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Fu Liang (傅亮; 374–426), courtesy name Jiyou (季友), was a high-level official of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty, who, along with his colleagues Xu Xianzhi and Xie Hui, deposed Emperor Shao after the death of Emperor Wu (Liu Yu) due to their belief that Emperor Shao was not fit to be emperor. However, he was later arrested and killed by Emperor Shao's successor and brother Emperor Wen.
Fu Liang became known for his literary abilities in his youth, and he served as the assistant to the general Huan Qian (桓謙), a cousin of the warlord Huan Xuan. After Huan Xuan usurped the throne in 403, Huan Xuan heard of his abilities and made him a court secretary, intending for him to reorganize the imperial archives, but before the project could get underway, Huan Xuan was overthrown by the coalition of forces led by Liu Yu. He then served as an assistant to Liu Yu's confederate Meng Chang (孟昶). He became briefly in charge of editing imperial edicts, but soon left his post as his mother died and he underwent the mandatory three-year mourning period. He resumed those responsibilities once the mourning period was over, and for a while, Liu Yu wanted to make him the governor of the rich Dongyang Commandery (東陽, roughly modern Jinhua, Zhejiang), but Fu declined, preferring to remain close to Liu Yu. Subsequently, in 415, when Liu Yu attacked the general Sima Xiuzhi (司馬休之), whom he suspected of opposing him, Fu became one of his assistants, and from that point on he directly served on Liu Yu's staff.
Fu Liang continued to serve Liu Yu on the campaign where he destroyed Later Qin in 416 and 417. In late 417, after Liu Yu completed the campaign and accepted the title Duke of Song, Fu became a high-level official for the dukedom. In 420, Liu Yu, then at Shouyang, was intending to usurp the Jin throne, but could not bring himself to say it completely, and so invited his high-level staff to a feast where he talked about his achievements but his intent to retire afterwards. None of the staff members understood what he meant, but a few hours later, Fu realized what Liu Yu meant, and therefore, deep at night, went in to see Liu Yu and requested to return to the capital Jiankang. Liu Yu saw that Fu understood what he meant, and therefore did not say anything further other than approving his journey. Once Fu was at Jiankang, he hinted to Emperor Gong of Jin to first recall Liu Yu to Jiankang, and then pressured him to issue an edict offering the throne to Liu Yu. Liu Yu accepted, establishing Liu Song (as Emperor Wu) and ending Jin.
After Liu Yu seized the throne, he created Fu the Duke of Jiancheng. Fu became in charge of all imperial edicts. He became famed, along with Xu Xianzhi, and the minister Zheng Xianzhi (鄭鮮之) once, while observing Xu and Fu Liang, commented, "If you hear the words that Xu and Fu spoke, you will no longer consider yourself a learned person."
When Emperor Wu grew ill in 422, he entrusted his crown prince Liu Yifu to Xu, Fu, Xie Hui, and Tan Daoji, and soon died. Liu Yifu succeeded him (as Emperor Shao), and in the mourning period, he had Xu and Fu handle important matters for him.
Emperor Shao soon became known for spending much time on frivolous matters with impertinent attendants, even during the three-year mourning period, and not on studies or important matters of state. Xu, Fu, and Xie became convinced that he was not a fit emperor, and considered deposing him. However, they had even lower opinions of his oldest younger brother, Liu Yizhen (劉義真) the Prince of Luling, so they first stoke the rivalry that Emperor Shao already had with Liu Yizhen and then accused Liu Yizhen of crimes. In 424, Emperor Shao reduced Liu Yizhen to commoner rank and exiled him.
Xu, Fu, and Xie then prepared to remove Emperor Shao as well. Because they were apprehensive about the powerful armies that Tan and Wang Hong had, they summoned Tan and Wang to the capital and then informed them of the plot. They then sent soldiers into the palace to arrest Emperor Shao, after first persuading the imperial guards not to resist. Before Emperor Shao could get up from bed in the morning, the soldiers were already in his bedchamber, and he made a futile attempt to resist, but was captured. He was sent back to his old palace. The officials then, in the name of Emperor Shao's mother Empress Dowager Zhang, declared Emperor Shao's faults and demoted him to Prince of Yingyang, offering the throne to his younger brother Liu Yilong the Prince of Yidu instead. (Xu's associate Cheng Daohui (程道惠) had initially urged that Xu offer the throne to an even younger brother, Liu Yigong (劉義恭) the Prince of Jiangxia, to control power longer, but Xu and Fu believed Liu Yilong to be capable and therefore decided on him.) Xu remained at Jiankang, while Fu went to Liu Yilong's post at Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei) to welcome him.
