Xiao Xiu (), formally Prince Kang of Ancheng ( (475–518), was a younger half-brother of

Xiao Yan Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties perio ...

(Emperor Wu), the founder of the

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 ...

of China. According to the ''

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 ...

'', he was the 7th son of Xiao Yan's father Xiao Shunzhi. Xiao Xiu is said to have been a disciple of the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk Daodu (道度, 462–527).

Xiao Xiu's Mausoleum

Xiao Xiu - panorma, west to east - P1070573

Xiao Xiu is better remembered not for what he did while alive, but for his tomb, whose assortment of animal sculptures is the most complete set of such statuary surviving from that period.Mausoleum Stone Carvings of Southern Dynasties in Nanjing
Xiao Xiu's tomb is located in the Ganjia Lane () neighborhood in today's

Qixia District Qixia District () is one of 11 districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China, straddling both sides of the Yangtze River. It has an area of 80 km2 and a population of 400,000. Natural and historical sites Qixia Mountain is i ...

north-east of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

(). It is thought that the sculptural ensemble of the tomb included a pair of winged lion-like animals ('' bixie''), four steles supported by stone tortoises, and a pair of fluted columns. Visited and photographed by

Victor Segalen Victor Segalen (14 January 1878 – 21 May 1919) was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic. He was born in Brest. He studied medicine and graduated at the Navy ...

in 1917, the ensemble of the Tomb of Xiao Xiu (with his name better known under its French transcription, Siao Sieou)Victor Segalen
''Chine. La grande statuaire'', and ''Les origines de la statuaire en Chine''
soon became well known to Europe's and the world's students of ancient Chinese sculpture. Presently, the site is on the grounds of Gan Jia Xiang Elementary School.

Notes

External links

(Sculptures at the Tomb of Xiao Xiu) (Xiao Xiu's brief biography; description and modern photos of his tomb statuary ensemble) Liang dynasty Buddhists Liang dynasty imperial princes 475 births 518 deaths {{china-bio-stub