Hou Jing 侯景

Hou Jing 侯景 (503-552) was a high official and rebel during the Liang period 梁 (502-557). His rebellion contributed to the downfall of the Liang dynasty, and in the long run also to the weakening of the political structure of the Southern Dynasties 南朝 (420-589), which were ended in 589 by the Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618).

Emperor Wu 梁武帝 (r. 502-549) of the Liang dynasty tried to avoid the failures of the Liu-Song 劉宋 (420-479) and Southern Qi 南齊 (479-502) dynasties that immersed in bloody infight among the princes. He abolished the system of document clerks (dianqi 典簽), by which imperial princes were supervised by the central government, and instead gave real power into the hands of princes, with civilian and military authority over provinces. He was tolerant even when they engaged in excessive taxation, open plunder, or acts of treason. However, this method did also not work to prevent conflicts between princes and the imperial court or between princes and the high state officials of the central government.

Hou Jing, courtesy name Wanjing 萬景, was originally a common soldier in the garrison of Huaishuo 懷朔鎮 (near present-day Baotou 包頭, Inner Mongolia) in the Northern Wei empire 北魏 (386-534). During the Revolt of the Six Garrisons (liu zhen qiyi 六鎮起義), he sided with Erzhu Rong 爾朱榮 (493-530) and commanded the vanguard troops fighting against Ge Rong 葛榮 (d. 528). For his military achievements, he was appointed regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Dingzhou 定州, and head of the provincial Branch Secretariat (da xingtai 大行臺). When Gao Huan 高歡 (496-547) exterminated the family Erzhu, Hou served the victor and was made Minister of the Masses (situ 司徒) and head of the Branch Secretariat of the circuit of Henan 河南道.

In 547, with the death of Gao Huan, rifts between Hou and Gao's son, Gao Cheng 高澄 (521-549), became apparent, and Hou rebelled, having a strong military power behind him. He also sent messengers offering submission to both the Western Wei empire 西魏 (535-556) and the Liang empire in the south. The Western empire occupied half of his territory and demanded that he hand over all his divisions and came to the capital Chang'an 長安 (today's Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi) to kowtow. Emperor Wu of the Liang, however, would receive Hou Jing without conditions, invested him as King of Henan 河南 and appointed him Area Commander-in-Chief (dudu 都督) of the northern provinces. The court also dispatched General Xiao Yuanming 蕭淵明 (d. 556) with 50,000 troops to invade the south of the Eastern Wei empire 東魏 (534-550), but the Liang army was destroyed in the battle of Hanshan 寒山 close to Pengcheng 彭城, and Xiao was captured. A year later, Hou Jing's army was defeated in Huayang 渦陽 (Mengcheng 蒙城, Anhui), and Hou barely escaped. Emperor Liang was shocked and demanded that Hou bring Xiao Yuanming back. Hou Jing, recognising that the Liang court was totally helpless, raised new forces, united them with those of Xiao Zhengde 蕭正德 (d- 549), the Prince of Linhe 臨賀, and started a rebellion against the Liang.

With only a few hundred cavalry and 8,000 infantry troops, Hou Jing crossed the Yangtze and invaded the capital Jiankang 建康 (Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu) and surrounded the imperial city Taicheng 臺城, which was stubbornly defended by Yang Kan 羊侃 (496-549). Under great sacrifices, the imperial city withstood all attempts of conquest until the relief army under Liu Zhongli 柳仲禮 was assembled. However, Liu stood not at good terms with another commander, Xiao Lun 蕭綸 (507-551), the Prince of Shaoling 邵陵, and while their troops plundered the countryside, they advanced very slowly from the north. Other actors like Xiao Yi 蕭繹 (508-555), Prince of Xiangdong 湘東王, and Xiao Yu 蕭譽 (519-550), Prince of Hedong 河東, merely sat back and watched the capital fall, hoping to seize the throne themselves. Only after long efforts and heavy losses on both sides, Hou Jing breached the city wall and conquered the capital.

Hou Jing issued a forged imperial edict to disband the relief forces, and the 300,000-strong Liang army either fled or surrendered, collapsing completely overnight. Emperor Wu of Liang, who had been placed under house arrest, died from illness and starvation. Hou Jing then installed the Heir Apparent, Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503-551; Emperor Jianwen 梁簡文帝, r. 549-550), while appointing himself as Chancellor of State (xiangguo 相國), Grand General of the Universe (yuzhou da jiangjun 宇宙大將軍), and Supreme Commander of all military affairs in the realm (dudu liuhe zhujun shi 都督六合諸軍事). He dispatched troops to seize control of the Three Wu regions 三吳 (Suzhou 蘇州, Jiangsu) and beyond, leaving a trail of arson and plunder wherever he went.

