Royals › Monarch / Emperor

Xiao Yan

Founder of the Liang who reigned for nearly fifty years, four times gave himself to the Tongtai monastery, and died confined in Jiankang after Hou Jing's rebels took the palace city

Also known as Zi Shuda · Emperor Wu of Liang

Xiao Yan, courtesy name Shuda, came from Southern Lanling and under the Southern Qi belonged to the circle of eight writers around Prince Xiao Ziliang of Jingling. As governor of Yongzhou he rose in arms at Xiangyang in 501, took Jiankang, and in 502 accepted the abdication of Emperor He of Qi, founding the Liang; his reign titles ran from Tianjian to Taiqing. In 505 he appointed scholars for each of the Five Classics and opened schools for young men. He wrote the *Essay on Abstaining from Wine and Meat* (*Duan jiu rou wen*) for monks and nuns, and from 527 he four times gave himself to the Tongtai monastery, each time ransomed by the court. In 548 Hou Jing, a defector from the Eastern Wei, rebelled; his men took the palace city the next year, and the confined emperor died that summer of illness and hunger and was named Emperor Wu, temple name Gaozu. The lifelong vegetarian rule of Chinese Buddhist monks is usually traced to his ban.

Life and times

  1. 464 CEBornNorthern and Southern
  2. 300Buddhism Spreading EastTook partBuddhist monks and texts reached Han lands through Central Asia; translation and monasteries gradually embedded the new religion in local society.
    1. Emperor Wu of Liang Enters Monastery527age 63Emperor Wu of Liang entered monastic orders four times at Tongtai Temple, patronizing hundreds of grand Buddhist pagodas across the south.
    2. Emperor Wu Holds Ullambana Feast538age 74The Chronicle of the Buddhas and Patriarchs records that in 538 Emperor Wu of Liang held an Ullambana feast at Tongtai Temple.
  3. 548Hou Jing RebellionIn powerage 84Hou Jing, a defector from Eastern Wei, rebelled against Liang at Shouyang, took Taicheng, made and unmade emperors and declared himself emperor of Han before Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian defeated him in 552, leaving Jiankang and the Sanwu region ravaged.
    1. Hou Jing Besieges TaichengEastern Wei defector Hou Jing besieged and took Taicheng; Emperor Wu of Liang died in his hands and the Sanwu heartland was devastated.
  4. 549 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Poetry14
    1. Song of the Water in the RiverNorthern and SouthernSouthern Dynasties yuefu credited to Emperor Wu of Liang, on Mochou of Luoyang and her marriage
    2. The Shrike Flies EastNorthern and SouthernSouthern yuefu sometimes credited to Emperor Wu of Liang: a girl's youth slips by unseen
    3. Pounding Cloth · Autumn Garments for the Cold FrontierNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang on a wife who pounds cloth in the autumn moonlight for a far frontier
    4. Imitating 'Chang'an Has a Narrow Lane' · Three Sons and Three Wives of LuoyangNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang imitates an old yuefu: a Luoyang lane, three sons, three wives
    5. Imitating 'The Bright Moon Shines on the High Tower'Northern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang: a lonely woman under the moon, far apart as sunrise and willow mist
    6. +9 more
      1. Imitating 'Green, Green Grass by the River' · A Dream Cut ShortNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang's imitation: a woman wakes from a dream of him to find nothing there
      2. In Place of the Wife of Su Wu, Lord of the Dependent StatesNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang speaks for Su Wu's wife, reading a letter from the north through tears
      3. Old Meaning · The Vine on the Pine and the Plant of ForgettingNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang's two old-style pieces: a vine that keeps its roots, a pair of butterflies
      4. The Fragrant Tree · Layered Blossoms in the Spring WindNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang on an old yuefu theme: blossoms layered in the spring wind
      5. There Is One I Long For · A Sash Knotted in DreamsNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang's 'There Is One I Long For': a letter, a lingering scent, a knot in dreams
      6. Purple Orchids Beginning to SproutNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang on orchids sprouting below a jade terrace, unafraid of the cuckoo's cry
      7. The Weaving WifeNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang's weaving wife: the shuttle idle, her heart kept for a far-off husband
      8. The Seventh Night · Orchid Oil Burning Toward DawnNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang on the Seventh Night: the Weaver and Cowherd meet, and dawn comes too soon
      9. In Jest · Goddesses and the Belles of Yan and ZhaoNorthern and SouthernEmperor Wu of Liang's jest: a beauty set beside river goddesses and the belles of Yan and Zhao
  2. Literature · Sayings1
    1. Shrike and Swallow Flying ApartNorthern and SouthernIdiom from the Song of the Eastward Shrike: two birds part ways like separated lovers

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Xiao Yan
    Son
    Xiao Tong
    Son
    Xiao Gang
    Adopted son
    Xiao Zhengde
    Seventh son
    Xiao Yi
    Sixth son
    Xiao Lun
    +1 more
    Eighth sonXiao Ji

Connections

  1. Shared events5
    1. Gao Huan496 CE–547 CE
    2. Kasyapa Matanga1 CE–73 CE
    3. Wang SengbianBirth unknown; d.…
    4. Dharmaratna1 CE–75 CE
    5. Chen Baxian503 CE–559 CE
  2. Interactions1
    1. Hou JingPolitical: Besieged at Taicheng · 503–552 CEHou Jing Besieges Taicheng
  3. Rulers and officials3
    1. Shen YueClose official, Fellow of the Eight Friends of Jingling · 441 CE–513 CE
    2. Tao HongjingCounsellor · 456 CE–536 CE
    3. Cao JingzongGeneral · 457 CE-508 CE
  4. Others1
    1. Xie TiaoFellow of the Eight Friends of Jingling · 464 CE–499 CE