Hou Jing
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Hou Jing | |||||||||
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Emperor of the Han Dynasty | |||||||||
Reign | January 1, 552[1][2] – c.May 552 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Xiao Dong | ||||||||
Successor | Emperor Yuan | ||||||||
Regent of the Liang Dynasty | |||||||||
Reign | 548 – 31 December 551 | ||||||||
Emperor | Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Zhengde Emperor Jianwen of Liang Xiao Dong | ||||||||
Died | c.May 552 | ||||||||
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House | Hàn ( | ||||||||
Father | Hou Biao ( |
Hou Jing (Chinese:
Early life and career[edit]
It is not known when Hou Jing was born, but it was known that he was from Huaishuo Garrison (
During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming, Northern Wei plunged into a state of civil war, with much of the state overrun by agrarian rebellions. Around this time, Hou joined the army of the Northern Wei general Erzhu Rong, and initially, he learned tactics from Erzhu's lieutenant Murong Shaozong (慕容紹宗), but soon, Murong found it necessary to consult Hou for his opinion on tactical matters. After Erzhu largely put down the rebellions, Hou was made the governor of Ding Province (
As Eastern Wei general[edit]
Hou Jing continued to serve under Gao Huan, and he became known as a brilliant tactician as well as a tough warrior even though, unlike many other generals at the time, he was not particularly skilled at horseriding, archery, or any other martial skills, and he was described as walking with a limp with short legs. Gao, however, knew of his abilities and honored him appropriately. But Hou was arrogant, and he often compared two other key generals, Pan Le (
In late 534, Gao sent Hou to attack Heba Sheng (
In 537, when Gao launched a major attack on Western Wei, seeking to destroy it, Hou was with him, and advised against advancing in a single large army, advocating dividing the army into two parts that would remain at a distance and support each other. Gao did not accept his advice, and was defeated by Yuwen Tai at the Battle of Shayuan (
In 538, Hou recaptured several southern provinces that had defected to Western Wei in light of Eastern Wei's defeat at Shawan. He followed up by besieging the old Northern Wei capital, Luoyang, then defended by the Western Wei general Dugu Xin, precipitating a major battle in which both Eastern and Western Wei suffered major losses. In the end, however, the Western Wei troops, commanded by Yuwen, was forced to withdraw, and the Luoyang region was again controlled by Eastern Wei.
In 543, when the Eastern Wei general Gao Zhongmi (
Rebellion against Eastern Wei[edit]
Despite the strong personal relationship between Gao Huan and Hou Jing, however, Hou had little respect for Gao's oldest son and heir apparent Gao Cheng, once making the comment to another friend of his and Gao Huan's, Sima Ziru (
Meanwhile, Gao Cheng, pursuant to directions left him by Gao Huan, commissioned Murong Shaozong as the commander of his forces against Hou—a move that caught Hou by surprise, as he was still apprehensive of Murong's abilities and was surprised that Gao Cheng would make Murong his commanding general. At the same time, Xiao Yuanming arrived at Hanshan (含山), near the important city of Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), putting pressure on the city by damming the Si River (
Having defeated Xiao Yuanming, Murong now turned his attention toward Hou, and he marched toward Chengfu (
Hou himself considered what his next action would be, and he, under advice from the Liang commander Liu Shenmao (
Rebellion against Liang Dynasty[edit]
Meanwhile, Gao Cheng started peace negotiations with Emperor Wu, offering to return Xiao Yuanming and intending to cause Hou to become apprehensive. Hou Jing opposed peace with Eastern Wei, worried that he would be betrayed if there was peace between the two states. Emperor Wu made a personal guarantee that he would not betray Hou—but Hou then tested Emperor Wu by forging a letter from Gao Cheng, proposing an exchange of Xiao Yuanming for Hou. When Emperor Wu, under advice from Zhu Yi—a key assistant to Emperor Wu whom Hou had bribed, hoping that he would discourage peace talks, but whose opinion was unchanged by Hou's bribes—wrote back, "If you return Xiao Yuanming in the morning, I will deliver Hou Jing in the evening," Hou was incensed. He wrote a harshly worded accusation to Emperor Wu, who responded with meek words that failed to persuade Hou against a rebellion. Meanwhile, Hou entered into secret negotiations with Emperor Wu's nephew Xiao Zhengde the Prince of Linhe, offering to make the ambitious Xiao Zhangde emperor, and Xiao Zhengde agreed to assist him. At the same time, despite warnings from Yang Yaren (whom Hou had tried to persuade to join in his plans) and Xiao Fan (
