Xiao Han (; died 949), probably born with the name Shulü Han (述律翰), also named Dilie (敵烈),

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 Theobald ...

Hanzhen (寒真), was a general of the Khitan-led

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

of China. After

Emperor Taizong of Liao Emperor Taizong of Liao (25 November 902 – 18 May 947), personal name Yaogu, sinicised name Yelü Deguang, courtesy name Dejin, was the second emperor of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty of China. Background Yelü Deguang was born in 902, befo ...

conquered the

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

, Xiao was left in control of the Later Jin's former capital Daliang, but he was unable to hold it. He later plotted against Emperor Taizong's nephew and successor Emperor Shizong and was executed.

Background

It is not known when Xiao Han was born. His father was Xiao Dilu (蕭敵魯)''

History of Liao The ''History of Liao'', or ''Liao Shi'' (''Liáo Shǐ''), is a Chinese historical book compiled officially by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), under the direction of the historian Toqto'a (Tuotuo), and finalized in 1344.Xu Elina-Qian, ...

'', vol. 113. — probably still using the surname of Shulü (述律) at the time — who was a chancellor of the

(which would later become Liao) northern court, and who was a brother of

Empress Shulü Ping An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

, the wife of Khitan's first emperor Emperor Taizu and a son of Emperor Taizu's aunt.''History of Liao'', vol. 73. Despite this close relationship, at some point, Xiao Han's mother was put to death by Empress Shulü, causing him to resent the empress from that point on. The earliest reference to Xiao Han's military career was in 922, when

Zhang Wenli Zhang Wenli (張文禮) (died September 15, 921? Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271.), known as Wang Deming (王德明) during the time that he was an adoptive son of Wang Rong, was a Chinese military ...

, then in control of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

), was under the attack by the army of Khitan's southern neighbor Jin and sought Khitan aid. While the Chinese accounts were that then Jin-commander

Li Sizhao Li Sizhao () (died May 23, 922''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calenda ...

(adoptive cousin of Jin's prince

Li Cunxu Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding emperor of the Later Tang dynasty (r. 923 ...

) died in battle with Zhang's army,''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vol. 271. Xiao's biography in the ''

'' contained a different narrative — that it was Xiao, whom Emperor Taizu sent to aid Zhang, who killed Li Sizhao. In any case, after Emperor Taizu's death and succession by Emperor Taizu's son Emperor Taizong — who had married Xiao Han's sister

Xiao Wen Xiao Wen (; died February 18, 935''History of Liao'', vol. 3. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), formally Empress Jing'an (靖安皇后, "the meek and peaceful empress"), probably née Shulü Wen (述律溫), was an empress of t ...

as his empress, and whose sister, according to the Chinese historical source ''

'', Xiao Han might have married,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286. although it might have been a confusion with Xiao Han's later marriage — Xiao Han became the commander of Emperor Taizong's

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

guards. In 945 (by which time Emperor Taizong had changed the name of his Khitan state to Liao, and by which time central China was ruled by

), when Emperor Taizong's army was battling that of the Later Jin general Du Wei and initially prevailed, Xiao advocated having the Liao cavalry get off their horses and shooting at Du's army with bows. Emperor Taizong agreed, but once the Liao cavalry soldiers did so, a Later Jin counterattack caused the battle to go against Liao with heavy losses, much to Emperor Taizong's regret.

Brief control of central China

By spring 947, Emperor Taizong had entered Later Jin's capital Daliang and taken its emperor

Shi Chonggui Shi Chonggui () (914–974), known in traditional Chinese historical sources as Emperor Chu of Later Jin (後晉出帝, "the exiled emperor") or Emperor Shao of Later Jin (後晉少帝, "the young emperor"), posthumously known in the Liao dynasty a ...

captive. He initially declared himself the emperor of China as well, but soon tired of Han rebellions. He decided to return to Liao proper, and he left Xiao Han in charge of Daliang, as the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate" ...

