news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Speaking of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, many people only know that he worshipped Buddhism, and even sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple four times. In his later years, he was trapped and died in Taicheng because of Hou Jing's rebellion. But in fact, the first half of Emperor Wu of Liang's life was also very "wonderful", and his various acts of worshipping Buddhism actually had deeper historical origins.

The rise of Xiao Yan and his family

The Lanling Xiao family is a prestigious and prestigious family in ancient China.. However, for a long period of time during the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin dynasties, when family background was the most important, the Lanling Xiao family was actually just an inconspicuous northern gentry family that lived in Lanling (now Lanling County, Linyi, Shandong) for generations, and was not a wealthy and prestigious family. After the Yongjia Rebellion in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains moved south, and a large number of northern gentry moved south with their families, including the Lanling Xiao family. The Xiao family eventually moved to Jinling Wujin (now Wujin, Changzhou, Jiangsu), and under the policy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to establish counties and prefectures, Jinling Wujin was called Nanlanling, and the Lanling Xiao family was able to continue.During the hundred years from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Liu Song Dynasty, the status of the Lanling Xiao family was quietly rising., but at most it could only be considered a second-class noble family, and could not be compared with the great families such as Wang, Yu, Huan, and Xie. The turning point when the Lanling Xiao family really became famous and became the number one famous family at that time wasThe Southern Dynasties of Qi and Liang.

According to historical records, both the Southern Qi and Liang dynasties were descendants of Xiao Zheng of the Lanling Xiao clan: Xiao Daocheng, the founding emperor of the Southern Qi dynasty, was the great-great-grandson of Xiao Zheng, while Xiao Yan, the founding emperor of the Southern Liang dynasty, was the fifth-generation grandson of Xiao Zheng.

From the above picture, we can see that although Xiao Yan and Xiao Daocheng belong to the Lanling Xiao family, they are from different branches of the same clan and are not from the same lineage. In fact, the rise of Xiao Yan's family began with his father Xiao Shunzhi.Xiao Yan was able to quickly enter the official career, mainly due to his father Xiao ShunzhiContributions in the process of establishing Xiao Qi.

According to historical records, Xiao Shunzhi and Xiao Daocheng had a deep friendship since they were young. Every time Xiao Daocheng led troops to war, Xiao Shunzhi would follow and give him advice. During the Taishi period of Emperor Ming of Liu Song, the "Yijia Disaster" and "Taishi Disaster" occurred successively, and wars were frequent. Xiao Daocheng rose through the ranks in the war, andXiao Shunzhi always followed Xiao Daocheng and saved Xiao Daocheng's life.

Later, Xiao Daocheng murdered Emperor Song Liu Yu, supported the young emperor Liu Zhun, and monopolized the power of the government. He then usurped the throne and established the Southern Qi regime, known in history as Emperor Gao of Qi. Xiao Shunzhi also made a lot of efforts in this process. It is recorded in history that "when Emperor Gao of Qi created the imperial cause, he pushed forward and won the victory, and everyone looked up to him." Therefore, Xiao Shunzhi was highly regarded as a founding hero of the Southern Qi Dynasty. His official position was promoted four times, and finally he became the Yin of Danyang, who protected the safety of the capital, and occupied an important position in the political arena of the Southern Qi Dynasty. Although Xiao Shunzhi later died of worry and anger because of being involved in the royal family disputes, his political status and treatment were not significantly affected, which also laid the foundation for Xiao Yan's rise.

Xiao Yan's success was not only due to his father Xiao Shunzhi's special status as a founding hero, but also due to his own talents, especially his talent in literature. According to historical records, Xiao Yan was studious since childhood, knowledgeable and talented, and both civil and military. In the second year of Yongming (484), Xiao Yan entered the West Residence of King Jingling Xiao Ziliang (grandson of Xiao Daocheng) as a minister of justice and became a scholar in his mansion. At that time, King Jingling Xiao Ziliang convened a large number of literati and scholars in the West Residence. This group of literati was later called the "Eight Friends of Jingling", and Xiao Yan was one of them. "Book of Liang·Records of Emperor Wu" records:

"Prince Liang of Jingling opened a western residence and recruited scholars. Emperor Gaozu, Shen Yue, Xie Tiao, Wang Rong, Xiao Chen, Fan Yun, Ren Fang, Lu Jue and others traveled there together and were called the Eight Friends."

Around the eighth year of Yongming (490), Xiao Yan was summoned to the residence of Nanjun Wang Xiao Zhaoye to serve as a Bachelor of Literature, with a rank of sixth grade. Afterwards, the death of his father Xiao Shunzhi made Xiao Yan feel deeply disgusted with the royal disputes in Southern Qi, and gradually developed different ideas.