In 551, Hou Jing led a large army westward, capturing Yingzhou 郢州 and advancing toward Jiangling 江陵. But in summer, he was defeated by Xiao Yi's forces from Jingzhou 荊州 and was forced to retreat to Jiankang, from which he never recovered. In late summer, Hou Jing deposed Emperor Jianwen. Then, he declared himself emperor and founded a new dynasty named Han 漢.

After the fall of the imperial city, the struggle for the throne among the descendants of Emperor Wu rapidly intensified. Xiao Zhengde, who had been installed as emperor by Hou Jing during the siege, was executed by Hou. In the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, various imperial princes held power in different regions: Xiao Yi controlled Jingzhou and was the strongest; Xiao Ji 蕭紀 (508-553), the Prince of Wuling 武陵, held Yizhou 益州; Xiao Yu occupied Xiangzhou 湘州; Xiao Cha 蕭詧 (519-562) held Yongzhou 雍州; and after the fall of Jiankang, Xiao Lun fled to and took control of Yingzhou, preparing to proclaim himself emperor. Instead of uniting to fight against Hou Jing, these princes fell into a chaotic civil war for the imperial throne. Xiao Lun sought support from the Northern Qi 北齊 (550-577), Xiao Cha submitted to Western Wei, and Xiao Yi courted both Northern Qi and Western Wei.

One month after Emperor Wu's death, Xiao Yi launched an attack on Xiangzhou. In autumn, Xiao Cha advanced from Xiangyang 襄陽 to attack Jiangling, but was repelled by Xiao Yi. In early 550, Xiao Yi's general Wang Sengbian 王僧辯 (d. 555) captured Xiangzhou and killed Xiao Yu. In summer, he launched an attack on Yingzhou, forcing Xiao Lun to flee to Runan 汝南. The following spring, Xiao Lun's army was annihilated by Western Wei forces. After eliminating both Xiao Yu and Xiao Lun, Xiao Yi finally ordered Wang Sengbian to lead his troops eastward. In early 552, Wang Sengbian joined forces with Chen Baxian 陳霸先 (503-559; the eventual founder of the Chen dynasty 陳, 557-589), who had risen troops in the Lingnan region 嶺南. In March, they won a major victory at Gushu 姑孰 (modern-day Dangtu 當涂, Anhui) and advanced to Jiankang. Hou Jing fled eastward but was killed by his own men in April. The rebellion, which had lasted for four years, was finally suppressed.

However, the warfare did not end. Xiao Yi, Xiao Ji, and Xiao Cha now engaged in a final struggle for the imperial throne. In the fourth month, Xiao Ji declared himself emperor and launched an eastward military campaign in summer. Late that year, Xiao Yi also proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling (Emperor Yuan 梁元帝, r. 552-554). At the same time, he requested the Western Wei to attack Yizhou and dispatched a large army to block Xiao Ji’s advance. The next year, Xiao Ji’s forces were defeated and he was killed. The entire Yizhou region then fell into the hands of the Western Wei empire. The following year, Xiao Cha, in collusion with Western Wei, captured Jiangling and killed Xiao Yi. However, he lost control of Xiangyang and became a mere vassal of the Western Wei, ruling in Jiangling under their domination.

The consequences of the Hou Jing Rebellion were extremely severe. Southern society suffered an unprecedented catastrophe. The capital, Jiankang, which had once housed 280,000 households, was left with barely one or two percent of its population surviving, and was reduced entirely to ruins. The Three Wu regions, previously the wealthiest areas of the southern empires, were devastated by Hou Jing's campaign of arson, slaughter, and looting. When the Western Wei captured Jiangling, they took as captives tens of thousands of nobles and commoners—some sources say over a hundred thousand people, enslaving them and distributing them as rewards to the army. These captives were marched to Chang'an, and the weak and frail were all slaughtered along the way. In the end, only a little over 300 households managed to survive.

The major economic and cultural centres of southern China that had been developed over several centuries since the Eastern Jin period 東晉 (317-420) were subjected to devastating destruction. During this period of chaos, the Eastern Wei seized Huainan 淮南 and Guangling 廣陵 (Yangzhou 揚州, Jiangsu), while the Western Wei took control of Chengdu, Hanzhong 漢中, and Xiangyang. As a result, the territory of the Southern Dynasties was significantly reduced, further intensifying the imbalance of a strong North and a weakened South. The aristocratic clans of the south (the shizu 士族 elite) also suffered severe blows. This greatly accelerated the decline and eventual collapse of the aristocratic system of the eminent families (menfa 門閥) in the Southern Dynasties.