Xiao Baorong

Biography

Early Life

In the first year of Jianwu (494), Xiao Baorong was enfeoffed as Prince of Sui, with a fief of two thousand households. In the third year of Jianwu (496), he served as General of the Champion and concurrently commanded military affairs at Shitou Garrison. In the first year of Yongtai (498), his father, Emperor Ming of Qi, Xiao Luan, passed away, and his full brother Xiao Baojuan succeeded to the throne. In the first year of Yongyuan (499), Xiao Baojuan re-enfeoffed Xiao Baorong as Prince of Nankang and appointed him Bearer of the Imperial Tally, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs for the Seven Provinces of Jing, Yong, Yi, Ning, Liang, Nanqin, and Beiqin, concurrently General of the West and Regional Inspector of Jing Province, stationed in Jiangling.

Persuasion to Ascend the Throne

On the eighteenth day of the eleventh month of the second year of Yongyuan (500), Xiao Baorong's chief clerk, Xiao Yingzhe, executed Liu Shanyang, General of the Auxiliary State and Prefect of the Two Commanderies of Baxi and Zitong, and immediately proclaimed Xiao Baorong to raise troops to campaign against the reigning Emperor Xiao Baojuan. On the nineteenth day of the eleventh month, Xiao Baorong issued strict military discipline and generous rewards to his subordinates: all prisoners except those sentenced to death were released; those with original positions were restored to their posts; officers and soldiers were promoted one rank; active personnel with families were granted official grain; and miscellaneous laborers were exempted to civilian status after the mission was accomplished.

On the twentieth day of the eleventh month, Xiao Baorong appointed Xiao Yan, Regional Inspector of Yong Province, as Acting Bearer of the Imperial Tally, Commander-in-Chief of the Vanguard Military Affairs, and Left General. On the twenty-first, he appointed Xiao Yingzhe as Right General and Commander-in-Chief of the Field and Retained Military Affairs. On the twenty-second, Xiao Yan and others submitted a memorial urging Xiao Baorong to ascend the throne, but he refused. On the tenth day of the twelfth month, the officials again submitted a memorial urging his accession, but Xiao Baorong still did not agree. On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, General of the Cavalry Xiahou Dan arrived from the capital to Jiangling, conveying the order of Empress Dowager Xuande, stating that Xiao Baorong should inherit the great succession, temporarily enfeoffed as Prince of Xuancheng, added the titles of Chancellor and Regional Governor of Jing Province, granted the Yellow Halberd, established staff, selected officials, and retained the structure of the Western General's Office and the Nankang State.

Accession and General Amnesty

On the tenth day of the first month of the third year of Yongyuan (501), Xiao Baorong formally accepted the proposal to become emperor, issued a general amnesty, with only Mei Chong'er, Ru Fazhen, and others excluded from the amnesty. He appointed Right General Xiao Yingzhe as Left Chief Clerk and promoted him to General of the Garrison; Xiao Yan was promoted to General Who Conquers the East. In the first month, General of the Champion Yang Gongze was appointed Regional Inspector of Xiang Province, establishing a military headquarters south of the city. On the first day of the second month, Chief Clerk of the Champion Wang Maoxian was appointed Regional Inspector of Jiang Province, and General of the Champion Cao Jingzong was appointed Regional Inspector of Ying Province. Right General Xiao Baoyou, Prince of Shaoling, was appointed Regional Inspector of Jing Province. On the fifth day of the second month, the officials presented the imperial title, and ancestral temples and suburban sacrifices were established.

On the eleventh day of the third month of the first year of Zhongxing (501), Xiao Baorong formally ascended the throne, changed the era name to Zhongxing, and issued another general amnesty. Civil and military officials were granted a promotion of two ranks; widows, widowers, orphans, and the destitute who could not support themselves were each granted five hu of grain. He appointed Chancellor's Chief Clerk Xiao Yingzhe as Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Xiao Baoyi, Prince of Jin'an, as Minister of Works, Xiao Baoyin, Prince of Luling, as Regional Inspector of Xu Province, Regular Mounted Attendant Xiahou Xiang as General of the Central Guards, and General of the Guards Xiao Wei as Regional Inspector of Yong Province. On the twelfth day of the third month, the relevant departments submitted a request to enfeoff the deposed Emperor Xiao Baojuan as Marquis of Lingyang, but Xiao Baorong issued an edict refusing it; they then requested to enfeoff him as Prince of Fuling, which was approved. Subsequently, he appointed Prefect of the Masters of Writing Xiao Yingzhe to act as Regional Inspector of Jing Province, granted the Yellow Halberd; General Who Conquers the Caitiffs Liu Tan as Regional Inspector of the Two Provinces of Yi and Ning; General of the Champion Zhuang Qiuhei as Regional Inspector of the Two Provinces of Liang and Nanqin; and General of the Champion Deng Yuanqi as Regional Inspector of Guang Province. On the fifth day of the fourth month, an edict was issued to exempt from labor those who had followed the Eastern Expedition to campaign against the wicked in the court.

