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Xiao Cong

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Emperor Jing of Western Liang ((西)梁靖帝, as later honored by Xiao Xi in 617), personal name Xiao Cong (蕭琮), courtesy nameWenwen (溫文), known during the Sui dynasty as the Duke of Ju (莒公), then Duke of Liang (梁公), was the final emperor of the Western Liang dynasty of China. He died c.September 607,[1] by which time he was at least into middle age. Both he and his father Emperor Ming heavily relied on the military support of the Sui. In 587, after Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan (蕭巖) and brother Xiao Huan (蕭瓛), surrendered to the Chen dynasty after suspecting Sui intentions, Emperor Wen of Sui abolished the Western Liang throne, seized Western Liang territories, and made Emperor Jing one of his officials, thus ending the Western Liang dynasty.

Background

It is not known when Xiao Cong was born, and his mother's name is also lost in history. All that is known about his birth is that he was either the oldest or the second son of his father Xiao Kui—although the fact that he was initially created the Prince of Dongyang, rather than crown prince, by his father suggests that he was the second son, not the oldest. (If that were the case, his older brother's name is lost to history.) In his youth, he was considered knowledgeable and free-spirited.[2]

It is not known when Xiao Cong was created crown prince, but it must be before 583, when Emperor Ming sent him, as Western Liang's crown prince, to congratulate his suzerain Emperor Wen of Sui on moving his capital from the old city Chang'an to the nearby new capital of Daxing (大興). In 585, Emperor Ming died, and Xiao Cong succeeded to the throne (as Emperor Jing).

Reign

In 585, Emperor Jing sent his general Qi Xin (戚昕) to attack the Chen dynasty's city of Gong'an (公安, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), but Qi was unable to capture Gong'an and forced to withdraw.

Map showing the location of Western Liang in 570

Also in 585, Sui's Emperor Wen, upon hearing that Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Cen (蕭岑) the Prince of Wu Commandery was relying on his honored position and difficult to control, summoned Xiao Cen to Daxing and detained him there, although creating him the Duke of Huaiyi. Thereafter, Emperor Wen also reestablished the post of the Commandant of Jiangling (Western Liang's capital) and posted troops at Jiangling, effectively reasserting control over Western Liang. (Sui had withdrawn troops from Jiangling in 582, giving Emperor Ming more autonomy than before.) Perhaps because of this, Emperor Jing's general Xu Shiwu (許世武) secretly offered to submit to the Chen general Chen Huiji (陳慧紀) the Marquess of Yihuang (the cousin to Chen's emperor Chen Shubao), but Emperor Jing discovered Xu's plot and executed him.

In 587, Emperor Wen summoned Emperor Jing to Daxing to visit him. Emperor Jing led a train of some 200 officials, but as he was departing Jiangling, the people of Jiangling, believing that he would be detained and not be able to return, wept bitterly. Emperor Wen, claiming that he feared for Jiangling's safety in Emperor Jing's absence, sent his general Cui Hongdu (崔弘度) the Duke of Wuxiang to Jiangling. When Cui arrived in the nearby Ruo Province (鄀州, roughly modern Yichang, Hubei), Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan and brother Xiao Huan, suspicious that Cui was instead planning to attack, sent the official Shen Jungong (沈君公, uncle of Chen Shubao's Empress Shen Wuhua) to Chen Huiji, offering to surrender. Chen Huiji quickly arrived at Jiangling, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Huan led the people of Jiangling in leaving the city and fleeing into Chen territory.

When Emperor Wen heard of this, he issued an edict abolishing Western Liang. He sent his official Gao Jiong to Jiangling to pacify the people who remained and to post guards to tend to the tombs of Emperor Ming and Emperor Ming's father Emperor Xuan. The former Emperor Jing was created the Duke of Ju.