'') of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Daliang). Xiao wanted to seize some 50 remaining Later Jin ladies in waiting from Zide Palace (滋德宮), but the eunuch in charge, Zhang Huan (張環), refused. He forcibly broke down the palace door and seized the ladies in waiting, and then burned Zhang to death by holding heated iron against Zhang's body.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287. By summer 947, Emperor Taizong had died on the way back to Liao proper, and had been succeeded by his nephew Yelü Ruan (as Emperor Shizong). Xiao himself was facing increasing pressure from Han rebellions, and he considered how he could withdraw from Daliang safely, particularly with one of the main resisters to Liao rule,

Liu Zhiyuan Liu Zhiyuan () (March 4, 895 – March 10, 948), later changed to Liu Gao (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Han (), was the founding emperor of the Shatuo-led Later Han dynasty, the fourth of the Five Dynasties du ...

(who had declared himself emperor of a new state later known as Later Han, bearing down on him. He decided to claim that Emperor Taizong had ordered that he turn over central China over to Li Congyi, a prince of Later Jin's predecessor state

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

. He forcibly seized Li and Li's mother

Consort Dowager Wang Consort Dowager Wang who has another title Wang Taifei (王太妃) (died June 23, 947''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287.Zhang Li, as Yelü Mada and he both bore grudges against Zhang. He wanted to kill Zhang, but Yelü Mada persuaded him not to, although Zhang soon died in anger. Xiao joined Emperor Shizong on the way back to Liao proper, as Emperor Shizong prepared to confront the army of Empress Dowager Shulü, who wanted Emperor Taizong's younger brother

Yelü Lihu Yelü Lihu (耶律李胡) (911-960), also named Honggu (洪古), courtesy name Xiyin (奚隱), formally Emperor Zhangsu (章肅皇帝), was an imperial prince of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. As the third son of Liao's founding emperor Emperor T ...

to be emperor. As the two armies met, Empress Dowager Shulü inquired of Xiao, "What resentment do you have that you rebelled against me?" He responded to her, "Your subject's mother was sinless, but the Empress Dowager killed her. I cannot fail to have anger toward you." Later, after Empress Dowager Shulü decided to capitulate based on the advice of Yelü Wuzhi (耶律屋質), Emperor Shizong was able to take the throne.''History of Liao'', vol. 71. In 948, Xiao married Emperor Shizong's sister Yelü Abuli (耶律阿不里).

Death

Also in 948, Xiao entered into a conspiracy against Emperor Shizong with Emperor Taizong's son Yelü Tiande (耶律天德), Emperor Taizong's cousin Yelü Liuge (耶律劉哥), and Yelü Liuge's brother Yelü Pendu (耶律盆都). When their plot was discovered, Yelü Tiande was executed; Yelü Liuge was exiled; and Yelü Pendu was sent as an emissary to Xiajiasi. Xiao was caned, but after he swore that he was not involved, was released. In 949, however, he and Yelü Abuli tried to write Emperor Taizu's younger brother Yelü Anduan (耶律安端) to try to persuade Yelü Anduan to join a new conspiracy. Their letter was intercepted by Yelü Wuzhi, who presented it to Emperor Shizong. As a result, Xiao was executed, and Yelü Abuli was imprisoned, and she died of illness while imprisoned.''History of Liao'', vol. 5.

Notes and references

* ''

Old History of the Five Dynasties The ''Old History of the Five Dynasties'' (''Jiù Wǔdài Shǐ'') was an official history mainly focus on Five Dynasties era (907–960), which controlled much of northern China. And it also includes some history of other south states during the ...

'', vol. 98. * ''

'', vol. 113. * ''

'', vols. 286,

287 Year 287 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequ ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Han 9th-century births 949 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century Khitan people Liao dynasty jiedushi of Xuanwu Circuit Executed Liao dynasty people People executed by the Liao dynasty Xiao clan