Pacification of Jiankang

On the twenty-second day of the fifth month of the first year of Zhongxing (501), Xiao Baorong went to the meditation hall of Zhulin Temple to host a banquet for the officials. During this period, Lu Xiulie, Prefect of Baxi, and Xiao Liu, son of Xiao Huixun, Prefect of Badong, resisted the righteous army. In the seventh month, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army, Wu Ziyang, led thirteen armies to relieve Ying Province, stationing troops at Jiahu; on the fifth day of the seventh month, he was defeated by General Who Conquers the Caitiffs Wang Maoxian. On the nineteenth day of the seventh month, Wang Maoxian was appointed Commander of the Central Guard. On the twenty-fifth, Sun Lezu, the main general of Lushan City, surrendered the city. On the twenty-seventh day of the seventh month, Xue Yuansi, the main general of Ying City, surrendered.

On the fourteenth day of the eighth month, General Who Pacifies the West Chen Bozhi announced his surrender; Xiao Baorong appointed him Regional Inspector of Jiang Province, and his son Chen Huyan as Regional Inspector of Xu Province. On the fourth day of the ninth month, an edict was issued stating that if Xiao Yan pacified the capital, he could make decisions on his own without submitting memorials for approval. On the fifth day of the eleventh month, General of the Auxiliary State Li Yuanlü was appointed Regional Inspector of Yu Province. On the twelfth day of the eleventh month, Prefect of the Masters of Writing and General of the Garrison Xiao Yingzhe died; Xiao Dan, Gentleman of the Palace, was appointed to act on the affairs of the Jing Province Office. On the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month, Xiao Liu and Lu Xiulie surrendered to the Qi army.

On the sixth day of the twelfth month, the Qi army pacified the city of Jiankang. On the ninth day of the twelfth month, the Empress Dowager ordered the appointment of Xiao Yan as Grand Marshal, Supervisor of the Affairs of the Secretariat, Grand General of Agile Cavalry, and Regional Inspector of Yang Province, enfeoffed as Duke of Jian'an, following the precedent of Sima Zun, Prince of Wuling of the Jin dynasty, to take charge of government affairs according to the edict, with civil and military officials paying respects to him. On the twelfth day of the twelfth month, Xiao Baoyin, Prince of Jian'an, was re-enfeoffed as Prince of Poyang. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Minister of Education and Regional Inspector of Yang Province, Xiao Baoyi, Prince of Jin'an, was appointed Defender-in-chief, concurrently holding the office of Minister of Education. On the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Xiao Yan, Grand Marshal, was rewarded with twenty million coins and five thousand bolts of cloth and silk each. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, General of the Auxiliary State Xiao Hong was appointed Commander of the Central Guard.

Abdication and Execution

On the ninth day of the first month of the second year of Zhongxing (502), Empress Dowager Xuande presided over the court and entered the inner palace, and Xiao Yan's authority to act according to the edict was revoked. On the tenth day of the first month, General of the Northern Garrison Xiao Bing was appointed to supervise Southern Yanzhou. On the thirteenth day of the first month, Grand Marshal Xiao Yan was appointed Commander-in-Chief of All Military Affairs, with special honors added. On the twentieth day of the first month, Wang Liang, Chief Clerk of the Grand Marshal, was appointed Acting Prefect of the Masters of Writing. On the twenty-fifth day of the first month, an edict ordered Xiao Yan to be promoted to Chancellor, taking charge of all court affairs, concurrently Regional Governor of Yang Province, enfeoffed as Duke of Liang over ten commanderies, equipped with the Nine Bestowments, granted the Far-Roaming Crown, ranked above the princes, and granted the Chancellor's Green Sash. On the thirtieth day of the first month, Cao Jingzong, newly appointed Right General, was appointed Regional Inspector of Ying Province.

