Emperor Gao of Southern Qi
| Emperor Gao of Southern Qi | |||||||||||||||||
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| Reign | May 29, 479 – April 11, 482 | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 427 | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | April 11, 482 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Southern Qi | ||||||||||||||||
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| Era name and dates | |
| Jianyuan (建元, jiàn yuán): 479-482 | |
| Posthumous name | |
| Emperor Gao (高皇帝) | |
| Temple name | |
| Taizu (太祖, tài zǔ) |
Emperor Gao of Southern Qi ((南)齊高帝; 427–482), personal name Xiao Daocheng (蕭道成), courtesy name Shaobo (紹伯), nickname Doujiang (鬥將)) was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. He served as a general under the preceding dynasty Liu Song's Emperor Ming and Emperor Houfei. In 477, fearful that the young, cruel Emperor Houfei would kill him, assassinated Emperor Houfei and seized power, eventually taking the throne in 479 to start Southern Qi.
Xiao Daocheng was born in 427. His ancestors traced their line to the famed Han Dynasty prime minister Xiao He. If their records were accurate, Xiao Daocheng was Xiao He's 24-generation descendant. During the Jin and Liu Song dynasties, Xiao's ancestors served as low-level officials. His father Xiao Chengzhi (蕭承之) was a general under Emperor Wen of Liu Song, and for his contributions in campaigns against rival Northern Wei was created the Baron of Jinxing. Xiao Daocheng first studied the Confucian classics at the university set up by Emperor Wen and headed by the hermit Lei Cizong () when he was 12, but by age 15 he was serving in the military. He continued serving as a military officer during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Xiaowu (Emperor Wen's son).
By the time that Emperor Xiaowu's brother Emperor Ming and Emperor Xiaowu's son Liu Zixun were fighting for the throne in 466 after the brief reign and assassination of Emperor Xiaowu's son Emperor Qianfei, Xiao Daocheng was a general, and his allegiance was with Emperor Ming. He participated in the campaign against the army nominally commanded by Liu Zixun's brother Liu Zifang (劉子房) the Prince of Xunyang and governor of Kuaiji Commandery along the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay. He subsequently defeated the army sent south by Xue Andu (薛安都) the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui). For these contributions, Emperor Ming created him the Marquess of Xiyang and made him the acting governor of South Xu Province (南徐州, modern western central Jiangsu). Later, he became the governor of Southern Yan Province (南兗州, modern eastern central Jiangsu), defending the important city of Huaiyin (淮陰, in modern Huaian, Jiangsu). It was said that, while at this post, he began to engage a group of talented followers.
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