Hou declared a rebellion in summer 548, declaring that his intentions were to have the corrupt officials Zhu Yi, Xu Lin (
Around the new year 549, Xiao Guan's forces returned to Jiankang and tried to lift the siege. However, Hou engaged Xiao Guan and defeated him. Xiao Guan reorganized his troops and waited for reinforcement from the other provincial governors. The reinforcements soon arrived, and the provincial generals supported Liu Zhongli (
Hou, with his food supplies dwindling, offered peace to Emperor Wu, who initially refused. However, Xiao Gang persuaded Emperor Wu to negotiate, and peace terms were negotiated where Hou would be allowed to return to Shouyang, and Emperor Wu would allow him to control the provinces west of the Yangtze River. However, Hou soon decided that peace would not be sustainable, and once the ceasefire had lasted sufficiently long for him to obtain additional food supplies, he reneged, accusing Emperor Wu of a number of faults, putting the palace again under siege. Liu stood by, and the palace fell. Hou took control of Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang, issuing an edict in Emperor Wu's name ordering the provincial forces to disband. They did so, and Hou now had control of the capital region, although the provincial governors largely remained resistant to his orders. Hou deposed Xiao Zhengde back to the rank of Prince of Linhe, and used Emperor Wu as token authority.
Control of Liang emperors[edit]
After Jiankang fell to Hou Jing, the northeastern provinces, north of the Yangtze River, largely surrendered to Eastern Wei, while the provinces to the east and west, hearing of the cruelty of Hou's troops, largely initially resisted him. Around this time, the key Liang potentates who were still resisting included:
- Xiao Dalian (
蕭 大連 ) the Duke of Lincheng (later the Prince of Nan Commandery), Xiao Gang's son, at Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang) - Xiao Daxin (
蕭 大 心 ) the Duke of Danyang (later the Prince of Xunyang), Xiao Gang's son, at Xunyang (尋 陽 , in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi) - Xiao Fan the Prince of Poyang, at Hefei
- Xiao Guan the Prince of Shaoling, at the time roving without a settlement
- Xiao Yu (
蕭 譽 ) the Prince of Hedong, Emperor Wu's first crown prince Xiao Tong's son, at Changsha - Xiao Cha the Prince of Yueyang, Xiao Tong's son, at Xiangyang
- Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, Emperor Wu's son, at Jiangling
- Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling, Emperor Wu's son, at Chengdu
- Xiao Bo (
蕭 勃) the Marquess of Qujiang, Emperor Wu's cousin Xiao Bing (蕭 昞)'s son, at Panyu (番 禺, in modern Guangzhou, Guangdong)
Of these Liang potentates, the ones with the most military strength at their disposal were Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji, however, appeared content to secure his realm, particularly because Xiao Yi discouraged him from advancing east against Hou. Both Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji began to take on imperial trappings and exercised imperial authorities, although neither claimed the throne at this point. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, believing that his nephews Xiao Yu and Xiao Cha, who were technically his subordinates but not following his orders, would act against him in a coordinated manner, launched an attack on Xiao Yu. Xiao Cha tried to attack Jiangling to relieve the pressure on his brother, but could not, and Xiao Yi's army, while initially repelled by Xiao Yu, eventually, under the general Wang Sengbian, put Changsha under siege. Unable to lift the siege on Changsha and fearful that he would be Xiao Yi's next target, Xiao Cha surrendered to Western Wei, and Western Wei put Xiangyang under its protection and created Xiao Cha the Prince of Liang, intending to have him contend for Liang's throne. Xiao Yi entered peace with Western Wei, leaving Xiao Cha alone at the moment.