Before Liu Yilong could accept or arrive at Jiankang, Xu and Fu sent assassins to kill both Emperor Shao and Liu Yizhen. (Fu had changed his mind after advice from the official Cai Kuo (蔡廓), but his letter to Xu to try to stop the assassinations arrived too late.) Liu Yilong, initially apprehensive of the officials' intentions in light of Emperor Shao's and Liu Yizhen's deaths, did not accept the throne, but after advice by Wang Hua (王華), Wang Tanshou (王曇首, Wang Hong's brother), and Dao Yanzhi (到彥之), accepted, and he advanced to Jiankang and took the throne (as Emperor Wen).
Fearful that Emperor Wen would act against them, Xu and Fu, prior to Emperor Wen's arrival at Jiankang, made Xie the governor of Jing Province to replace him, with the intent that Xie and Tan can counteract against the emperor should the emperor act against them. Once Emperor Wen had ascended the throne, he kept Xu and Fu content by keeping them in their posts. In 425, Xu and Fu offered to resign, and Emperor Wen approved and began to handle important matters of state himself. However, Xu's nephew Xu Peizhi (徐佩之) and his associates Cheng and Wang Shaozhi (王韶之) persuaded him that he did not need to resign, and thereafter he reassumed his post. (While it was not explicitly stated in history, it appeared that Fu then did so as well.)
However, Emperor Wen was resentful that Xu, Fu, and Xie had killed his two older brothers, and in late 425 planned to destroy them, particularly at the urging of Wang Hua and the general Kong Ningzi (孔寧子). He therefore mobilized troops and publicly declared that he was going to attack rival Northern Wei, but was privately preparing to arrest Xu and Fu while engaging in a military campaign against Xie. In spring 426, rumors had leaked of such a plan, and so Xie began to prepare for armed resistance. Soon, Emperor Wen publicly issued an edict ordering that Xu, Fu, and Xie be arrested and killed, while issuing a separate edict summoning Xu and Fu to the palace. Xie's brother Xie Jiao (謝嚼) received news of this and quickly informed Fu. Fu tried to flee, but was arrested by imperial forces. Emperor Wen told him that because of his diligence when he arrived at Jing Province to welcome him, his sons would be spared. However, Fu defiantly responded that he, Xu, and Xie deposed an incompetent emperor and installed a capable one for the empire's sake, and that the charges against him were bogus. Emperor Wen executed him and exiled his wife and children to Jian'an (建安, in modern Nanping, Fujian).
Fu Liang was instrumental in completing an important piece of Buddhist writing, Guangshiyin yingyanji 光世音應驗記, by writing the preface to the work originated by Xie Fu 谢敷 (fl. mid- to late 4th century) and supplementing it with the 7th part recorded from memory. Albeit short, the text is important as the earliest known collection of the Buddhist miracle tales. Its c. 12th-century manuscript copy was preserved in the Seiren Monastery 青蓮院 in Kyoto, Japan. The rediscovery was announced in 1943. The manuscript is accompanied by the sequel pieces written in the 5th century by Zhang Yan 張演, a Buddhist layman, and Lu Gao 陸杲 (459-532).
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Emperor Ming of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋明帝; traditional Chinese: 晉明帝; pinyin: Jìn Míng Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Ming-ti; 299 – 18 October 325, personal name Sima Shao, courtesy name Daoji, was an emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty of China. During his brief reign, he led the weakened Jin out of domination by the warlord Wang Dun, but at his early death, the empire was left to his young son Emperor Cheng, and the fragile balance of power that he created was soon broken, leading to the Su Jun Disturbance and weakening the Jin state even further.
Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, personal name Sima Yao (司馬曜), courtesy name Changming (昌明), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. During his reign, Jin saw his dynasty survive a major attempt by Former Qin to destroy it, but he would nevertheless be the last Jin emperor to actually exercise imperial power, as his sons Emperor An and Emperor Gong would be controlled by regents and warlords. Emperor Xiaowu died an unusual death—he was killed by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang after he insulted her.
