Xiao Dong

Xiao Dong
蕭棟
Emperor of the Liang Dynasty
Reign6 October 551 - 1 January 552[1]
PredecessorEmperor Jianwen
SuccessorXiao Ji (in the west)
Emperor Yuan (in the central and south)
Hou Jing (in the south-east)
Died3 May 552
ConsortsLady Zhang
Names
Family name: Xiāo (蕭)
Given name: Dòng (棟)
Era name and dates
Tiān zhèng (天正): 551
HouseLanling Xiao
FatherXiao Huan
MotherLady Wang

Xiao Dong (Chinese: 蕭棟; died 3 May 552[2]), 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 imperial government at the capital Jiankang, 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.

During his brief reign, Xiao Dong was entirely under Hou's control.[3] 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, 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 to drown.

  1. ^ ren'xu day of the 8th month and ji'chou day of the 11th month of the 2nd year of the Da'bao era, per vol.164 of Zizhi Tongjian
  2. ^ xin'mao day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the Cheng'sheng era, per Emperor Yuan's biography in Book of Liang
  3. ^ Xiao Dong was not listed among the emperors of Liang in Book of Liang and indeed, did not have his own biography in the work.