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Emperor Yuan of Liang
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| Emperor Yuan of Liang 梁元帝 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Liang dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | December 13, 552[1][2] – January 7, 555[3][1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Xiao Dong | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Min Emperor Xuan (Western Liang) | ||||||||||||||||
| Pretender(s) | Xiao Ji (from 16 May 552 to 5 August 553) Hou Jing (from 1 January 552 to August 552) | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | Xiao Qifu (蕭七符) September 16, 508[3][1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 27, 555 (aged 46)[1][4] | ||||||||||||||||
| Consorts | Xu Zhaopei of Donghai Xia Wangfeng | ||||||||||||||||
| Issue | See § Family | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Liang dynasty | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Emperor Wu | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Dowager Wenxuan | ||||||||||||||||
Emperor Yuan of Liang (Chinese: 梁元帝; pinyin: Liáng Yuándì) (16 September 508 – 27 January 555), personal name Xiao Yi (蕭繹), courtesy name Shicheng (世誠), childhood name Qifu (七符), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen were successively taken hostage and controlled by the rebel general Hou Jing, Xiao Yi was largely viewed as the de facto leader of Liang, and after defeating Hou in 552 declared himself emperor. In 554, after offending Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of rival Western Wei, Western Wei forces descended on and captured his capital Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), executing him and instead declaring his nephew Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan) the Emperor of Liang.
Emperor Yuan was a renowned writer and collector of ancient books, but was criticized by historians for concentrating on eliminating potential contenders for the throne rather than on fighting Hou Jing. As Jiangling was besieged by Western Wei troops, Emperor Yuan set his collection of more than 140,000 volumes of ancient books on fire, and this is commonly considered one of the greatest disasters for the study of ancient works in Chinese history.
- ^ a b c d e Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 164.
- ^ a b Book of Liang, vol. 5.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 165.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 166.
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