On the third day of the second month, Xiao Baorong executed Xiao Baoji, Prince of Xiangdong. On the ninth day of the second month, an edict was issued promoting Xiao Yan, Duke of Liang, to Prince of Liang, with ten commanderies added to his fief. On the seventh day of the third month, the Empress Dowager ordered a gift of five million coins and five thousand bolts of cloth to Xiao Yan, Prince of Liang. On the thirteenth day of the third month, Xiao Baoyin, Prince of Poyang, fled to the Northern Wei; Xiao Baorong executed Xiao Baoyou, Prince of Shaoling, Xiao Baosong, Prince of Jinxi, and Xiao Baozhen, Prince of Guiyang. Subsequently, the court ordered that Xiao Yan, Prince of Liang, could use a crown with twelve tassels, erect the emperor's banners, clear the road with warnings when traveling, prohibit pedestrians, ride a gold and silver carriage, and drive six horses, with other forms also the same as the emperor's; all great court power fell into Xiao Yan's hands. On the twenty-second day of the third month, Xiao Xiu, Chief Clerk of the Champion, was appointed Regional Inspector of Southern Xu Province, and Cai Daocong, newly appointed General of the Central Guards, was appointed Regional Inspector of Si Province. Xiao Baorong returned east to Guxu. On the twenty-eighth day of the third month, Xiao Baorong was forced to abdicate in favor of Xiao Yan, Prince of Liang, and the Southern Qi dynasty fell.

On the third day of the fourth month, the edict of abdication was issued, and the Empress Dowager retired to the outer palace. On the ninth day of the fourth month, Xiao Yan enfeoffed Xiao Baorong as Prince of Balin, with his palace set in Guxu, still using the Qi dynasty calendar, and everything proceeding according to precedent. At the time, Xiao Yan wanted to use Nanhai Commandery as the Balin State and move Xiao Baorong there to reside. Shen Yue remonstrated with Xiao Yan, citing Cao Cao's words that one should not covet a hollow name and accept real disaster; Xiao Yan adopted his advice. On the tenth day of the fourth month, Xiao Yan sent his confidant Zheng Boqin to Guxu, granting Xiao Baorong a gold token to swallow. Xiao Baorong refused, saying he only needed pure wine. Zheng Boqin then granted him wine, and after he was drunk, killed him. He was fifteen years old. He was posthumously titled Emperor He of Qi and buried in Gong'an Mausoleum. The title of Prince of Balin was inherited by his elder brother Xiao Baoyi.

Xiao Baorong was born in 488, courtesy name Zhizhao, the eighth son of Emperor Ming of Qi and the last emperor of the Southern Qi. Made Prince of Sui commandery in 494 with two thousand households, he was later made Prince of Nankang. Politics at the end of Qi were chaotic: the Marquis of Donghun, Xiao Baojuan, killed his ministers and gave himself to pleasure, alienating both court and people, and the governor of Yongzhou, Xiao Yan, rose at Xiangyang under Xiao Baorong's name and proclaimed a campaign against him.

In the third month of 501 Xiao Baorong took the imperial title at Jiangling and changed the era name to Zhongxing; thereafter Xiao Yan's subordinates repeatedly urged him on, while all military and political decisions lay with Xiao Yan. In the twelfth month the Qi army entered Jiankang and Xiao Baojuan was killed, the capital falling into Xiao Yan's hands. In the third month of 502 Xiao Baorong was forced to abdicate in favor of Xiao Yan, ending the Southern Qi after more than twenty years and beginning the Liang. He was moved to Gushu and murdered there in the fourth month by Xiao Yan's confidant, only fifteen years old, and given the posthumous name Emperor He.

The Book of Southern Qi says of him that "Emperor He flourished late, swept away troubles and cleared the palace; he saw his moment and understood his fate, and his high praise endures to the end," regarding him as the transitional sovereign who bowed to the times and closed a period of disorder by abdication. During his reign the court at Jiangling issued a number of measures to reassure the people, which did something to ease the upheaval, while also preparing the way for Xiao Yan's usurpation; the abdications that ended the Song and the Qi are exactly parallel — a powerful subject rising in the name of punishing a tyrant, raising a prince of the blood as a figurehead, and completing the change of dynasty by abdication once the fighting was done.