Emperor An of Jin, personal name Sima Dezong (司馬德宗), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he was hungry or full. He was created crown prince in 387 and ascended the throne in 397. Because of his disability, the actual power was controlled by his uncle, Sima Daozi, Prince of Kuaiji. During his reign, regents and warlords dominated the Jin regime. Revolts by various governors also ravaged the land. From 398 to 403, there were constant revolts and civil war campaigns. In 403, the Jin regime was usurped by the warlord Huan Xuan, and while Emperor An was restored in 404, the Jin Dynasty was nearing its end. With the warlord Liu Yu as the actual power, Jin destroyed Southern Yan and Later Qin, greatly expanding its territory. However, with Liu Yu up in the north, the renegade governor of Guang Province, Lu Xun, rebelled and threatened the capital city Jiankang, before Liu Yu returned and crushed the revolt. In 419, Emperor An was strangled under the order of Liu Yu and replaced with his brother Emperor Gong, who would be the last emperor of the dynasty, before Liu Yu took the throne and establish the Liu Song dynasty.
Emperor Gong of Jin, personal name Sima Dewen, was the last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China. He became emperor in January 419 after his developmentally disabled brother Emperor An was killed by the regent Liu Yu, and during his brief reign, actual power was in Liu Yu's hands. On 7 July 420, under pressure from Liu Yu, he yielded the throne to Liu Yu, ending Jin's existence. Liu Yu founded the Liu Song dynasty, and in October or November 421, believing that the former Jin emperor posed a threat to his rule, had him asphyxiated with a blanket.
Emperor Wu of Southern Qi (南齊武帝), personal name Xiao Ze (蕭賾), courtesy name Xuanyuan (宣遠), childhood name Long'er (龍兒), was the second emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi dynasty. He is generally considered to be an able and diligent emperor, although he is also criticized for leading a lavish lifestyle.
Emperor Wen of Liu Song, personal name Liu Yilong (劉義隆), childhood name Che'er (車兒), was an emperor of the Liu Song dynasty of China. He was the third son of the dynastic founder Emperor Wu. After his father's death in 422, Liu Yilong's eldest brother Liu Yifu took the throne as Emperor Shao. In 424, a group of officials, believing Emperor Shao to be unfit to be emperor, deposed Emperor Shao and placed Liu Yilong on the throne as Emperor Wen.
Huan Wen (桓溫), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓氏). He is commonly viewed as one of the greatest generals since Jin's loss of northern China, as he led the campaign that destroyed Cheng-Han and annexed its lands to Jin, and had some successes against the northern states Former Qin and Former Yan. After his death, the Huan clan would be entrenched in the Jin power struction for decades, after his son Huan Xuan temporarily usurped the Jin throne in 403 as the emperor of Chu (楚), he was posthumously honored as Emperor Xuanwu of Chu with the temple name of Taizu (太祖).
Xie An (謝安), courtesy name Anshi (安石), formally Duke Wenjing of Luling (廬陵文靖公), also known as "Xie Dongshan", was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Jin dynasty who, despite his lack of military ability and skill, led Jin through a major crisis—attacks by Former Qin. In part due to his actions, his clan—the Xie clan of Chen—became one of the two most honored during the subsequent Southern Dynasties, alongside Wang Dao's Wang clan of Langya, and in the minds of the people no less honored than imperial clans. Xie An is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
Sima Daozi (司馬道子), courtesy name Daozi (道子), formally Prince Wenxiao of Kuaiji (會稽文孝王), was a regent during the reign of his nephew Emperor An of Jin, being the younger brother of Emperor Xiaowu.
Huan Xuan, courtesy name Jingdao (敬道), nickname Lingbao (靈寶), formally Emperor Wudao of Chu (楚武悼帝), was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and declared his own state of Chu in 403, known in historiography as Huan Chu, but was defeated by an uprising led by the general Liu Yu in 404 and killed. He was the youngest son of Huan Wen.