Under Sui dynasty

Tomb of Emperor Xiao Jing of the Western Liang may have been inspired by the Pillars of Ashoka.[3]

Just two years later, in 589, Sui successfully conquered Chen, unifying China. In 594, Emperor Wen, citing the fact that the emperors of Northern Qi, Western Liang, and Chen were not being sacrificed, ordered that the former Northern Qi prince Gao Renying (高仁英), Chen Shubao, and Xiao Cong be given regular supplies so that they could make periodic sacrifices to their ancestors.

En 604, el emperador Wen falleció y su hijo Yang Guang lo sucedió (como emperador Yang). Dado que la emperatriz Xiao, esposa del emperador Yang , era hermana menor de Xiao Cong, el emperador Yang le brindó mayor respeto y cambió su título de duque de Ju a duque de Liang. También nombró a varios parientes de Xiao Cong como funcionarios. El propio Xiao Cong fue nombrado funcionario de alto rango, pero rara vez desempeñó las funciones de su cargo. Cuando el emperador Yang envió al funcionario Yang Yue (楊約), hermano del canciller Yang Su , para intentar persuadir a Xiao Cong de que cambiara su actitud, Xiao Cong le explicó a Yang Yue, en términos velados, que no quería llamar la atención. Xiao Cong también era conocido por su dignidad, y mientras vivía lejos de sus tierras ancestrales, se negó a someterse a los grandes clanes del norte, ofendiendo así a un buen número de nobles del norte.

El 27 de agosto de 607, [ 4 ] el emperador Yang mató a varios funcionarios de alto rango: Gao Jiong, Heruo Bi (賀若弼) y Yuwen Bi (宇文弼), por criticar las grandes recompensas que otorgaba al sumiso Qimin Khan de Tujue . Xiao Cong tenía una profunda amistad con Heruo, lo que despertó las sospechas del emperador Yang. En ese momento, circulaba una canción popular cuya letra incluía la frase: " ¡Xiao Xiao resurgirá!" (La letra podría haber significado: "la recesión terminará"). Esto hizo que el supersticioso emperador Yang sospechara aún más de Xiao Cong, quien fue destituido de su cargo. Finalmente, murió en su casa sin ocupar ningún cargo. Se desconoce el año de su muerte. Es posible que no tuviera hijos varones, ya que su sobrino Xiao Ju (蕭鉅) heredó el título de duque de Liang. [ 5 ] Si bien era costumbre que los duques recibieran nombres póstumos , Xiao Cong, si recibió uno de Sui, no quedó registrado en la historia. En 617, cuando el nieto de Xiao Yan, Xiao Xian, se rebeló contra el gobierno de Sui y restableció brevemente Liang, honró a Xiao Cong como el emperador Jing.

Nombre de la era

  • Guangyun (廣運 guǎng yùn) 586–587

Notas a pie de página

  1. ↑ La biografía de Xiao Cong en Book of Sui indica que murió poco después de la ejecución de Heruo Bi. (尝与贺若弼深相友善，弼既被诛，复有童谣曰：“萧萧亦复起。”帝由是忌之，遂废于家，未几而卒。) Sui Shu , vol.79.
  2. ^ (琮字温文，性俶傥不羁，博学有文义。) Bei Shi , vol.93
  3. ↑ Arquitectura budista por Huu Phuoc Le pág. 45
  4. ↑According to Yang Guang's biography in Book of Sui, Heruo Bi, Yuwen Bi and Gao Jiong were killed on the bingzi day of the 7th month of the 3rd year of the Da'ye era of his reign. This corresponds to 27 Aug 607 on the Julian calendar. ([大业三年秋七月]丙子，杀光禄大夫贺若弼、礼部尚书宇文㢸、太常卿高颎。) Sui Shu, vol.03
  5. ↑However, the New Book of Tang, one of the official histories of the succeeding Tang dynasty, in its table of chancellors' family trees, listed one Xiao Xuan (蕭鉉), later a prefectural prefect, as Xiao Cong's son. See New Book of Tang, vol. 71, part 2."唐書 表 第十一". Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-01-29.

References