Xiao Yan raised an army to establish Liang

In the 11th year of Yongming (493), Emperor Wu of Qi, Xiao Zhaoye (Xiao Daocheng's eldest son), passed away, and the Southern Qi Dynasty began to fall into a dispute over the succession to the throne. Eventually, the eldest grandson of the emperor, Xiao Zhaoye, succeeded to the throne, and Xiao Luan (Xiao Daocheng's elder brother) gained the power to assist in the administration. This year, Xiao Yan was 30 years old, just in his thirties.

Logically speaking, Xiao Yan was selected to be a scholar under Xiao Zhaoye, so he should have supported Xiao Zhaoye. However, Xiao Yan harbored resentment towards the Southern Qi royal family because of his father's death. Seeing that Xiao Zhaoye was only an emperor in name only and the power of the government was controlled by Xiao Luan, he changed sides and joined Xiao Luan, helping him wholeheartedly. "Southern History: Liang Benji Volume 1" records:

"The Emperor (referring to Xiao Yan) wanted to help Qi Ming (referring to Xiao Luan) and overthrow Qi Wu's successor to avenge his shame. Qi Ming also knew this and always consulted with the Emperor."

With the help of Xiao Yan, Xiao Luan deposed Xiao Zhaoye in 494 and replaced him with Xiao Zhaowen, and then forced Xiao Zhaowen to abdicate to himself, known as Emperor Ming of Qi. It can be said that Xiao Yan played an indispensable role in the process of Xiao Luan's usurpation of the throne. Therefore, Xiao Yan was later granted the title of Jianyang County Man for "Determining Strategies" and a fief of 300 households.

In 495, Xiao Yan was appointed as the governor of Sizhou, a fourth-rank official, and became an important general. The following year, he was sent to Shitoucheng. In 497, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who had moved the capital to Luoyang, led an army of 200,000 to the south. Emperor Ming of Qi, Xiao Luan, suddenly fell ill at this time, which led to the Wang Jingze Rebellion in Southern Qi. In the end, Emperor Ming of Qi died in Zhengfu Hall amid internal and external troubles.

Six days before Xiao Luan's death, he made an important appointment - to send Xiao Yan to Yongzhou (Xiangyang) as the governor of Yongzhou. However, Xiao Luan would never have thought until his death that his appointment would not only make Xiao Yan's future emperor, but also lead to the final destruction of the Southern Qi regime.

After Xiao Luan passed away, his second son Xiao Baojuan, who was only sixteen years old at the time, ascended the throne. Considering that Xiao Baojuan was not yet an adult, Xiao Luan appointed eleven regents, including Xu Xiaosi and Chen Xianda, before his death. Although Xiao Baojuan had a group of regents to assist him, Xiao Yan was promoted to a high-ranking position of the second rank after he became the governor of Yongzhou, and at the same time held the military and political power in the northwest. At this time, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty was seriously ill, and the Northern Wei Dynasty no longer posed a threat to the border of the Southern Qi Dynasty. Therefore, Xiao Yan began to accumulate strength in Yongzhou. Xiao Yan's Yongzhou power gradually grew and became a threat to the central government of Jiankang, and gradually had the capital to compete with Jiankang.

It is worth mentioning that Xiao Baojuan was one of the famous incompetent emperors in the history of the Southern Dynasties. The official history records many absurd and shocking deeds of Xiao Baojuan. Xiao Baojuan's absurd behavior made everyone in the court feel insecure, disunited, and lost the support of the people. Moreover, Xiao Baojuan was unwilling to be a puppet. He was very suspicious and tyrannical. He killed many assistant ministers and began to point the spearhead at Xiao Yan in Xiangyang, sending assassins to assassinate him many times. Xiao Yan knew that the time to start an army had finally come. So he lobbied Xiao Yingzhou's forces who occupied Jingzhou. Xiao Yingzhou agreed to join Xiao Yan in the uprising and used Nankang King Xiao Baorong (Xiao Baojuan's younger brother) as a banner to fight against Xiao Baojuan.

