Xiao Xian 蕭銑

Xiao Xian 蕭銑 (583-621) was the last pretender to the throne of the Liang dynasty 梁 (502-557). He was a great-grandson of Emperor Xuan 梁宣帝 (r. 555-562) and served the Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618) as district magistrate (ling 令) of Luoxian 羅縣 (or Luochuan 羅川, today's Xiangyin 湘陰, Hubei).

In 617, Dong Jingzhen 董景珍 (d. 620) and Lei Shimeng 雷世猛 rose in rebellion in the commandery of Baling 巴陵 (today's Yueyang 岳陽, Hunan) and urged Xiao Xian to adopt the title of king of Liang. Within just one week, their army swell to several ten thousand men. Xiao Xian ruled from Baling and chose the reign motto Mingfeng 鳴鳳 (or Fengming 鳳鳴). A year later, he made himself emperor of the Liang, transferring his residence to Jiangling 江陵 (in today's Hubei province). His reign received great resonance among the southern regions. However, internal conflicts in his government weakened his afterglow of the glorious Liang dynasty, and in 621, he was defeated by an army of the Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907), which had been founded in the meantime. He was brought to the Tang capital Chang'an 長安 (today's Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi), where he was executed.