Xiao Daqi (蕭大器) (10 June 523 – September or October 551Xiao Daqi's biography in ''Book of Liang'' indicate that he was killed in the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Da'bao'' era, which corresponds to 16 Sep to 14 Oct 551 in the Julian calendar.),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao 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 pre ...

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

Biography

Early years

Xiao Daqi was born in June 523, 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 (, October 501 – 7 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, posthumously honored as ...

, 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 26 May 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 severa ...

rebelled and sieged the capital

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

, 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 river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

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 () (5th century – 27 October 555), courtesy name Juncai (君才), was a Chinese military general and regent of the Liang dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan (Xiao Yi)'s campaigns against the r ...

, 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 Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

, 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 3 May 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 i ...

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'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

''. 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 Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

References

* ''

Book of Liang The ''Book of Liang'' () 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 several chapters. ...

'', 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 the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang, ...

'', vol. 5

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vols.

155 Year 155 ( CLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 908 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 155 for this year ...

161 Year 161 ( CLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday 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 condita''). The denomination 161 for this ye ...

, 162,

164 Year 164 ( CLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macrinus and Celsus (or, less frequently, year 917 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 164 for this yea ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Daqi Liang dynasty imperial princes 523 births 551 deaths