In the first month of the third year of Yongyuan (501), the forces of Jingzhou and Yongzhou formed an alliance, and then in March officially pushed Xiao Baorong to the throne, known in history as Emperor He of Qi. Xiao Yan led this team of rebels southward to attack Yingzhou. Zhang Chong, the governor of Yingzhou, was loyal to the Qi Dynasty, refused to surrender, and resisted stubbornly. The battle of Yingzhou took several months, and it was not until the end of July that year that Xiao Yan successfully conquered it. This battle was also the biggest military obstacle Xiao Yan encountered during his uprising. After the battle of Yingzhou, the sphere of influence of the rebels quickly encompassed the seven states of Yong, Jing, Liang, Xiang, Ying, Jiang, and Si, forming an overwhelming advantage over Jiankang. Subsequently, Xiao Yan led his troops eastward and advanced to Jiankang City in October, besieging the six gates of Taicheng (Jiankang Palace City), and Taicheng was in danger. On the night of the sixth day of December, Xiao Baojuan was beheaded by the defenders in the city, and Taicheng fell immediately. Xiao Baojuan's head was presented to Xiao Yan.

After capturing Jiankang, Xiao Yan began to prepare for a change of dynasty. Emperor Xiao Baorong of Qi was originally promoted to the throne to counter Xiao Baojuan, and the real power behind him was Xiao Yingzhou, who was also the biggest obstacle to Xiao Yan's change of dynasty. However, Xiao Yingzhou died suddenly on the eve of Xiao Yan's capture of Taicheng, which meant that the biggest obstacle to Xiao Yan's change of dynasty was gone.

In the process of usurping Qi and establishing Liang, Xiao Yan killed many kings of Qi, forced Xiao Baorong to abdicate, and finally forced Xiao Baorong to swallow gold and die. Xiao Yan killed many members of the Xiao Qi clan in order to avenge his father and eliminate potential political risks to consolidate his rule.

On April 30th of the second year of Zhongxing (502), Xiao Yan officially ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, named the country Liang, and changed the era name to Tianjian. The Xiaoliang Dynasty was thus established.

The heyday of literature during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang

Xiao Yan was one of the few emperors in the Southern and Northern Dynasties who was both civil and military. As for his military prowess, it has been detailed above. Even Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty praised Xiao Yan's military talent. In his imperial edict, Emperor Xiaowen once said:

"I heard that Xiao Yan is good at using troops. Don't fight him. Wait for me to arrive. If you can capture him, Jiangdong will be yours."

So, what achievements did Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan make in terms of civil governance? Generally speaking, the evaluation of bystanders is relatively pertinent. Here we might as well quote the evaluation of Xiao Yan's civil governance by people from the Northern Dynasties. Gao Huan, a powerful official of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, once said to his officials:

"In Jiangdong there is another old man named Xiao Yan, who is a native of Wu. He is devoted to clothing, etiquette and music. The scholars and officials in the Central Plains look up to him and regard him as the rightful ruler."

In addition, "Southern History·Liang Benji", "Liang Shu·Rulin Zhuan" and "Liang Shu·Emperor Wu Ji" also record:

"According to the inscriptions and talismans, many years have passed, rituals and music have been created, and Confucianism has been respected. Since the Jiangzuo area was established, it has been more than 200 years, and the prosperity of cultural relics is unique here."

"When Emperor Gaozu ruled the country, he was deeply compassionate and issued an edict to seek great scholars, to regulate the five rituals, to establish the six musical instruments, to reform the calendar, and to rectify the scales.

"In the past thirty or forty years, this has been a great period. Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, there has not been such a peak."

There are countless similar praises for Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan's literary and political achievements in ancient books.

In fact, Xiao Yan himself had a high level of cultural literacy, as evidenced by the fact that he was listed as one of the "Eight Friends of Jingling" along with Shen Yue and Fan Yun, famous Confucian scholars of the time, when he was young. In addition to his literary talent, Xiao Yan was also proficient in many fields such as yin and yang, numerology, calendar, divination, letters, go, horseback archery, calligraphy, and music. Xiao Yan "had a deep understanding of Confucianism" and had a high level of attainment in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Xiao Yan's talent was not only unique among the emperors of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, but also outstanding in the entire history of ancient China. Therefore, historians commented that Xiao Yan "looked at the emperors and rulers of the past, he was respectful, frugal, solemn, and knowledgeable, which was rare."

Did Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism lead to the fall of the Southern Liang Dynasty?

Since the Xiaoliang era, Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, has been known as the "Bodhisattva Emperor", and his worship of Buddhism has become his most distinctive historical image label. Especially in Xiao Yan's later years, the Hou Jing Rebellion broke out, and Xiao Yan himself was trapped and died in Taicheng, and Xiao Liang began to decline. Later generations associated Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism with the fall of the Xiaoliang Dynasty, believing that it was Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism that led to the fall of the Southern Liang Dynasty. This statement is very popular in later generations, so is the historical truth really like this?

