Emperor Jianwen of Liang

Emperor Jianwen of Liang
梁簡文帝
Emperor of the Liang Dynasty
Reign7 July 549[1] – 2 October 551[2]
PredecessorEmperor Wu
SuccessorXiao Dong
BornXiao Liutong (蕭六通)
2 December 503
Died15 November 551[3] (aged 47)
Burial
Zhuang Mausoleum (莊陵, in present-day Danyang, Jiangsu)
ConsortsEmpress Jianwenjian (Wang Lingbin; 505 - 16 April 549[4])
IssueSee § Family
Names
Family name: Xiāo (蕭)
Given name: Gāng (綱)
Era name and dates
Dàbǎo (大寶): 550-551
Posthumous name
Emperor Jiǎnwén (簡文皇帝, lit. "The Approachable and Civil Emperor")
Emperor Míng (明皇帝, lit. "The Understanding Emperor")
Temple name
Tàizōng (太宗)
Gāozōng (高宗)[note 1]
HouseLanling Xiao
FatherEmperor Wu
MotherEmpress Dowager Mu

Emperor Jianwen of Liang (梁簡文帝; 2 December 503[5] – 551[6]), personal name Xiao Gang (蕭綱), courtesy name Shizuan (世纘), childhood name Liutong (六通), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was initially not the crown prince of his father Emperor Wu, the founder of the dynasty, but became the crown prince in August 531 after his older brother Xiao Tong died. In 549, the rebellious general Hou Jing captured the capital Jiankang, and Hou subsequently held both Emperor Wu and Crown Prince Gang under his power, having Crown Prince Gang take the throne (as Emperor Jianwen) after Emperor Wu's death later that year. During Emperor Jianwen's reign, he was almost completely under Hou's control, and in 551, Hou, planning to take the throne himself, first forced Emperor Jianwen to yield the throne to his grandnephew Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang, and then sent messengers to suffocate the former emperor.

  1. ^ xin'si day of the 5th month of the 3rd year of the Tai'qing era, per Emperor Jianwen's biography in Book of Liang. This was almost a month after the death of Emperor Wu.
  2. ^ wu'wu day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the Da'bao era, per Emperor Jianwen's biography in Book of Liang
  3. ^ ren'yin day of the 10th month of the 2nd year of the Da'bao era, per Emperor Jianwen's biography in Book of Liang
  4. ^ Emperor Wu's biography in Book of Liang indicate that Lady Wang died on the ji'wei day of the 3rd month of the 3rd year of the Tai'qing era. Her biography in the same work indicate that she was 45 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died.
  5. ^ ding'wei day of the 10th month of the 2nd year of the Tian'jian era, per Emperor Jianwen's biography in Book of Liang
  6. ^ Knechtges, David; Chang, Taiping (2014). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol.3 & 4), p. 1483. BRILL, Leiden-Boston. ISBN 9789004267886 E-ISBN 9789004271852.


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