Xiao Dong (; died 3 May 552),

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 ...

Yuanji (元吉), sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang (豫章王), was briefly an

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the Chinese

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 ...

. In 551, with 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 ...

in control of the imperial government at 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 ...

, Hou, wanting to show off his strength, deposed Xiao Dong's granduncle Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong, the grandson of Emperor Jianwen's older brother Xiao Tong, who was originally the founder Emperor Wu's

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 ...

. During his brief reign, Xiao Dong was entirely under Hou's control. Just two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced him to yield the throne to himself, who took the throne as the Emperor of Han. In May 552, troops under

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 ...

, a general loyal to Xiao Dong's granduncle Xiao Yi retook Jiankang, and the general Zhu Maichen (朱買臣), under Xiao Yi's instructions, threw Xiao Dong and his two brothers into 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 drown.

Background

Not much is known about Xiao Dong's early life, including when he was born. What is known is that he was the oldest son of Xiao Huan (蕭歡) the Prince of Yuzhang, the oldest son of Emperor Wu's oldest son and first

Xiao Tong. When Xiao Tong died in May 531, Emperor Wu had considered, pursuant to

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

principles of succession, creating Xiao Huan crown prince, but ultimately decided against it and created him only the Prince of Yuzhang. Emperor Wu created Xiao Tong's younger brother Xiao Gang crown prince instead. Xiao Dong's mother was Xiao Huan's wife Princess Wang. He had two younger brothers known to history—Xiao Qiao (蕭橋) and Xiao Jiu (蕭樛). After Xiao Huan's death on 21 January 541,''ren'zi'' day of the 12th month of the 6th year of the ''Da'tong'' era, per Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Liang'' Xiao Dong inherited the title of Prince of Yuzhang. In 548, the general

rebelled and, in 549, captured the capital

. Hou put the surviving princes of the Xiao imperial clan, including Xiao Dong, under effective house arrest. Emperor Wu died later that year, and Xiao Gang succeeded him as Emperor Jianwen, albeit under Hou's control. In 551, Hou, after attempting to defeat Emperor Jianwen's brother Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong but being defeated by Xiao Yi's general

, retreated to Jiankang, and he, believing that his days may be numbered, wanted to take the throne. In order to show off his power, he deposed Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong. When the imperial procession went to Xiao Dong's residence to escort him to the palace, Xiao Dong and his wife Princess Zhang were tending their garden, growing vegetables to supplement their diet in light of the war-induced famine in the capital region. He was shocked when the imperial procession arrived, and, not sure how to respond, got onto the imperial carriage while crying. Hou declared him emperor.

Brief reign

Xiao Dong had no actual power, as power was in the hands of Hou Jing. Xiao Dong posthumously honored his grandfather Xiao Tong and father Xiao Huan as emperors, and honored his mother Princess Dowager Wang as

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 monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

. He created his wife Princess Zhang

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. Two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced Xiao Dong to yield the throne to him. Hou, who became the emperor of a newly declared Han state, created Xiao Dong the Prince of Huaiyin, but imprisoned him and his brothers Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu in a secret prison.

Death

In spring 552, Wang Sengbian captured Jiankang, forcing Hou Jing to flee. Xiao Yi had initially ordered Wang to have Xiao Dong killed, but Wang declined—stating that while he was willing to fight Hou, the responsibility of killing an emperor should be entrusted to someone else. Xiao Yi therefore gave the order instead to another general, Zhu Maichen. Meanwhile, when Hou fled, Xiao Dong and his brothers broke out of their prison, but they were still in chains. They encountered the general Du Shi (杜崱), and Du removed their chains. Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu happily stated, "Finally today we have avoided an unnatural death." Xiao Dong responded, "It is difficult to know whether we are facing good fortune or ill fortune. I am still fearful." Soon thereafter, they encounter Zhu, who invited them to drink on his ship. Before they finished, Zhu's guards grabbed them and threw them into the

to drown.

Family

Consorts

* Princess consort, of the Zhang clan ()

Ancestry

References

* '' History of Southern Dynasties'', 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 ...

'', vol. 164. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Dong Liang dynasty emperors 6th-century births 552 deaths Murdered emperors of China