Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Ruler and Royal Family Member

Xiao Ming 蕭明

First attested AD 547; died AD 556

Passages: 19
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Xiao Ming was a ruler and Royal Family Member.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Posthumous name	Emperor Min	閔皇帝

Life and dates

Death

AD 556 明年
Cause carbuncle on the back 疽發背
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 30

Attested activity

AD 555 天保六年
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 16
AD 555 天成元年
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 23
AD 547 to AD 549 太清中
Dated from the passage context · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 5
AD 550 擒蕭明
Dated from the passage context · Book of Northern Qi 38, passage 10
AD 556 明年
Dated from the passage context · Book of Northern Qi 33, passages 29-30

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Xiao Zhang (蕭章)
father 父
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 25
Child of Xiao Yi (蕭懿)
father 父
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 2

Key source chapters

Career and standing

inspector of Yuzhou 豫州刺史
AD 547 to AD 549 太清中 · Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 5
Marquis of Zhenyang 湞陽侯
Enfeoffed
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 4
Emperor Min 閔皇帝
Posthumously honored
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 32
AD 555 天成元年
Liang ruler
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 23

Places and affiliations

Liang 梁
Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 23
At Lanling 蘭陵
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 2

Works and attributed material

Speech · Addressee · With Wenxiang (文襄)
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passages 10-14

Events and relationships

Defeated and captured
AD 547 to AD 549 太清中 · Military · Commander · At Huai 淮
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 33, passage 8

References in the histories

Search passages

History

19 passages

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 33Volume 33 Biographies 25: Xiao Yuanming; Xiao Zhi (Liang); Xiao Tui; Xiao Fang (Liang); Xu Zhicai · 18 passages

蕭明蕭祗蕭退蕭放徐之才 Xiao Ming; Xiao Zhi; Xiao Tui; Xiao Fang; Xu Zhicai

蕭明，蘭陵人，梁武帝長兄長沙王懿之子。 Xiao Ming was from Lanling, son of Prince of Changsha Yi, eldest brother of Emperor Wu of Liang.

少歷顯職，封湞陽侯。 In youth he held eminent posts and was enfeoffed Marquis of Zhenyang.

梁主旣納侯景，詔明率水陸諸軍趨彭城，大圖進取。 After the Liang ruler accepted Hou Jing, an edict ordered Ming to lead land and river forces toward Pengcheng for a major advance.

明渡淮未幾，官軍破之，盡俘其衆。 Ming had crossed the Huai only a short while when the government army defeated him and took his entire force captive.

魏帝升門樓，親引見明及諸將帥，釋其禁，送於晉陽。 The Wei emperor ascended the gate tower, received Ming and the generals in person, released their bonds, and sent them to Jinyang.

世宗禮明甚重，謂之曰：「先王與梁主和好十有餘年，聞彼禮佛文，常雲奉為魏主，並及先王，此甚是梁主厚意。 Gao Cheng treated Ming with great courtesy and said to him, "The late king and the Liang ruler were on good terms for more than ten years; I heard that when he performed Buddhist rites he would say he did them for the Wei ruler and for the late king as well—this was truly the Liang ruler's great kindness.

於是使人以明書告梁主，梁主乃致書以慰世宗。 Thereupon he had men report to the Liang ruler with Ming's letter; the Liang ruler then sent a letter in reply to comfort Gao Cheng.

天保六年，梁元為西魏所滅，顯祖詔立明為梁主，前所獲梁將湛海珍等皆聽從明歸，令上黨王渙率衆以送。 In the sixth year of Tianbao, when Emperor Yuan of Liang was destroyed by Western Wei, Gao Yang issued an edict installing Ming as Liang ruler; Liang generals previously captured, such as Zhan Haizhen, were all allowed to follow Ming home, and Prince of Shangdang Huan was ordered to lead troops to escort them.

上黨王進軍，明又與僧辯書，往復再三，陳禍福，僧辯初不納。 Prince of Shangdang advanced his army; Ming also exchanged letters with Sengbian back and forth several times, setting out fortune and calamity, but at first Sengbian would not accept him.

旣而上黨王破東關，斬裴之橫，江表危懼，僧辯乃啟上黨求納明，遣舟艦迎接。 Then Prince of Shangdang broke Dongguan and beheaded Pei Zhiheng; the lands south of the Yangtze were gripped with fear, and Sengbian then memorialized Prince of Shangdang asking to admit Ming and sent warships to receive him.

王饗梁朝將士，及與明刑牲歃血，載書而盟。 The prince feasted Liang officers and men and, with Ming, slaughtered a victim and drank the blood, loading the covenant onto a chariot.

侍中裴英起衛送明入建鄴，遂稱尊號，改承聖四年為天成元年，大赦天下，宇文黑獺、賊詧等不在赦例。 Palace attendant Pei Yingqi guarded and escorted Ming into Jiankang; he then assumed the imperial title, changed the fourth year of Chengsheng to the first year of Tiancheng, and proclaimed a general amnesty—Yuwen Heitu, the rebel Cha, and the like were not within the amnesty.

明上表遣第二息章馳到京都，拜謝宮闕。 Ming submitted a memorial sending his second son Zhang hurrying to the capital to bow in thanks before the palace.

冬，霸先襲殺僧辯，復立方智，以明為太傅、建安王。 In winter Baxian attacked and killed Sengbian, restored Fang Zhi, and made Ming grand tutor and Prince of Jian'an.

明年，詔徵明。 The next year an edict summoned Ming.

霸先猶稱藩，將遣使送明，會明疽發背死。 Baxian still styled himself vassal and was about to send envoys to deliver Ming, but Ming died of a carbuncle on his back.

九年二月，自湓城濟江，三月，卽帝位於郢州，年號天啟，王琳總其軍國，追諡明曰閔皇帝。 In the second month of the ninth year he crossed the river from Pencheng; in the third month he took the throne at Yingzhou, era name Tianqi; Wang Lin directed state and army; posthumous title for Ming was Emperor Min.

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 38Volume 38 Biographies 30: Xin Shu; Yuan Wenyao; Zhao Yanshen · 1 passage

武定八年，侯景叛，除東南道行臺尚書，封江夏縣男，與高岳等破侯景，擒蕭明。 In the eighth year of Wuding, Hou Jing rebelled. Shu was made masters of writing on the southeastern mobile grand secretariat and enfeoffed as nan (baron) of Jiangxia county. With Gao Yue and others he broke Hou Jing and took Xiao Ming prisoner.