Emperor Wu of (Liu) Song, personal name Liu Yu (劉裕), courtesy name Dexing (德興), childhood name Jinu (寄奴), was a statesman and strategist of Imperial China, and the founding emperor of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. He came from a humble background, but became prominent after leading a rebellion in 408 to overthrow Huan Xuan, who had usurped the Eastern Jin throne in 403. After that point, using a mixture of political and military skills, Liu Yu gradually concentrated power in his own hands while expanding Jin's territory. In 420, he forced Emperor Gong of Jin to yield the throne to him, thus ending the Eastern Jin dynasty and establishing the Liu Song dynasty. He ruled only briefly, for two years, before dying and passing the throne to his son, Emperor Shao of Liu Song. An outstanding commander, perhaps the greatest of his era, he conquered two of the Sixteen Kingdoms and remained undefeated throughout his military career. The History of the Southern Dynasties described Liu Yu as seven chi and six cun tall
Emperor Shao of Liu Song, also known by his post-removal title Prince of Yingyang (營陽王), personal name Liu Yifu (劉義符), childhood name Chebing (車兵), was an emperor of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor, Emperor Wu, and became emperor after his father's death in 422. The officials whom his father left in charge of the government became convinced that he was unfit to govern, and so deposed and killed him in 424, making his more-capable younger brother Liu Yilong the emperor.
Xu Xianzhi (徐羨之), courtesy name Zongwen (宗文), was a high-level official of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty, who, along with his colleagues Fu Liang and Xie Hui, deposed Emperor Shao after the death of Emperor Wu due to their belief that Emperor Shao was not fit to be emperor. When Emperor Shao's brother Emperor Wen subsequently wanted to kill him, he committed suicide.
Xie Hui (謝晦) (390–426), courtesy name Xuanming (宣明), was a high-level general of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty, who, along with his colleagues Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang, deposed Emperor Shao after the death of Emperor Wu due to their belief that Emperor Shao was not fit to be emperor. When Emperor Shao's brother Emperor Wen subsequently killed Xu and Fu, Xie started a rebellion, but was defeated and killed.
Tan Daoji was a high-level general of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. He was one of the most respected generals during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era. Because of this, however, he was feared by Emperor Wen and even more so by Emperor Wen's brother, the prime minister Liu Yikang the Prince of Pengcheng, and during an illness of Emperor Wen, Liu Yikang had Tan arrested and executed on false accusations of treason.
Wang Hong (王弘) (379–432), courtesy name Xiuyuan (休元), formally Duke Wenzhao of Huarong (華容文昭公), was a high-level official of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. He served during the administrations of Emperor Wu, Emperor Shao, and Emperor Wen of Liu Song, becoming prime minister during Emperor Wen's reign.
Liu Shao, courtesy name Xiuyuan (休遠), later known as Yuanxiong, was briefly an emperor of the Liu Song dynasty of China. He was Emperor Wen's crown prince who, after hearing that his father was going to depose him, staged a coup d'état and assassinated his father, taking over the throne, but was then defeated and killed by his brother Liu Jun, the Prince of Wuling, who took the throne.
Emperor Xuan of Chen (陳宣帝), personal name Chen Xu (陳頊), also called Chen Tanxu (陳曇頊), courtesy name Shaoshi (紹世), childhood name Shili (師利), was an emperor of the Chen dynasty of China. He seized the throne from his nephew Emperor Fei in 569 and subsequently ruled the state for 13 years. He was considered to be a capable and diligent ruler, who at one point militarily expanded at the expense of the Northern Qi. After the Northern Qi fell to the Northern Zhou in 577, however, the Chen dynasty was cornered, and soon lost the gains it had previously made against Northern Qi. Emperor Xuan died in 582, leaving the state in the hands of his incompetent son Chen Shubao, and by 589, the Chen dynasty would be destroyed by Northern Zhou's successor state Sui dynasty.
Empress Liu, personal name Liu Jingyan, was an empress of the Chinese Chen dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Xuan. She briefly governed as regent during the illness of her son Chen Shubao in 582.
Wu Mingche (吳明徹), courtesy name Tongzhao (通昭), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He first served under the dynasty's founder Emperor Wu but became the most prominent general of the state during the reign of Emperor Wu's nephew Emperor Xuan, successfully commanding the Chen army in seizing the region between the Yangtze River and the Huai River from rival Northern Qi. After Northern Qi was destroyed by Northern Zhou, however, Wu was defeated and captured by the Northern Zhou general Wang Gui (王軌). After he was taken to the Northern Zhou capital Chang'an, he died in anger.
