he made Xiao Zhaoye's mother Empress Dowager Wang Baoming titular regent), and as Xiao Yan had Empress Dowager Wang bestow on him the title of Duke of Jian'an, Xiao Baoyin's title was changed to Prince of Poyang.
Empress Dowager Wang Baoming (王寶明) (455–512), formally Empress An, semi-formally Empress Dowager Xuande (宣德太后), was an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. She was never empress, but as she was the wife of Xiao Zhangmao, the oldest son and crown prince of Emperor Wu, who was posthumously honored as an emperor, and the mother of his son Xiao Zhaoye, who later became emperor, she was considered an empress.
Xiao Yan had his eyes on the throne, and while ostensibly preparing the capital to welcome Emperor He back as the emperor, was preparing to force Emperor He to yield the throne to him. As part of his preparation, he began to execute Emperor He's brothers. Xiao Baoyin's eunuch Yan Wenzhi (顏文智) and attendant Ma Gong (麻拱) therefore plotted to try to save the 15-year-old prince's life. They prepared for a boat on the Yangtze River, and then dug a hole on the wall during the middle of the night, to allow Xiao Baoyin to escape despite guards that Xiao Yan had put around his mansion. After hiding and traveling, Xiao Baoyin eventually reached the border city of Shouyang (壽陽, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), which Northern Wei had captured from Southern Qi in 500. Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei welcomed Xiao Baoyin as an honored guest, and after Xiao Yan seized the throne from Emperor He later in 502 (establishing Liang Dynasty as its Emperor Wu), considered using Xiao Baoyin as a tool to conquer Liang. Publicly, Liang declared that Xiao Baoyin had been caught plotting treason and had been executed.
The term eunuch generally refers to a man who has been castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences. In Latin, the words eunuchus, spado, and castratus were used to denote eunuchs.
Lu'an, is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 5,612,590, whom 1,644,344 resided in the built-up area made of 2 urban districts. Neighbouring prefecture-level cities are the provincial capital of Hefei to the east, Anqing to the south, Huanggang (Hubei) and Xinyang (Henan) to the west, and Huainan and Fuyang to the north. Although the character "六" is normally pronounced "Liù", in this case it changes to "Lù" on account of the historical literary reading.
Anhui, is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the eastern region of the country. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, bordering Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a short section in the north.
Emperor Xuanwu favored Xiao Baoyin for his brotherly piety in mourning Xiao Baojuan, and in spring 503, after Xiao Baoyin had prostrated himself for several days before Emperor Xuanwu's palace to beg for an attack against Liang, Emperor Xuanwu started plans of attacking Liang. As part of the plan, Xiao Baoyin was given an army and given the dual titles of Duke of Danyang and Prince of Qi, with an eye toward having him conquer Liang and reestablish Southern Qi as Northern Wei's vassal. For this reason, Emperor Xuanwu permitted Xiao Baoyin to gather strategists and generals about himself, which was usually not permitted for imperial subjects. He also gave his sister the Princess Nanyang to Xiao Baoyin in marriage.
Xiao Baoyin appeared to be a capable general, and during the reigns of Emperor Xuanwu and Emperor Xuanwu's son Emperor Xiaoming, he rotated through a number of key governmental offices, and while he was temporarily stripped of his titles in 507 after he and another major general, Yuan Ying (元英) the Prince of Zhongshan, suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Liang general Wei Rui (韋叡), his titles were soon restored. As Northern Wei's attacks on Liang repeatedly fizzled, however, there appeared to be little chance for him to reestablish Southern Qi. In 511, when Northern Wei forces suffered another crushing defeat, he was described to be the only general who was able to keep his army undamaged. In 516, he participated in the prevention of a Liang attack on Shouyang. While on that campaign, Liang's Emperor Wu wrote him a personal letter, promising that if he defected from Northern Wei, he would be given the border provinces as well as his surviving relatives. Xiao Baoyin refused and turned the letter over to Emperor Xiaoming's administration.
Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei ( 魏孝明帝), personal name Yuan Xu (元詡), was an emperor of the Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei (386–535). He ascended the throne in the age of five (515), so governmental matters were dominated by his mother Empress Dowager Hu. In 528, Emperor Xiaoming tried to curb his mother's powers and kill her lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) by conspiring with the general Erzhu Rong. As a result, 18-year-old emperor was poisoned by his mother, who was soon overthrown by Erzhu. From that point on, Northern Wei royal lineage had no actual power. The next ruler, Emperor Xiaozhuang (507–531) was established by Erzhu. Since Erzhu's rival, general Gao Huan, enthroned another royal offspring, the country was soon split in two rival polities, Eastern and Western Wei, both of which did not hold long on the political map of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
In 522, when Xiao Yan's nephew Xiao Zhengde, who had previously been adopted by Xiao Yan before he had any sons, fled to Northern Wei, claiming to be Liang's deposed crown prince, Xiao Baoyin wrote a severe denunciation of Xiao Zhengde, pointing out that Xiao Zhengde was fleeing from his uncle the emperor and father Xiao Hong (蕭宏), the Prince of Linchuan and a high-level official in the Liang administration, and asking that Xiao Zhengde be executed. As a result of Xiao Baoyin's denunciation, while Northern Wei did not execute Xiao Zhengde, it treated him with no preferential treatment, and Xiao Zhengde eventually fled back to Liang.
By 524, Northern Wei was stricken with agrarian rebellions throughout its borders. In fall 524, Xiao Baoyin was commissioned to attack one of the major rebels, Mozhe Niansheng (莫折念生), who had taken much of modern western Shaanxi and eastern Gansu and claimed the title of Emperor of Qin. In 525, Xiao Baoyin had a major victory over Mozhe Niansheng's brother Mozhe Tiansheng, substantially reducing Mozhe Niansheng's power, but he soon became stalemated against Mozhe Niansheng and was unable to have a conclusive victory. Several months later, Xiao Baoyin in turn suffered a major defeat at the hands of Moqi Chounu, and his lieutenant Cui Yanbo (崔延伯), who was instrumental in the victory over Mozhe Tiansheng, was killed. Xiao Baoyin was not sure whether to retreat or to continue fighting, but began to worry that Emperor Xiaoming's mother and regent Empress Dowager Hu would punish him. Empress Dowager Hu did indeed demote him, but kept him in command of the army. His titles were restored after his officer Yang Kan (羊侃) killed Mozhe Niansheng in battle in 527.
However, Xiao Baoyin continued to consider rebellion, using the excuse that one of Empress Dowager Hu's most trusted officials was Yuan Lüe (元略) the Prince of Yiyang, who had been previously treated well by Liang when he fled there, and must have been instructed by Liang's Emperor Wu to kill him under false pretenses. When Empress Dowager Hu sent the strong-willed official Li Daoyuan to examine Xiao Baoyin's troops, Xiao Baoyin assassinated Li and then, in winter 527, declared himself the Emperor of Qi. However, his rebellion was not much supported even by his own subordinates, who rose against him. In 528, his general Hou Zhongde (侯終德) ambushed him, and with his troops collapsing, Xiao Baoyin fled, with his wife the Princess Nanyang and youngest son Xiao Kai (蕭凱) to Moqi Chounu. Moqi Chounu, who soon declared himself emperor, gave Xiao Baoyin the title Taifu (太傅, "imperial professor") and made him a major general.
In 530, the paramount general Erzhu Rong (who had in 527 overthrown Empress Dowager Hu after she killed Emperor Xiaoming and placed Emperor Xiaozhuang on the throne) sent his nephew Erzhu Tianguang to quell the rebellions in the western provinces. Erzhu Tianguang quickly scored a number of victories, and after first tricking Moqi into complacency, made a surprise attack on him and captured him. Erzhu Tianguang then approached Moqi's capital Gaoping (高平, in modern Guyuan, Ningxia), and the forces in Gaoping seized Xiao Baoyin and surrendered.
