Liang () was a

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

centered on present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

. It was held by various powers over the course of Chinese history. It generally comprised modern

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

with a small part of Shanxi.

Ancient China

Liang (sometimes as , ''Liángzhōu'') was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China originally recorded in the ''

Yu Gong The ''Yu Gong'' () or ''Tribute of Yu'' is a chapter of the ''Book of Xia'' (夏書/夏书) section of the ''Book of Documents'', one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. The chapter describes the legendary Yu the Great and the ...

'' or ''Tribute of Yu'' section of the '' Book of Documents''. By the time of the '' Erya'', it had been replaced among the list of the nine major provinces of China. Nevertheless, it was usually included among the lists of the Twelve Provinces in the reigns of the mythological figures of

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...

and Emperor Shun. It included the upper Han River basin west of the

Huaxia ''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people. Etymology The earliest ...

homeland.

State of Liang

The

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s of Liang (, ''Liángbó'') possessed the surname Ying (). Their capital was located south of

Hancheng Hancheng () is a city in Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, about 125 miles northeast of Xi'an, at the point where the south-flowing Yellow River enters the Guanzhong Plain. It is a renowned historic city, containing numerous historic ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, they were involved in various alliances against the hegemony of Jin. In 642 BC, the count constructed a new capital for his realm only to have it seized by Qin upon its completion. The next year, Duke Mu of Qin annexed the area completely.

Wei Kingdom

The

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

s of Liang (, ''Liángwáng'') were the lords of Wei. Descending from the Bi () branch of the Ji (), the Zhou royal family, they came to be known as the Wei family () after Bi Wan conquered that land for Jin. In 344 BC, they were forced to move the capital from Anyi to Daliang (lit. "Greater Liang", now

) to escape attacks from Qin. In 344 BC, Marquess Hui declared himself independent of the Zhou and styled himself "King of Liang". His successors carried on the title until Liang's conquest by Qin in 225 BC but are generally known as the "Kings of Wei" today. * Wei Ying, King Hui (r. 344–319 BC) * Wei Si or He, King Xiang (r. 319–296 BC), son of King Hui * Wei Chi, King Zhao (296–277 BC), son of King Xiang * Wei Yu, King Anxi (277–243 BC), son of King Zhao * Wei Zeng or Wu, King Jingmin (243–228 BC ), son of King Anxi * Wei Jia, King Jia (228–225 BC), son of King Jingmin

Han Principality

The princes of Liang () bore the same title in Chinese as the Wei kings but are generally translated differently into English to reflect their changed status following the creation of the title of

emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heav ...

Shi Huangdi Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

. Their capital was generally at Suiyang in present-day

. The

Qin Empire The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the ...

was a unitary state following legalist policies but, upon establishing its Han successor,

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...

reïnstituted the previous fiefs and granted high titles to relatives and allies. In 202 BC, he created his general

Peng Yue Peng Yue (died 196 BC), courtesy name Zhong, was a Chinese military general and politician in the late Qin dynasty and early Western Han dynasty. He was involved in the Chu–Han Contention – a power struggle between the Han dynasty's founder, ...

the first prince of Liang. Within five years, however, Peng was arrested on false charges of treason and executed. His title was then given to the emperor's son

Liu Hui Liu Hui () was a Chinese mathematician who published a commentary in 263 CE on ''Jiu Zhang Suan Shu (The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art).'' He was a descendant of the Marquis of Zixiang of the Eastern Han dynasty and lived in the state ...

. As Liang was a rich and important patch of territory, its princes were powerful and prominent: many met with untimely deaths either because they began to covet the imperial throne or because they were feared to do so. A famous example apart from Peng Yue was Emperor Jing's younger brother Liu Wu, whose minions executed ten of the emperor's ministers for standing in his way. After the death of Liu Wu in 144 BC, his realm was divided among his five sons. Liu Pengli, the prince of Jidong, became a notorious

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

and had his lands confiscated by Emperor Jing. *

(r. 202–197 BC), a Han general *

(r. 196–181 BC), son of Emperor Gao * Liu Yi, Prince Huai (r. 178–169 BC), 2nd son of Emperor Wen * Liu Wu, Prince Xiao (r. 168–144 BC), 3rd son of Emperor Wen * Liu Mai, Prince Gong (r. 144–137 BC), 1st son of Liu Wu * Liu Xiang, Prince Ping (r. 137–97 BC), son of Liu Mai

Empire

The Liang Empire was established by the Southern Qi general Xiao Yan in AD 502. It was named for the titles duke of Liang (, ''Liánggōng'') and prince of Liang () which Xiao had the Empress An bestow upon him in her position as regent for the teenage Emperor He. Despite the title, his capital and court were at Jiankang (within modern

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Sui Kingdom

A new and independent kingdom of Liang () was declared in 619 by Shen Faxing, a Sui general in the lower

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. Despite the name, his capital was at

Piling A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a vertical structural elemen ...

(modern

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

) and he only ever controlled areas of present-day

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

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 ...

before his territory was conquered by the agrarian rebel

Li Zitong Li Zitong (died 622 CE) was an agrarian leader who claimed the title of emperor in the aftermaths of the death of Emperor Yang of Sui at the hands of the general Yuwen Huaji in 618. After Yuwen vacated the city of Jiangdu (, in modern Yangzhou, ...

(under the title

Emperor of Wu 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 ...

Tang Principality

The title of prince of Liang () was revived in AD 690 under the empress dowager

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

's new Zhou dynasty in order to honor her half-nephew

Wu Sansi Wu Sansi (died August 7, 707), known posthumously as Prince Xuan of Liang (), was a Chinese prince and politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties. Wu Sansi served as a chancellor and imperial prince during the reign of his aunt, Empress Wu Zetian ...

. He was demoted to a lesser principality after her death in 705 but restored as prince of Liang posthumously two years later.

Yuan Principality

The title of prince of Liang () was revived a fourth time under the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

as a hereditary

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

for one of the sons of Kublai Khan. The Princes of Liang served as the Yuan viceroys of Yunnan. By far the most famous was

Basalawarmi Basalawarmi ( xng, ᠪᠠᠵᠠᠯᠠᠸᠠᠷᠮᠠᠢ, , died January 6, 1382), commonly known by his hereditary noble title, the Prince of Liang, was a Yuan dynasty prince and loyalist who fought against the ascendant Ming dynasty in China p ...

(d. 1382), who continued his family's fight against the

Ming 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 ...

long after the fall of Khanbalik in 1368. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liang Zhou dynasty Provinces of Ancient China