Xiao Daqi (蕭大器) (524–551),

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 ...

Renzong (仁宗), formally Crown Prince Ai (哀太子, literally "the lamentable crown prince"), was a

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 wif ...

of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

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 ...

. He was the oldest son of Emperor Jianwen (Xiao Gang).

Biography

Early years

Xiao Daqi was born in 524, to Xiao Gang (who was then the Prince of Jin'an) and his wife, Princess Wang Lingbin (王靈賓). Xiao Daqi's uncle

Xiao Tong Xiao Tong (, September/October 501 – 30 May 531), courtesy name Deshi (), formally Crown Prince Zhaoming (昭明太子, literally "Accomplished and Understanding Crown Prince"), was a Crown Prince of the Chinese Liang Dynasty, posthumousl ...

, the first crown prince of his grandfather Emperor Wu, died in 531, and Emperor Wu created Xiao Gang crown prince instead. In 532, as the crown prince's oldest son, Xiao Daqi was created the Prince of Xuancheng. In 548, when the 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 ...

rebelled and sieged the capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its walls ...

, Xiao Daqi was given a general title, but did not appear to actually command troops. In 549, during peace negotiations that Xiao Gang entered with Hou, Hou was demanding that Xiao Daqi be sent to him as a hostage, but that term was never agreed to before peace negotiations collapsed over other issues. Hou subsequently captured the city, taking Emperor Wu, Xiao Gang, and other members of the imperial household, including Xiao Daqi, as hostages. Later that year, when Emperor Wu died, Xiao Gang succeeded to the throne (as Emperor Jianwen), albeit under Hou's control, and Emperor Jianwen created Xiao Daqi crown prince. (Xiao Daqi's mother Princess Wang also died in 549, without having been created empress, so presumably she died before Emperor Wu did.) Despite Hou's control over the political scene, Xiao Daqi was said to have never humiliated himself before Hou or Hou's associates. When his attendants asked him how he was able to keep his composure, he explained, "If the bandit ouwanted to maintain the leadership, then he would surely not kill me. Even if I were arrogant and yelling at him, he would not rebuke me. If he decided to act, even if I bowed to him 100 times a day, I would not be able to save myself." He further explained, "I expect to die before the bandit dies. If my uncles mperor Jianwen's brothers, several of whom were key provincial governorscan destroy the bandit, the bandit will surely kill us before dying himself. If the uncles fail, he will kill me so that he can receive the ultimate glory .e., become emperor How can I spend a life that will surely die on unproductive worries?" In spring 551, when Hou advanced west on 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 ...

to fight Xiao Daqi's uncle Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, then the strongest of the remaining Liang princes, he carried Xiao Daqi with him as hostage. In summer 551, when Hou was defeated by Xiao Yi'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 ...

, Hou fled back to Jiankang, and his fleet was in such a disarray at the time that Xiao Daqi had an opportunity to escape 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 ...

, and Xiao Daqi's attendants largely encouraged him to do so. Xiao Daqi, however, responded, "Since the empire plunged into warfare, I have decided not to live in a humiliating manner. His Imperial Majesty is held by the bandit, and how would I dare to leave him? If I flee, I am rebelling against my father, not the bandit." He therefore continued back to Jiankang.

Final Years

In fall 551, with Hou believing that he might be nearing defeat, he wanted to take the throne. In order to first show off his power, he deposed Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Tong's grandson

Xiao Dong Xiao Dong (; died 552), courtesy name Yuanji (元吉), sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang (豫章王), was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. In 551, with the general Hou Jing in control of the imperial ...

the Prince of Yuzhang. Hou executed all of Emperor Jianwen's sons under his control, including Xiao Daqi. When the executioners arrived at Xiao Daqi's residence, he was giving a lecture on the ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

''. He stated, "I knew long ago that this would happen. Alas, it is happening too late." The executioners initially wanted him to strangle him with his belt, but he responded, "That does not kill," and instead told them to use a rope, which they used to strangle him. In 552, after Xiao Yi declared himself emperor (as Emperor Yuan), he awarded Xiao Daqi his

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

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.

* ''

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. 5

* ''

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. 155,

161 Year 161 ( CLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Aurelius (or, less frequently, year 914 '' Ab urbe condi ...

, 162, 164. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Daqi Liang dynasty imperial princes 524 births 551 deaths