Xiao Baoyin and Moqi Chounu were taken to the capital Luoyang and displayed for three days like circus animals. Xiao Baoyin's putative nephew Xiao Zan (蕭贊) (the son of Consort Wu, who was Xiao Baojuan's concubine and later Xiao Yan's, who believed that he was Xiao Baojuan's son and not Xiao Yan's) the Prince of Danyang pleaded for his life, as did the officials Li Shenjun (李神儁) and Gao Daomu (高道穆), who were friendly with Xiao Baoyin, reasoning to Emperor Xiaozhuang that Xiao Baoyin's rebellion was during Empress Dowager Hu's corrupt regime. However, the official Wang Daoxi (王道習) argued against sparing Xiao Baoyin, reasoning that while Xiao Baoyin's rebellion was during the prior administration, he served under Moqi Chounu during the current administration. Emperor Xiaozhuang agreed, and beheaded Moqi and forced Xiao Baoyin to commit suicide. As he was about to take poison, the Princess Nanyang and his children visited him, crying bitterly, but Xiao Baoyin was not mournful, merely stating, "This is heaven's wish. I only regret that I had not been a proper subject."
Xiao Zhaowen (蕭昭文) (480–494), formally Prince Gong of Hailing (海陵恭王), courtesy name Jishang (季尚), was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He is known as the Prince of Hailing because that was the title he was demoted to after he was deposed by his granduncle Xiao Luan in 494. After Xiao Luan deposed him and assumed the throne himself, he had Xiao Zhaowen poisoned.
Emperor He of Southern Qi ( 齊和帝) (488–502), personal name Xiao Baorong (蕭寶融), courtesy name Zhizhao (智昭), was the last emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzhou (蕭穎冑) and Xiao Yan in 501 as a competing candidate for the throne to his violent and arbitrary older brother Xiao Baojuan. In 502, with Xiao Baojuan having been defeated and killed and Xiao Yingzhou dead, Xiao Yan seized the throne from Emperor He and took the throne himself, ending Southern Qi and starting Liang Dynasty. Soon, Xiao Yan had the 14-year-old former Emperor He put to death.
Xuanwu was an emperor of the Xianbei dynasty of Northern Wei (499-515). He is known within China as Beiwei Xuanwudi (北魏宣武帝). He was born Tuoba Ke, but later changed his surname so that he became Yuan Ke. During Xuanwu's reign, Northern Wei appeared, outwardly, to be at its prime, but there was much political infighting and corruption, particularly by Xuanwu's uncle Gao Zhao.
Emperor Ming of (Western) Liang ( 梁明帝) (542–585), personal name Xiao Kui (蕭巋), courtesy name Renyuan (仁遠), was an emperor of the Chinese Western Liang dynasty. He, like 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.
Empress Dowager Hu, formally Empress Ling (靈皇后,), was an empress dowager of the nomadic dynasty Northern Wei (515-528). She was a concubine of Emperor Xuanwu, and she became regent and empress dowager after her son Emperor Xiaoming became emperor after Emperor Xuanwu's death in 515. She was considered to be intelligent but overly lenient, and during her regency, many agrarian rebellions occurred while corruption raged among imperial officials. In 528, she was believed to have poisoned her son Emperor Xiaoming after he tried to have her lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) executed. This caused the general Erzhu Rong to attack and capture the capital Luoyang. Erzhu threw her into the Yellow River to drown.
Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei, personal name Yuan Ziyou, was an emperor of China of the Northern Wei, a Xianbei dynasty. He was placed on the throne by General Erzhu Rong, who refused to recognize the young emperor, Yuan Zhao, who Empress Dowager Hu had placed on the throne after she poisoned her son Emperor Xiaoming.
Erzhu Rong (爾朱榮), courtesy name Tianbao (天寶), formally Prince Wu of Jin (晉武王), was a general of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was of Xiongnu ancestry, and after Emperor Xiaoming was killed by his mother Empress Dowager Hu in 528, Erzhu overthrew her and put Emperor Xiaozhuang on the throne, but at the same time slaughtered many imperial officials and took over most of actual power either directly or through associates. He then contributed much to the rebuilding of the Northern Wei state, which had been rendered fractured by agrarian rebellions during Emperor Xiaoming's reign. However, in 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu would eventually usurp the throne, tricked Erzhu into the palace and ambushed him. Subsequently, however, Erzhu's clan members, led by his cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao, defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang. He was often compared by historians to the Han Dynasty general Dong Zhuo, for his ferocity in battle and for his violence and lack of tact.