In fact, the saying that Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism led to the fall of the country only became common after the Tang Dynasty. It was mainly deliberately created by Confucian scholars who adhered to orthodoxy in order to warn the rulers not to worship Buddhism too much.They hoped to use Xiao Yan's lesson as a historical experience that could serve as a warning to the emperor. In other words, the criticism of Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism by later generations actually carried the meaning of realistic political admonition, rather than an objective judgment based on historical facts. Therefore, if we want to look at the issue of Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism objectively, we should put Xiao Yan back to the era and society he lived in.

Although Buddhism was introduced to China during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it did not have a wide social influence for a long time. It was only the belief of a few upper ruling classes and scholars, and the general public lacked basic knowledge and understanding of Buddhism. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, with the turmoil and division of the national political power and the prevalence of metaphysical discussions, Buddhism began to have the opportunity and possibility to become widely popular, and was widely spread during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Tang Yongtong summarized the three climax stages of the development and popularity of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties: the first was during the Yuanjia period of Liu Song, the representative figure was Xie Lingyun; the second was the period when Xiao Ziliang, King of Jingling of Southern Qi was in power, the representative figure was Xiao Ziliang; the third was the period when Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, ruled, the representative figure was Xiao Yan. This period was also the peak stage of the development of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties.A careful analysis will reveal that Xiao Yan himself actually experienced the last two climaxes of the development of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties.It is very likely that Xiao Yan's belief in Buddhism was also deeply influenced by Xiao Ziliang, the King of Jingling of the Southern Qi Dynasty.

Xiao Yan rose to the pinnacle of power step by step from political turmoil, and the same was true during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang.A rare era of social stability in the Southern DynastiesAt that time, the country and society urgently needed a new social order and guiding ideology, and Xiao Yan, as the supreme ruler of Southern Liang, also had to come up with an effective national governance system. The solution Xiao Yan finally came up with was actually a combination of Confucian ethical principles and Buddhist cause and effect, that is,Confucianism and Buddhism are combined together.

In the Southern Liang Dynasty, not only Xiao Yan himself was a devout Buddhist, but also the people around himMany princes and nobles also believed in BuddhismEmperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, once strongly criticized Fan Zhen's "Theory of the Extinction of Gods" in public. At that time, there were as many as 62 princes and nobles in the court who clearly expressed their pro-Buddhist stance. Du Mu wrote in a poem, "Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, many towers and pavilions in the mist and rain", but in fact, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, there were more than 500 Buddhist temples in Jiankang, the capital, with more than 100,000 monks and nuns. If you add up all the Buddhist temples in all the prefectures and counties of Southern Liang, there were more than 2,600.

Emperor Wu of Liang himself held many Buddhist ceremonies, and often personally preached scriptures and donated money and goods at the ceremonies. The number of participants in the ceremonies at that time was often in the tens of thousands. In February of the fifth year of Zhongdatong (534), Emperor Wu of Liang held the Four-Part Unobstructed Assembly at Tongtai Temple, and as many as 319,642 monks and laymen attended the assembly.

Xiao Yan's worship of Buddhism had many important influences on the development of Buddhism in later generations. For example, he was the first to advocate vegetarianism for monks, and monks stopped eating meat from then on. He also abolished sacrificial offerings in ancestral temples and replaced them with vegetarian offerings. The Zhongyuan Festival and Ullambana Festival that became popular in later generations were also created in the era of Emperor Wu of Liang.

In terms of the social environment at that time,The parallel development of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism has become a trend, the combination of Confucianism and Buddhism is actuallyThere is a strong social demandIn fact, as the legitimate ruler of Southern Liang, Xiao Yan had to adhere to the orthodox idea of ​​respecting Confucianism since the Han and Wei dynasties in politics. It was impossible for him to abandon Confucianism and only respect Buddhism. He just tried his best to integrate Buddhist thoughts and concepts into the national rituals and social customs, and then realize his political concept of combining Confucianism and Buddhism.

In short, Xiao Yan respected both Confucianism and Buddhism, and did not reject various schools of thought, including Taoism. He adopted an inclusive attitude to bridge the social thoughts and religious factions of the time, and tried to govern the country by combining Confucianism and Buddhism. It can be said that this was an experimental attempt by Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan to build a social order, and it was also a historical destination and historical necessity to conform to social needs.

As we all know, the Hou Jing Rebellion that swept across the south of the Yangtze River brought an end to Xiao Yan's social experiment. However, this does not mean that Xiao Yan's social experiment was a failure, because from the perspective of later historical development, Xiao Yan's social experiment of respecting Confucianism and Buddhism was a failure.It laid the theoretical and practical foundation for the confluence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism after the Sui and Tang dynasties.Therefore, LiangEmperor Wu's worship of Buddhism had certain historical rationality, and occupies an important position in the history of ancient Chinese thought and Buddhism.

