Fang Xiaoru (; 1357–1402),

courtesy name 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 East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobal ...

Xizhi (希直) or Xigu (希古), was a Chinese politician and Confucian scholar of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

. He was an orthodox Confucian

scholar-bureaucrat The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

, famous for his continuation of the Jinhua school of

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

and later for his loyalty to his former pupil, the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

(Zhu Yunwen), who died in the rebellion of the Prince of Yan (Jingnan rebellion).

Service to Zhu Yunwen and defiance to Zhu Di

During the Jingnan rebellion, Fang served as one of the Jianwen Emperor's closest advisors. After Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, usurped the throne to become the Yongle Emperor in 1402, he summoned Fang Xiaoru, who was famed for his connection to

Song Lian Song Lian (; 1310–1381), courtesy name Jinglian (), was a Chinese historian and politician of the Ming dynasty. He was a literary and political advisor to the Hongwu Emperor. Before that, he was one of the principal figures in the Yuan dyn ...

and the scholars of the Jinhua school as well as for his own talent and lucid composition. He demanded Fang write an

inaugural address In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

that would compare his usurpation of the throne with the regency of the

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting ...

during the reign of his nephew

King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou (), personal name Ji Song (姬誦), was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. His parents were King Wu of Zhou and Queen Yi Jiang (邑姜). King Cheng ...

in ancient China. Fang refused, retorting "Then where is King Cheng?" Zhu replied, "He was killed by his own fire." Fang continued to press the issue, asking Zhu, "Why not enthrone King Cheng's son?" Zhu answered, "The country requires a mature ruler." Fang again asked, "What about the Emperor's brother?" Zhu answered: "That is my family matter. The address must be written by you." Fang then wrote on the paper Zhu provided the words "燕賊篡位" ("The Bandit of Yan is a usurper"). Threatened with the execution of nine kinship, Fang Xiaoru is reported saying: "莫說九族，十族何妨" ("Never mind nine agnates; I am fine with ten!"). He was granted his wish with perhaps the only officially designated case of an "extermination of ten degrees of kinship" in the history of China. In addition to his own execution, his blood relations and their spouses were killed along with all of his students and peers as the 10th group. Altogether, 873 people are said to have been executed. Before death, Fang Xiaoru was forced to watch his brother's execution. Fang Xiaoru himself was executed by " waist severing" (). The legend goes that prior to his death, he dipped his finger in his own blood and wrote on the ground the Chinese character "篡" (''cuàn''), meaning "usurper".

Legacy

People in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ca ...

(闽南人) regard Fang Xiaoru, along with Tie Xuan and Jing Qing ( 景清), as the Sanfu Qiansui (三府千岁) deities in the

Wang Ye worship Wang Ye worship () is a Fujianese and Taiwanese folk religion, frequently considered an aspect of the Taoist belief system. Wang Ye is particularly worshipped in Southern Taiwan and also among Minnan speaking communities worldwide. The customary ...

(王爷神). Fang Xiaoru, Tie Xuan, and Jing Qing were all executed by Zhu Di during the Ming dynasty.

Zhang Tingyu Zhang Tingyu (, October 29, 1672 – May 19, 1755) was a Han Chinese politician and historian who lived in the Qing dynasty. Biography Zhang Tingyu was born in Tongcheng in Anhui province. In 1700, he obtained a ''jinshi'' position in the ...

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...

Gallery

File:Fang-xiaoru.jpg, alt=, Portrait of Fang Xiaoru by Ren Yourong (任有容) of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

File:Tomb of Fang Xiaoru in Nanjing 01 2012-10.JPG, alt=, Tomb of Fang Xiaoru File:Tomb of Fang Xiaoru in Nanjing 02 2012-10.JPG, alt= File:方孝孺（1357-1402）墓 fang xiao ru - panoramio.jpg, alt= File:方孝孺墓 - panoramio.jpg, alt= File:方孝孺墓道 - panoramio.jpg, alt= File:方孝孺铜像 - panoramio.jpg, alt=

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fang, Xiaoru 1357 births 1402 deaths 15th-century executions by China Executed people from Zhejiang Ming dynasty scholars People executed by cutting in half Politicians from Ningbo Victims of familial execution