At the end of the Southern Qi the tyranny of the Marquis of Donghun, Xiao Baojuan, alienated both court and people. He killed clansmen and ministers, gave himself to pleasure and even took part in killings in the streets, spreading fear; the governor of Yongzhou, Xiao Yan, using his brother Xiao Yi's murder as his occasion, rose at Xiangyang and set up Xiao Baorong as emperor to give his cause legitimacy, Jiangling becoming a political center opposed to Jiankang. In the twelfth month of 501 Xiao Baojuan was killed and Jiankang went over to Xiao Baorong, but the real master of events was always Xiao Yan.

In 502 Xiao Yan became chancellor and Duke of Liang and then received the abdication and founded the Liang. Emperor He of Qi was moved to Gushu and soon murdered, and the Qi imperial clan was largely killed or exiled, the change from Qi to Liang following the pattern of that from Song to Qi. Emperor He reigned barely a year and was always a banner in others' hands, his posthumous name "He," harmonious, carrying the sense of one who went along with the times. The Southern Qi lasted twenty-three years from the founding of Gao Di, Xiao Daocheng, to the abdication of Emperor He, passing through the comparative calm of Emperor Wu and the disorders after Emperor Ming, and ending in the succession of a powerful subject.

Emperor He's court at Jiangling operated only briefly, and its edicts concerned mostly military and pacification matters: at the start of the rising Xiao Yan raised the slogan of punishing the tyranny of the Marquis of Donghun, and Jiangling in the emperor's name made Xiao Yan commander of all military affairs within and without, giving him legitimate command of the armies. After Jiankang was taken Xiao Yan became chancellor, Duke of Liang and then received the nine bestowals, the steps exactly matching the standard procedure by which powerful subjects replaced dynasties, Emperor He having no real share in the decisions.

The twenty-three years of the Southern Qi were a brief transition between the Song and the Liang. The reigns of Gao Di, Xiao Daocheng, and of Wu Di, Xiao Ze, were its stable period; thereafter Emperor Ming, Xiao Luan, seized the throne as a cadet of the clan and slaughtered the descendants of the two earlier emperors, and the Marquis of Donghun continued the killing, so that the clan's self-destruction left it unable to resist enemies abroad or keep order at home. After the change to Liang, Emperor Wu, Xiao Yan, reigned for nearly half a century, southern society and culture continuing to develop under him, and the political center of gravity in the south shifting from strife among princes to the long coexistence of the aristocracy and the throne.

From Emperor He's own perspective, the business he could actually handle was extremely limited: the court at Jiangling appointed and dismissed officials and issued edicts in the emperor's name, but most of those appointments and edicts were drafted by Xiao Yan and his staff. Politics at the end of Qi also involved the choices of local magnates and provincial commands: the warlords of Jingzhou and Yongzhou had played a key role through the Song and Qi dynasties, Xiao Yan himself rising as governor of Yongzhou, so that Jiangling and Xiangyang became the main theater of political struggle at the end of the Southern Qi.

After Emperor He was killed, the political center of gravity in the south shifted over the decades of Emperor Wu's reign to the court and aristocracy at Jiankang. The remaining members of the Qi imperial clan were mostly moved about or hid their names, some, such as Xiao Baoyin, fleeing north to the Northern Wei, where their descendants remained active. In the political history of the Southern Dynasties, Emperor He is a symbol of a dynasty's end, and what his personal life offers is chiefly information about the position and predicament of a puppet sovereign in an abdication.

Most Southern Qi imperial tombs lie about Danyang, and Emperor He's burial place and posthumous name are clearly recorded in the Book of Southern Qi, his tomb being modest in scale beside those of other members of the clan in the same period.

The choices of local powers at the end of the Southern Qi weighed heavily on the abdication. When Xiao Yan rose, the governors of Jingzhou, Xiangzhou and Yingzhou either watched or answered him, and Jiangling could become the seat of a new court only because the upriver provinces acted together; the court at Jiankang, after the Marquis of Donghun was killed, had no independent strength and could only accept the accomplished fact. Emperor He's court thus nominally represented the continuation of the Southern Qi but was in practice a transitional body pending the founding of the Liang, its offices and edicts largely controlled by Xiao Yan's faction.

After the change from Qi to Liang the political structure of the south had altered from the Song-Qi transition: aristocratic influence persisted, but the actual hold on imperial power rested more on military merit groups and provincial commands, a feature ever more marked under the Liang and Chen. Emperor He's brief reign and immediate murder are both a product and a marker of that change.

