| Xiao Dong 蕭棟 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Liang Dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 6 October 551 - 1 January 552[1] | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Jianwen | ||||||||
| Successor | Xiao Ji (in the west) Emperor Yuan (in the central and south) Hou Jing (in the south-east) | ||||||||
| Died | 3 May 552 | ||||||||
| Consorts | Lady Zhang | ||||||||
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| House | Lanling Xiao | ||||||||
| Father | Xiao Huan | ||||||||
| Mother | Lady 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.