Liang Dynasty

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Southern and Northern Dynasties
(420–589)
Southern Dynasties: Northern Dynasties:

Liu Song
Southern Qi
Liang
Chen

Northern Wei
Eastern Wei
Western Wei
Northern Qi
Northern Zhou
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Liang Dynasty (梁朝; Pinyin: Liáng cháo) (502-557), also known as Southern Liang Dynasty (南梁), was the third of Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Chen Dynasty. Western Liang Dynasty (西梁), with its capital established at Jiangling in 555 by Emperor Xuan, a grandson of Liang's founder Emperor Wu, claimed to be the legitimate successor of Liang Dynasty; it was subservient to the successive Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Sui Dynasty, and was abolished by Emperor Wen of Sui in 587. Some scholars claim that this Dynasty represents a "golden era" of ancient China, and that the Dynasty's fall from grace seriously impeded China's growth into a great power. This theory, however, is controversial.

The ending date for Liang Dynasty itself is a matter of controversy among historians. Many historians consider the end of Emperor Jing's reign in 556, when he was forced to yield the throne to Chen Baxian, who established Chen Dynasty, to be Liang's end date. Others regard the abolition of Western Liang in 587 to be the true end of Liang.

[edit] Sovereigns of Liang Dynasty (502-557)

Posthumous Name Family name and given names Period of Reigns Era names and their according range of years
Convention: Liang + posthumous name
Emperor Wu of Liang - Wu Di
(武帝 Wǔ Dì)
 Xiao Yan (蕭衍 Xiāo Yǎn) 502-549[1] Tianjian (天監 tiān-jiān) 502-519
Putong (普通 pǔ-tōng) 520-527
Datong (大通 dà-tōng) 527-529
Zhongdatong (中大通 zhōng-dà-tōng) 529-534
Datong (大同 dà-tóng) 535-546
Zhongdatong (中大同 zhōng-dà-tóng) 546-547
Taiqing (太清 tài-qīng) 547-549
Emperor Jianwen of Liang - Jianwen Di
(簡文帝 jiān wén dì)
 Xiao Gang (蕭綱 xiāo gāng) 549-551 Dabao (大寶 dà bǎo) 550-551
Prince of Yuzhang - Yu Zhang Wang
(豫章王 yù zhāng wáng)
 蕭棟 xiāo dòng 551-552 Tianzheng (天正 tiān zhèng) 551-552
Emperor Yuan of Liang - Yuan Di
(元帝 yuán dì)
 蕭繹 xiāo yì 552-555[2] Chengsheng (承聖 chéng shèng) 552-555
Marquess of Zhenyang - Zhen Yang Hou
(貞陽侯 zhēn yáng hóu)
 蕭淵明 xiāo yuān míng 555 Tiancheng (天成 tiān chéng) 555
Emperor Jing of Liang - Jing Di
(敬帝 jìng dì)
 蕭方智 xiāo fāng zhì 555-557[3] Shaotai (紹泰 shào tài) 555-556
Taiping (太平 tài píng) 556-557
  1. ^ Emperor Wu's nephew Xiao Zhengde the Prince of Linhe, who joined Hou Jing's rebellion, was declared emperor by Hou in 548, but after Hou's victory over Emperor Wu in 549 was deposed and killed by Hou, and is not usually considered a true emperor.
  2. ^ Emperor Yuan's brother Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling also declared himself emperor in 552, but was defeated and killed by Emperor Yuan in 553, and is usually not considered a true emperor.
  3. ^ In 558, a year after Emperor Jing had yielded the throne to Chen Baxian (and had been killed by Chen), his nephew Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Yongjia, with support from Northern Qi, was proclaimed the emperor of Liang by the general Wang Lin. In 560, Wang Lin was defeated by Chen troops, and both he and Xiao Zhuang were forced to flee to Northern Qi. It is a matter of controversy whether Xiao Zhuang should be considered an emperor of Liang.

[edit] Western Liang Dynasty 555-587

Temple Names ( Miao Hao 廟號 miào hào) Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號 ) Personal Names Period of Reigns Era Names (Nián Hào 年號) and their relevant range of years
Convention: Xi Liang + posthumous name
Note: some historians consider Western Liang as a continuation of the Liang Dynasty since it was founded by Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan), a grandson of Xiao Yan (Emperor Wu), the founder of the Liang Dynasty.
Zhong Zong (中宗 zhōng zōng) Xuan Di|宣帝 xuān dì 蕭詧 xiāo chá 555-562 Dading (大定 dà dìng) 555-562
Shi Zong (世宗 shì zōng) Xiao Ming Di|孝明帝 xiào míng dì 蕭巋 xiāo kuī 562-585 Tianbao (天保 tiān bǎo) 562-585
Did not exist Xiao Jing Di|孝靖帝 xiào jìng dì or Ju Gong|莒公 jǔ gōng 蕭琮 xiāo cóng 585-587 Guangyun (廣運 guǎng yùn) 562-585

[edit] References