Emperor Yuan of Liang

Emperor Yuan of Liang (508–555), personal name Xiao Yi, courtesy name Shicheng, nickname Qifu, is an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty.

After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen are successively taken hostage and controlled by the rebel general Hou Jing, Xiao Yi is largely viewed as the de facto leader of Liang, and after defeating Hou in 552 declares himself emperor.

In 554, after offending Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of rival Western Wei, Western Wei forces descend on and capture his capital Jiangling (in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), executing him and instead declaring his nephew Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan) the Emperor of Liang.

Emperor Yuan is a renowned writer and collector of ancient books, but is criticized by historians for concentrating on eliminating potential contenders for the throne rather than on fighting Hou Jing.

As Jiangling is besieged by Western Wei troops, Emperor Yuan sets his collection of more than 140,000 volumes of ancient books on fire, and this is commonly considered as one of the greatest disasters for the study of ancient works in Chinese history.

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