So, since Emperor Wu of Liang's worship of Buddhism has historical rationale, how should we objectively view the relationship between Emperor Wu of Liang's worship of Buddhism and the fall of the Xiaoliang Dynasty?

Everything has its two sides. The prosperity of Buddhism has had a profound and beneficial impact on the development of ancient Chinese thought and culture.But the disadvantages of the prosperity of Buddhism are also obvious.。

Along with the prevalence of Buddhism came the rapid increase in the number of temples, monks and nuns, and a large number of people hiding in temples. At that time, the total number of monks and nuns in the North and South regimes was in the millions. These people did not engage in social production, enjoyed preferential treatment such as tax exemption and military service, and owned a large amount of land. Many of them devoted themselves to temples, which formed the temple economy.

The temple economy seriously infringed upon the national finances. A large number of people and land were occupied by temples, and temples occupied a large amount of social wealth, which invisibly reduced the national finances. This phenomenon was very common in both the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and some rulers were aware of this, so the Northern Dynasties saw the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Zhou once said that the main purpose of his large-scale destruction of Buddhism was to "seek soldiers from the monks and take land from the pagodas and temples." Only by separating the population and land from the temple economy and bringing them under state control could the country become strong. This was also an important reason why the Northern Zhou Dynasty was able to destroy the Northern Qi Dynasty and unify the north.

Therefore, Emperor Wu of Liang's worship of Buddhism did objectively harm the national finances of Southern Liang, especially when he sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple four times and the ministers had to spend huge sums of money each time to redeem him.During the period of confrontation between the North and the South, this nationwide activity of worshipping Buddhism at all costs lasted for decades, which undoubtedly greatly consumed the country's wealth and laid the hidden danger for the subsequent decline of the Xiaoliang Dynasty.

But we also need to know thatEmperor Wu of Liang's worship of Buddhism is only a microcosm and typical example of the prosperity of Buddhism during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Similar acts of worshipping Buddhism were also occurring in the Northern Dynasties, and the Northern Dynasties were by no means inferior to those in the Southern Dynasties.The Northern Wei Dynasty builtYungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes, is the best example of the prevalence of Buddhism during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Even the "Book of Wei", which records the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, has a separate "Records of Buddhists and Taoists" for the Buddhist issues that existed at the time, which is used to record the spread of Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty at that time. This is not found in the official history of previous dynasties. According to the "Records of Luoyang Monasteries", there were more than a thousand temples in Luoyang, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty alone. After the Northern Wei Dynasty split, Buddhism continued to develop in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi and the Western Wei and Northern Zhou. The rulers of the Gao regime and the Yuwen regime were also devout Buddhists. A considerable number of temples were built in Yecheng and Chang'an.

Since Buddhism was as prevalent in the Northern Dynasties as in the Southern Dynasties, did the Northern Dynasties fall because of the prevalence of Buddhism? Obviously, we cannot draw such a conclusion. The prevalence of Buddhism would affect the national finances and then affect the rise and fall of national power, but itAt most, it is just one of the factors leading to the demise of a country, and there is no direct causal relationship between the two.

In short, due to the worship of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, as the supreme ruler of Southern Liang, and the relatively good political and social economy in the early Liang Dynasty, the development of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties reached its peak. However, along with the prosperity of Buddhism in the Xiaoliang Dynasty, the unprecedented expansion of the temple economy also had a negative impact on the country's politics, economy and other fields, which laid the hidden danger for the Xiaoliang Dynasty to decline and even fall.

References

"Book of Southern Qi", "Book of Liang", "History of Southern Dynasties", "Zizhi Tongjian"

Zhuang Huiming: "A Critical Biography of Xiao Yan", Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2018.

Bai Juncai: A Brief Study on Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan, Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2008.

Zhang Jinlong: "Governance, Chaos, Rise and Fall: Military Power and the Evolution of the Southern Dynasties", Beijing: Commercial Press, 2016.

Zhang Yihe: Regional Groups and Southern Dynasties Politics, Shanghai: East China Normal University Press, 2002.

Qian Ruping: "Research on Xiao Yan", Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2011.

Huang Xinyan: "A Study of the Xiao Family of Lanling during the Sui and Tang Dynasties", Master's thesis of Liaoning University, 2017.

Hu Dalei: "Medieval Literature Group", Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 1999.

Tang Yongtong: History of Buddhism in Han, Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2015.

Wang Wei: "Emperor Wu of Liang and the Process of Localization of Chinese Buddhism", PhD dissertation, Peking University, 2005.