Shi Hong (石弘) (313–334),

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 Theo ...

Daya (大雅), was briefly an

emperor 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 ( ...

of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China after the death of his father

Shi Le Shi Le (274–17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, formally Emperor Ming of (Later) Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. At a young age he was sold as a slave by Jin officials, but he later helped start a ...

, Later Zhao's founder. Because after his cousin

Shi Hu Shi Hu (; 295–349), courtesy name Jilong (季龍), formally Emperor Wu of (Later) Zhao ((後)趙武帝), was an emperor of the Jie-led Chinese Later Zhao dynasty. He was the founding emperor Shi Le's distant nephew, who took power in a coup ...

deposed him, he was created the Prince of Haiyang (海陽王), he is sometimes known by that title.

Background

Shi Hong was Shi Le's second son, by his

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 ...

Consort Cheng. Unlike the militaristic Shi Le, Shi Hong was known for his literary studies and kindness. After his older brother Shi Xing (石興) died, Shi Le made him his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

. In 330, after Shi Le declared himself first "Heavenly Prince" (''

Tian Wang Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term '' Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consis ...

'') and then emperor, he created Shi Hong

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 w ...

. Shi Le, concerned that his powerful nephew

, a ferocious general, had too much power, began to transfer some of Shi Hu's power to Shi Hong, but this only served to aggravate Shi Hu, who already resented Shi Hong for being younger but yet crown prince, believing that, as the general who contributed the most to Shi Le's campaign successes, he should be crown prince.

Reign

In fall of 333, Shi Le died, and Shi Hu immediately seized power in a coup. In fear, Shi Hong offered to yield the throne to Shi Hu, but Shi Hu refused and forced Shi Hong to assume the throne and make him prime minister, and Shi Hong did so. Shi Hu killed Shi Le's advisors

Cheng Xia Cheng Xia (died 333) was a Chinese minister of Later Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. His sister, Consort Cheng, was a wife of Shi Le and also the mother to the Crown Prince Shi Hong. Cheng Xia was thus given an important role in Shi ...

, Shi Hong's uncle, and

Xu Guang Xu Guang (; born June 1960) is a former Chinese politician who spent his whole career in north China's Henan province. He was investigated by China's top anti-graft body, the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection a ...

. Shi Hu further forced Shi Hong to create him the Prince of Wei, with intent to echo the powers that

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

had while being

Emperor Xian of Han Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a s ...

's regent. Shi Le's wife Empress Dowager Liu decided to take a chance. She conspired with Shi Le's adopted son Shi Kan (石堪) the Prince of Pengcheng to start a rebellion against Shi Hu, but Shi Kan was defeated and executed cruelly by burning. Empress Dowager Liu, after her role was discovered, was also executed. Shi Hong's mother Consort Cheng assumed the

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was a ...

title. Shi Hu also subsequently defeated the efforts by Shi Sheng (石生) the Prince of Hedong, Shi Lang (石朗), and Guo Quan (郭權) to overthrow him. In 334, unable to stand Shi Hu's persecution, Shi Hong personally visited Shi Hu and offered him the throne and the imperial seal, and Shi Hu refused—making it clear that it would be his initiative, not Shi Hong's, if he wanted the throne. Shi Hong returned to the palace and cried to Empress Dowager Cheng that the descendants of Shi Le would be exterminated. Soon thereafter, claiming that Shi Hong had violated the customs on mourning, Shi Hu deposed Shi Hong and demoted Shi Hong to the title of the Prince of Haiyang and imprisoned Shi Hong along with Empress Dowager Cheng and his brothers Shi Hong (石宏, note different character) the Prince of Qin and Shi Hui (石恢) the Prince of Nanyang in Chongxun Palace, and soon executed them. Shi Le's descendants were, by this point, exterminated by Shi Hu.

Personal information

* Father **

(Emperor Ming) * Mother ** Consort Cheng

References

* ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...

'', vols. 104, 10

* ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'', vol. 9

* ''

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 ...

'', vols. 93, 94, 95. * ''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'' () is a Chinese biographical historical work of the Sixteen Kingdoms compiled by the Northern Wei official Cui Hong between 501 and 52 ...

'', vol. 2. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Hong 4th-century Chinese monarchs Later Zhao emperors 313 births 334 deaths Murdered Chinese emperors