Emperor Jing of Liang (; 543 – 5 May 558), personal name Xiao Fangzhi (),

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 Theob ...

Huixiang (), nickname Fazhen (), was an emperor of the Chinese

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

. As the only surviving son of Emperor Yuan, he was declared emperor by the general Chen Baxian in 555, but in 557 Chen forced him to yield the throne and established Chen Dynasty. In 558, Chen had him killed.

Background

Xiao Fangzhi was born in 544, when his father Xiao Yi was the Prince of Xiangdong during the reign of his grandfather, the founding emperor Emperor Wu. His mother was Xiao Yi's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Lady Xia. He was Xiao Yi's ninth son. He was created the Marquess of Xingliang in 549, probably by Xiao Yi, exercising acting imperial powers, as that year, the capital Jiankang fell to the rebel general

Hou Jing Hou Jing (; died June 552), courtesy name Wanjing (萬景), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a general of Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several ...

, who took Emperor Wu and his

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

, Xiao Fangzhi's uncle

Xiao Gang Xiao Gang (; born 1958 in Ji'an, Jiangxi) was the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission from March 2013 until 20 February 2016. He was previously chairman of the board of directors of Bank of China Limited, of the Bank of China ...

hostage, and the subsequent acts of Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang (who succeeded to the throne as Emperor Jianwen later that year when Emperor Wu died) were not recognized as genuine imperial edicts. In 552, after Xiao Yi had defeated Hou and taken the throne at his headquarters of Jiangling (江陵, in modern

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

) as Emperor Yuan, he created Xiao Fangzhi the Prince of Jin'an, and honored Xiao Fangzhi's mother Consort Xia as the Princess Dowager of Jin'an. In 553, Xiao Fangzhi was made a general and the governor of Jiang Province (江州, modern

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

), although, because he was just nine years old, actual gubernatorial authorities were probably carried out by staff members. In winter 554, Jiangling, then the capital, fell to

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

forces. Emperor Yuan was captured and subsequently executed around the near year 555, as were all of the then-surviving brothers of Xiao Fangzhi. Western Wei created Xiao Fangzhi's cousin

Xiao Cha Emperor Xuan of (Western) Liang ((西)梁宣帝; 519 – March or April 562), personal name Xiao Cha (蕭詧), courtesy name Lisun (理孫), was the founding emperor of the Western Liang dynasty of China. He took the throne of the Liang dynasty ...

Emperor of Liang. However, most of the remaining Liang provinces were under the control of Emperor Yuan's general

Wang Sengbian Wang Sengbian (王僧辯) (5th century-555), courtesy name Juncai (君才), was a general of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan (Xiao Yi)'s campaigns against the rebel general Hou ...

and Wang's lieutenant Chen Baxian, and they refused to recognize Xiao Cha as emperor. Rather, they welcomed Xiao Fangzhi to the old capital Jiankang, initially offering him the title of ''Taizai'' () and had him formally exercise imperial power. In spring 555, they declared him the Prince of Liang and had him take the throne—but not with imperial title. Meanwhile,

Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi Emperor Wenxuan of (Northern) Qi ((北)齊文宣帝) (526–559), personal name Gao Yang (高洋, Wade–Giles: Kao Yang), courtesy name Zijin (子進), Xianbei name Hounigan (侯尼干), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Northern ...

had his own designs on putting an emperor on the Liang throne who would be friendly to

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

. He created Emperor Yuan's cousin Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang, who had been captured by Northern Qi's predecessor state

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern We ...

in 547, and he sent his brother Gao Huan () the Prince of Shangdang to escort Xiao Yuanming back to Liang. Wang initially rejected Emperor Wenxuan's and Xiao Yuanming's overtures, but after his forces suffered several defeats at Northern Qi's hands, became apprehensive and decided to accept Xiao Yuanming as emperor, after extracting a promise from Xiao Yuanming to create Xiao Fangzhi

. In summer 555, Xiao Yuanming arrived at Jiankang to take the throne, although military authorities remained in Wang's and Chen's hands. Xiao Yuanming created Xiao Fangzhi crown prince, pursuant to his promise. In fall 555, however, Chen, displeased at Xiao Yuanming's becoming emperor, made a surprise attack on Jiankang from his headquarters at Jingkou (京口, in modern

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

). Wang was caught by surprise and was captured and executed by Chen. Xiao Yuanming abdicated, and Xiao Fangzhi took the throne (as Emperor Jing).

