Xiao Yingzhou

Biography

Imperial Clanship and Early Administrative Rise Xiao Yingzhou, courtesy name Yuanying, hailed from Lanling in Southern Lanling Commandery (modern Wujin, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province). He descended from Xiao He, the legendary Chancellor of Western Han. His father, Xiao Chifu, served as a foundational grandee under Southern Qi's founder, Emperor Gao (Xiao Daocheng), holding the post of Gold-and-Purple Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and the peerage of Count of Nanfeng. Xiao Yingzhou was renowned from youth for his magnanimous composure, strict filial piety, and erudite mastery of historical and literary classics. When Emperor Gao established Southern Qi in 482 AD, Xiao Yingzhou entered court service as a Palace Secretariat Drafter (Mishu Lang). Emperor Gao marveled at his dignified courtly presence, remarking to the court: "Yingzhou moves with stately perfection, wearing his scarlet robes with admirable dignity; it gladdens my heart to see such poise in our clan." Under Emperor Wu during the Yongming era, Xiao Yingzhou served as Prince's Companion, Administrator of Anlu, Drafter of the Palace Secretariat, and Administrator of Xin'an. He governed with transparent equity, winning universal acclaim for his refusal to exploit local commerce. Following the accession of Emperor Ming in 494 AD, he was transferred to govern Qing and Ji provinces, followed by promotion to Governor of Southern Yan Province and Administrator of Guangling, overseeing military readiness across five key regional commands. ### The Crisis of Donghun and the Jiangling Decision In 499 AD, the notorious Marquess of Donghun (Xiao Baojuan) ascended the imperial throne. Deranged and murderously insecure, Donghun executed the regent grandees Jiang You, Xiao Luan's elder sons, Grand Tutor Xu Xiaosi, and Xiao Yi, precipitating paralysis and dread across the bureaucracy. To safeguard the upper Yangtze reaches, the court posted the Emperor's younger brother, Xiao Baorong (Prince of Nankang), to govern Jing Province, assigning Xiao Yingzhou as Administrator of Nanjun and Chief Executive Officer of the provincial administration, giving him practical command of all regional armed forces. In the winter of 500 AD, Xiao Yan (the future Emperor Wu of Liang), Inspector of Yong Province based in Xiangyang, initiated plans for armed rebellion to overthrow the tyrant. Sensing danger, Donghun dispatched his elite general, Liu Shanyang, with several thousand armored troops up the Yangtze under the pretext of reinforcing Jing Province, carrying secret orders to co-opt Xiao Yingzhou and launch a joint surprise attack on Xiangyang. Liu Shanyang anchored his fleet at Youkou, hesitating to enter Jiangling due to suspicion over Xiao Yingzhou's true loyalties. Xiao Yingzhou understood that if Xiao Yan were crushed, Jing Province would quickly fall victim to Donghun's butcheries. Convening a nocturnal war council with his confidants Xi Chanwen, Liu Chen, and his younger brother Xiao Yingda, Xiao Yingzhou deliberated their options. Xi Chanwen urged decisive action: "The mad ruler reigns in Jiankang, slaughtering the state's champions. Xiao Yan of Yong Province is a hero of supreme caliber. Only by joining hands can we avert doom. We must execute Liu Shanyang immediately and elevate Prince Nankang to the throne!" Xiao Yingzhou ratified the strategy. To dispel Liu Shanyang's wariness, he executed Xiao Yan's emissary Wang Tianhu and displayed his head to Liu. Believing Xiao Yingzhou was loyal, Liu Shanyang dropped his guard and rode into Jiangling with a modest cavalry escort. As Liu crossed the threshold of the city gate, hidden ambushers pulled him down and severed his head, which was promptly dispatched to Xiao Yan in Xiangyang. This daring coup united Jing and Yong provinces in an unbreakable rebellion. ### The Western Court and Tragic Passing In February 501 AD, Xiao Yingzhou enthroned Xiao Baorong at Jiangling as Emperor He of Southern Qi, proclaiming the Zhongxing reign era. Emperor He appointed Xiao Yingzhou as Chief of the Secretariat, Palace Attendant, General of the Guard, and Military Commissioner over Eight Provinces, conferring the peerage of Marquis of Xichang. While Xiao Yan commanded the frontline expeditionary armies striking eastward toward Jiankang, Xiao Yingzhou assumed complete domestic, financial, and strategic control over the rear capital in Jiangling. Xiao Yingzhou dispatched his brother Xiao Yingda with elite western infantry to join Xiao Yan. Advancing down the Yangtze, the allied forces scored unbroken victories, capturing Yingzhou and Jiangzhou, before laying siege to the palace at Jiankang. However, Xiao Yingzhou faced catastrophic logistical strain and counter-offensives in the west. Loyalists to Donghun, including Xiao Huijing (Administrator of Badong) and Lu Xiulie (Administrator of Baxi), raised an army of 10,000 hill soldiers, sailing down the Yangtze gorges to storm Jiangling. The initial defensive forces dispatched by Xiao Yingzhou were routed. Confronting civil panic, exhausted grain stores, and unrelenting administrative toil, Xiao Yingzhou's health broke down under the strain. On the seventh day of the twelfth month of Zhongxing 1 (dated 501 in the source), on the eve of Jiankang's surrender, Xiao Yingzhou died of sudden illness in Jiangling at the age of forty. His unexpected death shattered the political equilibrium of the Western Court. Deprived of its foremost statesman and military pillar, the young Emperor He fell entirely under the sway of Xiao Yan. In May 502 AD, Xiao Yan accepted the throne from Emperor He, founding the Southern Liang dynasty. Remembering Xiao Yingzhou's indispensable leadership in initiating the righteous uprising, Emperor Wu issued an imperial decree posthumously elevating Xiao Yingzhou to Chancellor and Prime Minister, enfeoffing him as Duke of Badong Commandery with a grand estate of 3,000 households and the martial posthumous title Duke Xianwu.

