Lü Shao
Encyclopedia
| Liang Yinwang ((後)涼隱王) | |
|---|---|
| Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Lü (呂; lǚ) |
| Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Shao (紹, shào) |
| Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... : |
Yin (隱, yǐn) literary meaning: "unrevealing" |
Lü Shao (呂紹) (died 400), courtesy name Yongye (永業), formally Prince Yin of (Later) Liang ((後)涼隱王), was briefly an emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
(with the title of "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang
Tian Wang
Tian Wang , translatable as either "heavenly prince" or "heavenly king," was a Chinese regal title that was most frequently used during the Sixteen Kingdoms era, among the kingdoms founded by members of the Wu Hu tribes, often used as an intermediate stage from claiming a prince/king title to an...
)) of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
/Di
Di (ethnic group)
The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...
state Later Liang
Later Liang
The Later Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Lü family of the Di ethnicity.All rulers of the Later Liang proclaimed themselves "Heavenly Prince" ....
. He was a son of the founding emperor Lü Guang
Lü Guang
Lü Guang , courtesy name Shiming , formally Emperor Yiwu of Liang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang...
(Emperor Yiwu), but not his oldest son. Rather, he was considered Lü Guang's rightful heir because he was born of Lü Guang's wife. (His mother is therefore likely Princess Shi
Princess Shi
Princess Shi , who might have taken the title Empress Shi at one point, was the wife of Lü Guang , the founder of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang.Very little is known about her...
, although he could also be born of an even earlier wife.) His birth year is unknown, but he referred to himself as not yet 19 when he took the throne briefly in 400.
During Lü Guang's reign
When Lü Guang founded Later Liang in 386 (after he had taken over Liang Province (涼州, modern central and western GansuGansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
after a return for a military campaign in central Asia on Former Qin
Former Qin
The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...
's behalf), Lü Shao and Lü Guang's wife Lady Shi were not with him -- they had remained in the Former Qin capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
during Lü Guang's campaign, and had fled to Chouchi
Chouchi
Chouchi is a Chinese local regime of the Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties.-History:...
when Chang'an subsequently fell to Western Yan
Western Yan
The Western Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by Murong Hong in 384 in the aftermaths of Former Qin's defeat by Jin Dynasty at the Battle of Fei River, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu...
in 385. In 389, they, along with Lü Guang's brother Lü Deshi (呂德世), arrived in Later Liang territory. Lü Guang, then with the title Prince of Sanhe, created Lü Shao his heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
. In 396, after Lü Guang claimed the title of "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang
Tian Wang
Tian Wang , translatable as either "heavenly prince" or "heavenly king," was a Chinese regal title that was most frequently used during the Sixteen Kingdoms era, among the kingdoms founded by members of the Wu Hu tribes, often used as an intermediate stage from claiming a prince/king title to an...
, roughly equivalent to emperor), he created Lü Shao crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
.
Lü Shao, however, was not Lü Guang's oldest son -- he had at least two older brothers, Lü Zuan
Lü Zuan
Lü Zuan , courtesy name Yongxu , formally Emperor Ling of Liang , was an emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Lü Guang , but was not Lü Guang's rightful heir, as he was not born of Lü Guang's wife Princess Shi...
the Duke of Taiyuan and Lü Hong (呂弘) the Duke of Changshan, both of whom were regarded for their military abilities. Lü Shao was considered weak and untalented, and Later Liang's enemies (including Southern Liang
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
and Northern Liang
Northern Liang
The Northern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Xiongnu Juqu family, although they initially supported the Han official Duan Ye as prince, they overthrew him in 401 and took over themselves....
) took this into account when they attacked Later Liang. The only military campaign that Lü Shao was recorded to have commanded was one in summer 399, when he and Lü Zuan attacked Northern Liang's prince Duan Ye
Duan Ye
Duan Ye was the first prince of the Chinese state Northern Liang. He was of Han ethnicity, and was originally a commandery governor of Later Liang, but after Xiongnu generals Juqu Mengxun and Juqu Nancheng rebelled against Later Liang, Juqu Nancheng persuaded Duan Ye to accept the leadership...
. After Duan Ye sought aid from Southern Liang's prince Tufa Wugu
Tufa Wugu
Tufa Wugu , formally Prince Wu of Wuwei , was the founding prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Southern Liang. He was initially a vassal of Later Liang's emperor Lü Guang, but seeing how Lü Guang was misruling his people, declared independence in 397...
, and Tufa Wugu's brother Tufa Lilugu
Tufa Lilugu
Tufa Lilugu , formally Prince Kang of Hexi , was a prince of the Chinese/Xianbei state Southern Liang. He was a younger brother of the founding prince Tufa Wugu . He was described as a capable ruler open to different opinions...
arrived to assist Duan Ye, Lü Shao and Lü Zuan were forced to withdraw.
Around the new year 400, Lü Guang grew seriously ill. He ordered Lü Shao to take the throne as Heavenly Prince, while he himself claimed the title of retired emperor. Lü Zuan was put in charge of the military forces, and Lü Hong the government. Lü Guang told the three to be united, and that Lü Shao should trust his brothers. He also told Lü Zuan and Lü Hong that Lü Shao might not be talented, but was the rightful heir, and that they should assist him faithfully. Lü Guang died later that day.
Coup and death
Initially, Lü Shao was not going to immediately announce Lü Guang's death, in fear that it might draw enemy attacks, but Lü Zuan broke down the door and forcibly entered the palace and mourned. Lü Shao became fearful and offered the throne to Lü Zuan, but Lü Zuan refused. Lü Shao's cousin Lü ChaoLu Chao
Lu Chao from China is the recognized Guinness record holder for reciting digits of Pi. He successfully recited 67,890 digits of pi in 24 hours and 4 minutes with an error at the 67,891st digit, saying it was a "5", when it was actually a "0". He stated he had 100,000 memorized, and was going to...
(呂超) then secretly suggested to Lü Shao that Lü Zuan be arrested and executed, but Lü Shao refused.
However, soon thereafter (either that day or at most several days after), Lü Shao sent his assistant Jiang Ji (姜紀) to encourage Lü Zuan to seize the throne. At night, then, Lü Zuan led his personal guards to attack the palace. Lü Hong joined him. Lü Shao's guards initially resisted, and one of them, Qi Cong (齊從), hit Lü Zuan in the head with a sword but could not kill him. Lü Chao also tried to assist Lü Shao, but their forces were fearful of Lü Zuan and collapsed. Lü Shao fled to a secondary palace and committed suicide. Lü Zuan took the throne, and when he gave Lü Shao a posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
, he only referred to Lü Shao as prince, not emperor.
Personal information
- Father
- Lü GuangLü GuangLü Guang , courtesy name Shiming , formally Emperor Yiwu of Liang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang...
(Emperor Yiwu)
- Lü Guang
- Mother
- Princess/Empress ShiPrincess ShiPrincess Shi , who might have taken the title Empress Shi at one point, was the wife of Lü Guang , the founder of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang.Very little is known about her...
- Princess/Empress Shi
- Wife
- Lady ZhangLady Zhang (Yin)Lady Zhang was the wife of Lü Shao , who briefly reigned as emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang.Very little is known about her, but she was described as virtuous...
- Lady Zhang