Reign

Emperor Jing honored his mother Consort Xia as empress dowager and his wife Princess Wang as empress. However, actual powers were in Chen Baxian's hands. War broke out as soon as Emperor Jing took the throne, as generals loyal to Wang, including Xu Sihui (), Ren Yue (), Hou Tian (), Wang's son-in-law Du Kan (), and brother Wang Sengzhi (), all rose to resist Chen, and Xu and Ren sought Northern Qi aid. In winter 555, Northern Qi forces crossed the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

into Liang territory to aid Xu and Ren, but soon, the armies stalemated near Jiankang. Around the new year 556, Chen put Shitou, a heavy fortified fortress in Jiankang's vicinity, which the Northern Qi general Liu Damo () had taken, under siege, and Liu sought peace. While Chen did not favor peace with Northern Qi, most imperial officials did, and Chen agreed to peace, sending his nephew Chen Tanlang (), Emperor Jing's nephew

Xiao Zhuang Xiao Zhuang (蕭莊; 548–577?), often known by his princely title of Prince of Yongjia (永嘉王), was a grandson of Emperor Yuan of Liang, who was declared by the general Wang Lin to be the legitimate emperor of the Liang dynasty in 558, ...

the Prince of Yongjia, and Wang Min (), the son of the key official Wang Chong (), to Northern Qi as hostages, permitting Northern Qi forces to withdraw, and Xu and Ren went with them to Northern Qi. In spring 556, Du was either defeated or surrendered, and Chen killed him. Wang Sengzhi fled to Northern Qi, and the Jiankang region was largely pacified. Soon, Hou, who controlled Jiang Province, submitted as well. Soon, however, Northern Qi forces, along with Xu and Ren's forces, attacked again. They arrived at Jiankang again in summer 556. Chen defeated them several times, however, and cut off their food supplies, leading to a major rout. Xu was captured and executed, as were a large number of Northern Qi generals. Chen had Emperor Jing create him the Duke of Changcheng, and then the greater title of Duke of Yixing. The general Wang Lin, who controlled Xiang (湘州, modern

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

) and Ying (郢州, modern eastern

) Provinces, however, resisted Chen's orders for him to report to Jiankang, although he still recognized Emperor Jing as emperor. In spring 557, Xiao Bo (), the governor of Guang Province (廣州, modern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

), apparently believing that Chen was about to seize the throne, rebelled and tried to advance north. Soon, however, Chen's general Zhou Wenyu () captured Xiao Bo's general Ouyang Wei (), and Xiao Bo's own generals rose and killed him. In summer 557, Chen had Emperor Jing create him the Duke of Chen. In winter 557, he had Emperor Jing create him the Prince of Chen, and then three days later, yield the throne to him, establishing Chen Dynasty with Chen as its Emperor Wu.

Death

Chen created Emperor Jing as the Prince of Jiangyin. However, in summer 558, he sent assassins to kill the former emperor. As the young emperor was without sons, his cousin Xiao Jiqing () was created the Prince of Jiangyin to succeed him.

Family

Consorts: * Empress, of the Wang clan of Langya ()

Ancestry

References

* ''

Book of Liang The ''Book of Liang'' (''Liáng Shū''), was compiled under Yao Silian and completed in 635. Yao heavily relied on an original manuscript by his father Yao Cha, which has not independently survived, although Yao Cha's comments are quoted in seve ...

'', vol. 6. * ''

History of Southern Dynasties The ''History of the Southern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. It contain 80 volumes and covers the period from 420 to 589, the histories of Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang dy ...

'', vol. 8. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', vols. 164,

165 Year 165 ( CLXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Orfitus and Pudens (or, less frequently, year 918 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...

, 166, 167. , - style="text-align: center;" , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jing Of Liang Liang dynasty emperors 544 births 558 deaths Chen dynasty people People from Jiujiang 6th-century Chinese monarchs Murdered Chinese emperors