Hou Jing
Instigator of the Hou Jing Rebellion, who captured Jiankang and left Emperor Wu of Liang to starve in Taicheng.
Life
Surrendered Jie General
Hou Jing, a Jie, was originally a lieutenant of Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei, commanding troops in Henan. When Gao Huan died in 547, he fell out with Gao Cheng, surrendering first to the Western Wei and then to Liang; Emperor Wu of Liang accepted him over the objections of his ministers.
Siege of Taicheng
In 548 he rebelled against Liang with 8,000 men, crossed the Yangtze and besieged Taicheng in Jiankang. Taicheng was besieged for more than 100 days, with the dead lying in heaps inside; the city fell in 549, and Emperor Wu of Liang, over 80, was placed under house arrest and starved to death.
Catastrophe in Jiangnan
He set up and deposed puppet emperors one after another, and in 551 proclaimed himself Emperor of Han, while the lands south of the Yangtze suffered unprecedented devastation. In 552 the coalition of Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian took Jiankang; Hou Jing fled and was killed by his own men.
Legacy
The Hou Jing Rebellion left the once-prosperous Jiangnan region in ruins. The Liang dynasty never recovered, and the balance of power between north and south shifted decisively to the north.
Major works & achievements
- Launched the Hou Jing Rebellion
Did you know? He rose in revolt with 8,000 men and ended up throwing the whole of Jiangnan into chaos.
Key dates
- 547Betrayed the Eastern Wei and surrendered to Liang
- 548Rose in rebellion
- 549Captured Taicheng; Emperor Wu of Liang starved to death
- 551Proclaimed himself Emperor of Han
- 552Killed after defeat