Major Activities

Transitional Monarch of the Late Southern Qi

Xiao Baorong was a transitional monarch of the late Southern Qi. His accession originated from Xiao Yingzhe's uprising in Jiangling, aimed at campaigning against the reigning Emperor Xiao Baojuan, who was considered tyrannical. However, with the rapid expansion of the power of Xiao Yan, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition, Xiao Baorong gradually became a puppet. His abdication directly ended the twenty-three-year reign of the Southern Qi and initiated the Liang Dynasty. During his reign, he implemented measures to pacify the people and ease the situation, objectively paving the way for Xiao Yan to replace Qi.

A Practical Case of the Abdication System

Xiao Baorong's brief imperial career provides important historical reference for studying the abdication system of the Southern Dynasties. From being proclaimed, persuaded to ascend, and formally enthroned to finally being forced to abdicate, the entire process reflects the typical pattern of regime transition during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. The Southern Dynasties historian Xiao Zixian evaluated him in the Book of Southern Qi: "Emperor He rose late, sweeping away difficulties and clearing the palace. He understood the mechanism and saw the destiny, singing high of the eternal end," affirming his efforts to maintain order in a chaotic time.

Personal Relations

• Father**: Xiao Luan, Emperor Ming of Qi.
• Mother**: Liu Huirui, Lady of Xichang Marquis, posthumously titled Princess of Xuancheng; posthumously titled Empress Mingjing after Xiao Luan became emperor.
• Brothers**:
• Xiao Baoyi (Eldest Brother): Prince of Jin'an, Defender-in-chief concurrently Minister of Education. After the establishment of the Southern Liang, enfeoffed as Prince of Balin, posthumous name Yin.
• Xiao Baojuan (Second Brother): Emperor, succeeded after Emperor Ming of Qi died, later deposed by Xiao Yan, demoted to Marquis of Donghun, posthumous name Yang.
• Xiao Baoxuan (Third Brother): Prince of Jiangxia, Acting Bearer of the Imperial Tally, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs for the Two Provinces of Nanxu and Yanzhou, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Regional Inspector of the Two Provinces of Nanxu and Yanzhou.
• Xiao (Fourth Brother): Died young.
• Xiao Baoyuan (Fifth Brother): Prince of Luling, Palace Attendant, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Commander Unequalled in Honor, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs for the Five Commanderies of Kuaiji, Dongyang, Linhai, Yongjia, and Xin'an, Prefect of Kuaiji.
• Xiao Baoyin (Sixth Brother): Prince of Poyang, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Commander Unequalled in Honor. Surrendered to the Northern Wei, enfeoffed as King of Qi, General Who Conquers the West, Regional Inspector of Yong Province, Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry, Commander, Grand Commander of the Western Expedition, Military Commissioner of the Guanzhong region, married Princess Nanyang. During the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons, proclaimed himself Emperor of Great Qi, was defeated in battle and fled to Wanli Ch'uni, appointed Grand Tutor, was defeated in battle and killed.
• Xiao (Seventh Brother): Died young.
• Xiao Baoyou (Ninth Brother): Prince of Shaoling, Regional Inspector of Jing Province.
• Xiao Baosong (Tenth Brother): Prince of Jinxi, Prefect of the Masters of Writing.
• Xiao Baozhen (Eleventh Brother): Prince of Guiyang, Commander of the Central Guard, General of the Gentlemen of the West, concurrently in charge of Shitou military affairs.
• Sisters*: Xiao, Princess of Shanyin. The History of the Southern Dynasties* records that his full brother Xiao Baojuan was amazed by her beauty, "and subsequently committed disorder with her."
• Wives and Concubines**: Wang Shenhua, granddaughter of Wang Jian, Defender-in-chief (of the Langya Wang clan), initially Princess of Sui, later established as Empress. After the establishment of the Southern Liang, demoted to Princess of Balin.

Historical Assessment

The Southern Dynasties historian Xiao Zixian evaluated Xiao Baorong in the Book of Southern Qi: "Emperor He rose late, sweeping away difficulties and clearing the palace. He understood the mechanism and saw the destiny, singing high of the eternal end." This evaluation summarizes his role in the turbulent situation of the late Southern Qi, pointing out both his achievements in clearing internal disorder and stabilizing the palace, and implying his historical positioning of ultimately following the Mandate of Heaven and ending his imperial career. As a representative figure of regime transition during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Xiao Baorong's life provides an important perspective for studying political changes in the Southern Dynasties.