Xiping Aigong (西平哀公)
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"... :	Zhang Zhang (surname) Zhang is among the most common Chinese surnames. In the 1990 edition of Guinness Book of Records, it was listed as the world's most common surname, with over 100 million people worldwide with this surname. It was also ranked third in the People's Republic of China by the Chinese Academy of...  (張; zhāng)
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"... :	Yaoling (曜靈, yào líng)
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... :	Ai (哀, aī) literary meaning: "lamentable"

Zhang Yaoling (張曜靈) (344–355), courtesy name Yuanshu (元舒), formally Duke Ai of Xiping, was briefly the ruler 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...

 state Former Liang

Former Liang

The Former Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty in China. It was founded by the Zhang family of the Han Chinese...

 in 353 and early 354.

Zhang Yaoling was the oldest son of his father Zhang Chonghua

Zhang Chonghua

Zhang Chonghua , courtesy name Tailin , formally Duke Jinglie of Xiping or Duke Huan of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 (Duke Jinglie) and therefore was designated 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....

. When Zhang Chonghua died in 353, he succeeded Zhang Chonghua as the ruler of Former Liang (with the title Duke of Xiping), but actual power was in the hands of his uncle, Zhang Zuo

Zhang Zuo

Zhang Zuo , courtesy name Taibo , formally Prince Wei of Liang was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 the Marquess of Changning. In early 354, Zhang Zuo, who had carried on an affair with Zhang Chonghua's mother Princess Dowager Ma

Princess Dowager Ma

Princess Dowager Ma was the mother of the Chinese state Former Liang's ruler Zhang Chonghua. She was a concubine of Zhang Chonghua's father Zhang Jun....

, gained her support to take over as ruler, and Zhang Yaoling was demoted to the title of Marquess of Liangning.

Zhang Zuo was a violent and frivolous ruler, and there was soon much opposition against him, particularly after he completely broke away from Jin Dynasty (265-420)

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

. In 355, the generals Zhang Guan

Zhang Guan

Zhang Guan was a general and regent of the Chinese state Former Liang, during the early reign of the young prince Zhang Xuanjing.Zhang Guan was a distant relative of the ruling family of Former Liang...

 and Song Hun

Song Hun

Song Hun was a regent of the Chinese state Former Liang.During the reign of the violent and capricious Zhang Zuo, Song Hun served as a general, even though he constantly feared Zhang Zuo, because his older brother Song Xiu had previously had a conflict with Zhang Zuo...

 rebelled against Zhang Zuo and announced that they wished to restore Zhang Yaoling. In response, Zhang Zuo executed Zhang Yaoling by beating him to death. Zhang Zuo, however, would soon be overthrown and replaced by Zhang Yaoling's younger brother Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing , courtesy name Yuan'an , formally Duke Jingdao of Xiping or Duke Chong of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

.