Meanwhile, while Emperor Wu was effectively under arrest, he still resisted Hou's will when it came to personnel decisions and other matters that Hou wanted him to issue edicts on. In response, Hou put Emperor Wu under even greater secure guard, and it was said that Emperor Wu's supplies dwindled. In summer 549, Emperor Wu died. (Some historians believe that Hou starved him to death.) Hou allowed Xiao Gang to take the throne (as Emperor Jianwen). Meanwhile, Xiao Zhengde, angry at Hou's betrayal of him, secretly communicated with Xiao Fan, but his letters were intercepted, and Hou put him to death.
Xiao Fan tried to elicit Eastern Wei help against Hou, but even though he gave up Hefei to Eastern Wei, Eastern Wei did not actually launch troops to help him. He was forced to advance west on the Yangtze. With Xiao Daxin's approval, he settled in Xiao Daxin's realm, but soon Xiao Fan and Xiao Daxin began to have disputes over the control of the territory, and Xiao Daxin stopped supplying Xiao Fan's troops. Xiao Fan died in anger and fear. At the same time, Hou was sending his generals Hou Zijian (
In spring 550, Hou married Emperor Jianwen's daughter the Princess Liyang, and it was said that he loved her greatly. His relationship with Emperor Jianwen appeared to improve by this point. Due to the wars, the territory under Hou's control suffered from a serious famine, and he ruled with the people with a heavy hand.
In summer 550, Changsha fell to Wang, and Wang put Xiao Yu to death, putting Xiao Yu's domain directly under Xiao Yi's control.
In fall 550, Hou sent Ren Yue to attack both Xiao Daxin and Xiao Fan's son Xiao Si (
Later that year, Hou made Emperor Jianwen create him the Prince of Han. Additionally, Hou made Emperor Jianwen promote him to the position of "General of the Universe Past, Present, and Future, Commander of all Forces in the Six Directions" (
Meanwhile, Ren continued to advance west, intending to attack Xiao Yi, but was repelled by Xiao Yi's general Xu Wensheng (
In spring 551, Western Wei put Ru'nan under siege, and after capturing it, put Xiao Guan to death. Meanwhile, Xu counterattacked against Ren, and Hou again led troops to reinforce Ren, this time carrying Emperor Jianwen's crown prince Xiao Daqi as hostage. Xu initially had success against Hou, but in summer 551, Hou surprised Xu by bypassing him and making a surprise attack on Jiangxia, capturing it and seizing the general Bao Quan (
Hou began to believe that his days might be numbered, and he wanted to become emperor in his remaining days. Meanwhile, Wang Wei, who believed that Hou was spending too much time with the Princess Liyang and ignoring the important matters, tried to get him to change his ways, but this drew the princess' ire. Wang Wei, believing that the Princess Liyang would eventually persuade Hou to harm him, instead advised Hou to remove Emperor Jianwen to show off his authority. Hou agreed, and in fall 551, he removed Emperor Jianwen and put the sons of Emperor Jianwen under his control, including Xiao Daqi, to death. He made Xiao Tong's grandson Xiao Dong the Prince of Yuzhang emperor. Two months later, he put the former emperor to death.
Meanwhile, Hou was preparing to take the throne. He had Xiao Dong bestow him the nine bestowments. 14 days later, he had Xiao Dong yield the throne to him, and he claimed the title of Emperor of Han—a title that was not recognized by the Liang provinces not under his control, which by this point had begun to view Xiao Yi as the de facto emperor, although Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji still both declined imperial titles by this point.