Major Activities

Elimination of General Liu Shanyang In 500 AD, when the Marquess of Donghun dispatched Liu Shanyang to encircle Xiangyang, Xiao Yingzhou adopted Xi Chanwen's stratagem to feign compliance by executing an envoy. Luring Liu Shanyang into Jiangling, Xiao's hidden guards ambushed and slew him at the gate, eliminating the imperial threat and cementing the pivotal military coalition with Xiao Yan. ### Creation of the Western Court at Jiangling In early 501 AD, Xiao Yingzhou elevated the young Prince of Nankang to the imperial throne as Emperor He, providing legitimate dynastic justification for the insurrection against Donghun. As head of the western administration, he mobilized the armies and managed logistics, ensuring the success of Xiao Yan's march on Jiankang.

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Xiao Shizhi
• Father: Xiao Chifu (Gold-and-Purple Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Count Yi of Nanfeng)
• Brother: Xiao Yingda (General of the Front, spearhead commander in the march on Jiankang)
• Son: Xiao Mi (Palace Drafter, inherited the title Duke of Badong) ### Insurrection Allies - Strategic Partner: Xiao Yan (Emperor Wu of Liang, who posthumously honored him as Prime Minister)
• Enthroned Monarch: Xiao Baorong (Emperor He of Southern Qi)
• Strategic Advisors: Xi Chanwen (architect of the ambush against Liu Shanyang), Liu Chen ### Opponents and Enemies - Tyrannical Ruler: Xiao Baojuan (Marquess of Donghun)
• Slain General: Liu Shanyang (Imperial commander ambushed at Jiangling)
• Gorges Adversaries: Xiao Huijing (Administrator of Badong), Lu Xiulie (Administrator of Baxi)

Historical Assessment

Official Dynastic Histories Xiao Zixian in Book of Southern Qi (Volume 38):

"Xiao Yingzhou possessed profound poise, never displaying joy or wrath upon his countenance. When undertaking great enterprises, he deferred to sage counsel, winning the hearts of the multitude. In establishing the founding merit and guarding Jingchu, the foundations of Liang rule rested squarely upon his shoulders." Imperial Eulogy by Emperor Wu of Liang (Xiao Yan):

"The late Chancellor and Chief of the Secretariat Xiao Yingzhou possessed towering style and unfathomable intellect. In initiating our righteous enterprise and laying down dynastic glory, his heart bore every hardship. We bestow supreme honors to immortalize his immortal merit." Emperor Gao of Southern Qi (Xiao Daocheng):

"Yingzhou's elegance in scarlet robes brings solace to my heart. With him skilled in letters and his brother in martial arts, our imperial house lacks not for talent."