Yuan Hao (元顥), courtesy name Ziming (子明) was an imperial prince and pretender to the throne of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei, who briefly received allegiance from most of the provinces south of the Yellow River after he captured the capital Luoyang with support of neighboring Liang Dynasty. He became complacent after capturing Luoyang, however, and when the general Erzhu Rong, who supported Emperor Xiaozhuang, counterattacked later that year, Yuan Hao fled Luoyang and was killed in flight.
Xiao Tong, courtesy name Deshi (德施), formally Crown Prince Zhaoming, was a Crown Prince of the Chinese Liang Dynasty, posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming (昭明皇帝). He was the oldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang, whom he predeceased. Xiao Tong's enduring legacy is the literary compendium Wen Xuan.
Erzhu Tianguang (496–532) was a general of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He became a major general during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhuang, when his father's cousin Erzhu Rong was the paramount general of the state. He was renowned for pacifying the Guanzhong region, which had been seized by agrarian rebel generals Moqi Chounu (万俟醜奴) and Wang Qingyun (王慶雲) in 530. He thereafter tried to maintain a relatively distant profile from the other Erzhu clan members, particularly after Emperor Xiaozhuang killed Erzhu Rong later in 530 and then was overthrown and killed by Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao and cousin Erzhu Shilong. In 532, after the other Erzhus had suffered defeats at the hand of the rebelling general Gao Huan, Erzhu Tianguang tried to come to their aid, but was also defeated by another general who rebelled, Husi Chun, and Gao executed him.
Yuwen Tai (507–556), nickname Heita (黑獺), formally Duke Wen of Anding (安定文公), later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen (文王) then as Emperor Wen (文皇帝) with the temple name Taizu (太祖), was the paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei. In 534, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, seeking to assert power independent of the paramount general Gao Huan, fled to Yuwen's domain, and when Gao subsequently proclaimed Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei emperor, a split of Northern Wei was effected, and when Yuwen subsequently poisoned Emperor Xiaowu to death around the new year 535 and declared his cousin Yuan Baoju emperor, the split was formalized, with the part under Gao's and Emperor Xiaojing's control known as Eastern Wei and the part under Yuwen's and Emperor Wen's control known as Western Wei. For the rest of his life, Yuwen endeavored to make Western Wei, then much weaker than its eastern counterpart, a strong state, and after his death, his son Yuwen Jue seized the throne from Emperor Gong of Western Wei, establishing Northern Zhou.
Xiao Zhengde (蕭正德), courtesy name Gonghe (公和), was an imperial prince and briefly a pretender to the throne of the Chinese Liang Dynasty.
Hou Jing, courtesy name Wanjing (萬景), was a general of the Chinese dynasties Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han. He was soon defeated by the Liang prince Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, and he was killed by his own associates while in flight. He was one of the reviled figures in Chinese history, known for his exceeding cruelty to enemies and civilians.
Xiao Yuanming (蕭淵明), courtesy name Jingtong (靖通), often known by his pre-ascension title of Marquess of Zhenyang (貞陽侯), at times known by his post-removal title Duke of Jian'an (建安公), honored Emperor Min (閔皇帝) by Xiao Zhuang, was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was the nephew of the founding emperor Emperor Wu. In 555, with Liang in disarray after Western Wei had captured and killed Emperor Yuan, Northern Qi, which had held Xiao Yuanming as an honored captive since 547, forced the general Wang Sengbian to accept Xiao Yuanming as emperor. Soon, however, Wang's subordinate Chen Baxian killed Wang and removed Xiao Yuanming from the throne, replacing him with Emperor Yuan's son Xiao Fangzhi. Xiao Yuanming died the following year.