As emperor[edit]
The first action Hou Jing's troops, commanded by Xie Daren (
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi's forces, commanded by Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian, continued to advance toward Jiankang, and they quickly arrived in Jiankang's vicinity. Hou Jing initially ordered Hou Zijian, whom he sent against Wang, not to engage Wang and Chen on water, but after Wang pretended to be apprehensive, Hou Jing changed to order and allowed Hou Zijian to engage them on water, and Wang defeated him. Chen quickly set up advance positions north of the Qinhuai River (
- I had defeated Heba Sheng and Ge Rong [(
葛 榮 ), a peasant rebel whom Erzhu Rong defeated] and become famous north of the Yellow River. Later, after I crossed the Yangtze River, I easily captured the palace and forced Liu Zhongli to surrender. My defeats today are heaven's will.
Hou put his two young sons, born during the time he was at Jiankang, into saddle bags and drowned them,[4] and then fled east, intending to join Xie's army to the east.
Death[edit]
Hou Jing's hopes of joining Xie Daren, however, were dashed when one of Wang Sengbian's subordinate generals, Hou Tian (
Physical Appearance[edit]
In his biography in the History of the Southern Dynasties, Hou Jing was described as a man of short stature (shorter than 7 chi) with short legs and longer upper body, and that he had high cheekbones and a wide forehead, his face was reddish with little facial hair, and he had a jackal-like voice.[6]
Legacy[edit]
Hou Jing and his rebellion caused great damage to the Liang dynasty; about five years after his death, Liang general Chen Baxian overthrew the Liang dynasty and established his Chen dynasty.
Family[edit]
- Father
- Hou Biao (
侯 標 ), posthumously honored as Emperor Yuan
- Hou Biao (
- Wives
- Name unknown (executed by Gao Cheng 547 or 548)
- Lady Xiao, daughter of Xiao Zhengde (married 548)
- The Princess Liyang, daughter of Emperor Jianwen of Liang (married 550)
- Major Concubines
- Consort Yang, daughter of Liang general Yang Kan (
羊 侃 )
- Consort Yang, daughter of Liang general Yang Kan (
- Children
- Oldest son, name unknown (executed by Gao Cheng 547 or 548)
- Four other sons, names unknown (executed by Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi during his reign)
- Two sons, born in Liang territory (killed by Hou Jing himself 552)
References[edit]
- ^ jichou day of the 11th month of the 2nd year of the Dabao era
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 164.
- ^ Emperor Yuan's biography in Book of Liang indicate that Wang Sengbian had crushed Hou Jing's rebellion in the 3rd month of the 1st year of the Cheng'sheng era. The month corresponds to 10 Apr to 8 May 552 in the Julian calendar. ([
承 圣元年 ]三 月 ,王 僧 辩等平 侯 景 ,传其首 于江陵 。) Liang Shu, vol.05. However, vol.164 of Zizhi Tongjian indicate that Hou Jing was killed on the jimao day of the 4th month of that year. ([承 圣元年 四 月 ]己 卯 ,景 昼寝 ;昆 语海师:“此中何 处有蒙 山 ,汝 但 听我处分。”遂 直 向 京口 。至 胡 豆 洲 ,景 觉,大 惊;问岸上人 ,云 “郭 元 建 犹在广陵”,景 大喜 ,将 依 之 。昆 拔刀 ,叱 海 师向京口 ,因 谓景曰:“吾 等 为王效力 多 矣,今 至 于此,终无所 成 ,欲 就乞头以取富 贵。”景 未 及答,白刃 交下。景 欲 投 水 ,昆 以刀斫之。景 走入 船 中 ,以佩刀 抉 船底 ,昆 以槊刺 杀之。) While there is no jimao day in the month, there is a yimao (乙 卯 ) day and the date corresponds to 26 May 552 in the Julian calendar. - ^ (推堕
二 子 于水,...) Liang Shu, vol.56 - ^ Volume 164 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Hou Jing's head reached Jiangling on the wu'yin day of the 5th month of the 1st year of the Cheng'sheng era. The date corresponds to 18 June 552 in the Julian calendar.
- ^ (
景 长不满七 尺 ,长上短 下 ,眉目 疏秀,广颡高 颧,色 赤 少 鬓,低 视屡顾,声 散 ,识者曰:“此谓豺狼 之 声 ,故 能 食 人 ,亦 当 为人所 食 。”) Nan Shi, vol.80