Yuzhang Wang (豫章王)
Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Xiao Hsiao Xiao is a Chinese surname. In the Wade-Giles system of romanization, it is rendered as Hsiao. It may also be romanized as Siew, Siow or Siu....  (蕭, xiāo)
Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Dong (棟, dòng)
Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... :	None

Xiao Dung (蕭棟) (died 552), courtesy name Yuanji (元吉), sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang (豫章王), was briefly an emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 of the Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

 Liang Dynasty

Liang Dynasty

The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...

. In 551, with the general Hou Jing

Hou Jing

Hou Jing , courtesy name Wanjing , was a general for the Chinese states Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang Dynasty, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han...

 in control of the imperial government at the capital Jiankang

Jiankang

Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...

, Hou, wanting to show off his strength, deposed Xiao Dong's granduncle Emperor Jianwen

Emperor Jianwen of Liang

Emperor Jianwen of Liang , personal name Xiao Gang , courtesy name Shizuan , nickname Liutong , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was initially not the crown prince of his father Emperor Wu, the founder of the dynasty, but became the crown prince in 531 after his older brother Xiao...

 and replaced him with Xiao Dong, the grandson of Emperor Jianwen's older brother Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong , courtesy name Deshi , formally Crown Prince Zhaoming , later further posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty...

, who was originally the founder Emperor Wu

Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

's crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

.

During his brief reign, Xiao Dong was entirely under Hou's control. Just two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced him to yield the throne to Hou, who took the throne as the Emperor of Han. In 552, troops under Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian , courtesy name Juncai , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan 's campaigns against the rebel general Hou Jing and other competitors for the Liang throne, and after Emperor Yuan was defeated by Western Wei...

, a general loyal to Xiao Dong's granduncle Xiao Yi

Emperor Yuan of Liang

Emperor Yuan of Liang , personal name Xiao Yi , courtesy name Shicheng , nickname Qifu , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

 retook Jiankang, and the general Zhu Maichen (朱買臣), under Xiao Yi's instructions, threw Xiao Dong and his two brothers in to the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 to drown.

Background

Not much is known about Xiao Dong's early life, including when he was born. What is known is that he was the oldest son of Xiao Huan (蕭歡) the Prince of Yuzhang, the oldest son of Emperor Wu

Emperor Wu of Liang

Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

's oldest son and first crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

 Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong

Xiao Tong , courtesy name Deshi , formally Crown Prince Zhaoming , later further posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty...

. When Xiao Tong died in 531, Emperor Wu had considered, pursuant to Confucian principles of succession, creating Xiao Huan crown prince, but ultimately decided against it and created him only the Prince of Yuzhang. Emperor Wu created Xiao Tong's younger brother Xiao Gang

Emperor Jianwen of Liang

Emperor Jianwen of Liang , personal name Xiao Gang , courtesy name Shizuan , nickname Liutong , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was initially not the crown prince of his father Emperor Wu, the founder of the dynasty, but became the crown prince in 531 after his older brother Xiao...

 crown prince instead. Xiao Dong's mother was Xiao Huan's wife Princess Wang. He had two younger brothers known to history -- Xiao Qiao (蕭橋) and Xiao Jiu (蕭樛). After Xiao Huan's death -- and that date is not known -- Xiao Dong inherited the title of Prince of Yuzhang.

In 548, the general Hou Jing

Hou Jing

Hou Jing , courtesy name Wanjing , was a general for the Chinese states Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang Dynasty, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han...

 rebelled and, in 549, captured the capital Jiankang

Jiankang

Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...

. Hou put the surviving princes of the Xiao imperial clan, including Xiao Dong, under effective house arrest. Emperor Wu died later that year, and Xiao Gang succeeded him as Emperor Jianwen, albeit under Hou's control.

In 551, Hou, after attempting to defeat Emperor Jianwen's brother Xiao Yi

Emperor Yuan of Liang

Emperor Yuan of Liang , personal name Xiao Yi , courtesy name Shicheng , nickname Qifu , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

 the Prince of Xiangdong but being defeated by Xiao Yi's general Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian , courtesy name Juncai , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan 's campaigns against the rebel general Hou Jing and other competitors for the Liang throne, and after Emperor Yuan was defeated by Western Wei...

, retreated to Jiankang, and he, believing that his days may be numbered, wanted to take the throne. In order to show off his power, he deposed Emperor Jianwen and replaced him with Xiao Dong. When the imperial processing went to Xiao Dong's residence to escort him to the palace, Xiao Dong and his wife Princess Zhang

Empress Zhang (Xiao Dong)

Empress Zhang was briefly an empress of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty.She was the wife of Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang, a great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty Emperor Wu, and she therefore was known as the Princess of Yuzhang...

 were tending their garden, growing vegetables to supplement their diet in light of the war-induced famine in the capital region. He was shocked when the imperial processing arrived, and, not sure how to respond, got onto the imperial carriage while crying. Hou declared him emperor.

Brief reign

Xiao Dong had no actual power, as power was in the hands of Hou Jing. Xiao Dong posthumously honored his grandfather Xiao Tong and father Xiao Huan as emperors, and honored his mother Princess Dowager Wang

Empress Dowager Wang (Xiao Dong)

Empress Dowager Wang was briefly an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. She was the wife of Xiao Huan , Prince An of Yuzhang, a grandson of the dynasty's founder Emperor Wu through his first crown prince, Xiao Tong...

 as empress dowager

Empress Dowager

Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...

. He created his wife Princess Zhang empress.

Two and a half months after Xiao Dong became emperor, Hou forced Xiao Dong to yield the throne to him. Hou, who became the emperor of a newly declared Han state, created Xiao Dong the Prince of Huaiyin, but imprisoned him and his brothers Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu in a secret prison.

Death

In spring 552, Wang Sengbian captured Jiankang, forcing Hou Jing to flee. Xiao Yi had initially ordered Wang to have Xiao Dong killed, but Wang declined -- stating that while he was willing to fight Hou, the responsibility of killing an emperor should be entrusted to someone else. Xiao Yi therefore gave the order instead to another general, Zhu Maichen.

Meanwhile, when Hou fled, Xiao Dong and his brothers broke out of their prison, but they were still in chains. They encountered the general Du Shi (杜崱), and Du removed their chains. Xiao Qiao and Xiao Jiu happily stated, "Finally today we have avoided an unnatural death." Xiao Dong responded, "It is difficult to know whether we are facing good fortune or ill fortune. I am still fearful." Soon thereafter, they encounter Zhu, who invited them to drink on his ship. Before they finished, Zhu's guards grabbed them and threw them into the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 to drown.

Personal information

• Father
  • Xiao Huan (蕭歡), Prince An of Yuzhang, posthumously honored as Emperor An, son of Xiao Tong
    Xiao Tong
    Xiao Tong , courtesy name Deshi , formally Crown Prince Zhaoming , later further posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty...
    
     the Crown Prince Zhaoming, son of Emperor Wu of Liang
    Emperor Wu of Liang
    Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
    
    
• Mother
  • Princess Wang
    Empress Dowager Wang (Xiao Dong)
    Empress Dowager Wang was briefly an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. She was the wife of Xiao Huan , Prince An of Yuzhang, a grandson of the dynasty's founder Emperor Wu through his first crown prince, Xiao Tong...
    
    , wife of Xiao Huan, honored as empress dowager
    Empress Dowager
    Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
    
     551
• Wife
  • Empress Zhang
    Empress Zhang (Xiao Dong)
    Empress Zhang was briefly an empress of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty.She was the wife of Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang, a great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty Emperor Wu, and she therefore was known as the Princess of Yuzhang...
    
    (created 551)