Linhe Wang
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"... :	Zhengde (正德, zhèng dé)
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 Zhengde (蕭正德) (died 549), courtesy name Gonghe (公和), was an imperial prince and briefly a pretender

Pretender

A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

 to the throne 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...

.

It is not known when Xiao Zhengde was born, but it was known that he was the third son of Xiao Hong (蕭宏), a minor official during Southern Qi

Southern Qi

The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated...

 and a younger brother of the generals Xiao Yi (蕭懿) and Xiao Yan

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...

. As Xiao Yan initially did not have any sons, Xiao Yan adopted Xiao Zhengde to be his own son.

However, in 501, while Xiao Yan was engaged in a civil war against the cruel and arbitrary Southern Qi emperor Xiao Baojuan, Xiao Yan's concubine Ding Lingguang (丁令光) gave birth to a son, 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...

. Despite that, after Xiao Yan overthrew Xiao Baojuan and in 502 forced Xiao Baojuan's brother Emperor He of Southern Qi

Emperor He of Southern Qi

Emperor He of Southern Qi , personal name Xiao Baorong , courtesy name Zhizhao , was the last emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzhou and Xiao Yan in 501 as a competing candidate for the throne to his violent and arbitrary older brother...

 to yield the throne to him, ending Southern Qi and starting Liang Dynasty (as its Emperor Wu), Xiao Zhengde hoped to be 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....

. Instead, Emperor Wu reversed the adoption and returned Xiao Zhengde to Xiao Hong's line, creating him only the Marquess of Xifeng.

Xiao Zhengde was not at all content with being just a marquess, and he resented the reversal of the adoption. In 522, he fled to rival Northern Wei

Northern Wei

The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...

, claiming to be Liang's deposed crown prince, and sought military assistance. The Northern Wei official Xiao Baoyin

Xiao Baoyin

Xiao Baoyin , courtesy name Zhiliang , was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. In 502, as Southern Qi was on the edge of being taken over by the general Xiao Yan, who was preparing by killing the imperial princes, Xiao Baoyin fled to rival Northern Wei and became an official...

, a brother of Xiao Baojuan, instead suggested that Xiao Zhengde be put to death. The Northern Wei government did not kill Xiao Zhengde, but did not treat him with respect. He believed himself to be in danger, and he created a subterfuge -- killing a boy and claiming that the boy was his, burying the boy far from the Northern Wei capital Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

. In 523, he fled back to Liang. Emperor Wu did not punish him, and in fact restored him to his title and positions.

After Xiao Zhengde's return to Liang, however, he did not regret his actions, but instead gathered thugs, often leading them in robberies. In 525, Xiao Zhengde was a general under the command of Emperor Wu's son Xiao Zong (蕭綜) the Prince of Yuzhang, defending the city of Pengcheng, which was surrendered to Liang by the Northern Wei general Yuan Faseng (元法僧) earlier that year. Xiao Zong, who had long suspected himself to be actually the son of Xiao Baojuan (since his mother Consort Wu was a concubine of Xiao Baojuan and had given birth to him only seven months after becoming Emperor Wu's concubine), defected to Northern Wei during the campaign, and his forces collapsed. Xiao Zhengde abandoned his troops and fled back to 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:...

. Because of crimes he had previously committed and because of his abandoning his forces, Emperor Wu stripped Xiao Zhengde of his title and offices and exiled him to Linhai

Linhai

Linhai is a city in Taizhou prefecture, Zhejiang Province situated on the banks of the Lin River in Eastern China. Its wall attracts many tourists...

. However, even before Xiao Zhengde could reach Linhai, Emperor Wu sent a messenger pardoning him and restoring him to his title.

Xiao Tong died in 531, and Emperor Wu, because he then made 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, bypassing Xiao Tong's sons Xiao Huan (蕭歡), Xiao Yu (蕭譽), and Xiao Cha

Emperor Xuan of Western Liang

Emperor Xuan of Liang , personal name Xiao Cha , courtesy name Lisun , was a emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...

, he created Xiao Huan, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Cha princes. At this time, Xiao Zhengde flattered Emperor Wu's favorite official Zhu Yi

Zhu Yi (Liang Dynasty)

Zhu Yi , courtesy name Yanhe , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. He was greatly trusted by Emperor Wu in Emperor Wu's old age...

, and Zhu Yi spoke on his behalf, reminding Emperor Wu that Xiao Zhengde was previously his son, but was now only a marquess. Emperor Wu therefore created Xiao Zhengde the greater title of Prince of Linhe.

Xiao Zhengde was still not satisfied, however. When 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 in fall 548, he, knowing Xiao Zhengde's disaffection, made secret overtures to Xiao Zhengde, promising to make him emperor. When Emperor Wu subsequently sent Xiao Zhengde with an army to try to resist Hou, Xiao Zhengde turned against Emperor Wu and joined forces with Hou. After Hou put Jiankang under siege and captured the outer city, forcing forces loyal to Emperor Wu to withdraw into the palace walls, Xiao Zhengde was declared emperor. He created his heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 Xiao Jianli (蕭見理) crown prince, and married a daughter to Hou. (Xiao Jianli soon died in a raid that he conducted at night.) He also made a pact with Hou that when the palace fell, Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang would not be spared. In spring 549, when Hou briefly entered into negotiations with Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang for peace, Xiao Zhengde spoke against it, and Hou subsequently reneged on the peace terms. When the palace fell, however, despite Xiao Zhengde's efforts to have Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang killed, Hou prevented it, instead using Emperor Wu as his pawn and deposing Xiao Zhengde back to his title of Prince of Linhe, although conferring him a highly honorary office of Dasima (大司馬). Xiao Zhengde became depressed, and when he subsequently met Emperor Wu, he wept bitterly. Emperor Wu responded, "You weep and weep, but is it not too late for you to regret?"

Xiao Zhengde resented Hou for reneging on the agreement, and he subsequently sent letters to his cousin Xiao Fan (蕭範) the Prince of Poyang, requesting that Xiao Fan come to Jiankang's relief. The letters were intercepted by Hou's forces, and in summer 549, Hou strangled Xiao Zhengde to death.

Personal information

• Father
  • Xiao Hong (蕭宏) (473-526), Prince Jinghui of Linchuan, brother 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...
    
    
• Concubine
  • Princess Changle, Xiao Zhengde's own sister, name changed to Lady Liu, mother of two sons
• Children
  • Xiao Jianli (蕭見理), the Crown Prince (created and killed in battle 548)
  • Two sons by "Lady Liu"
  • A daughter, wife of 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...