Classic Chinese Paintings: Earlier Dynasties (before 618)
Emperor Yuan of Liang (Xiao Yi) (508–555)
Emperor Yuan of Liang (Chinese: 梁元帝; pinyin: Liáng Yuándì) (508–555), personal name Xiao Yi (蕭繹), courtesy name Shicheng (世誠), nickname Qifu (七符), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen were successively taken hostage and controlled by the rebel general Hou Jing, Xiao Yi was largely viewed as the de facto leader of Liang, and after defeating Hou in 552 declared himself emperor. In 554, after offending Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of rival Western Wei, Western Wei forces descended on and captured his capital Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), executing him and instead declaring his nephew Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan) the Emperor of Liang.
Emperor Yuan was a renowned writer and collector of ancient books, but was criticized by historians for concentrating on eliminating potential contenders for the throne rather than on fighting Hou Jing. As Jiangling was sieged by Western Wei troops, Emperor Yuan set his collection of more than 140,000 volumes of ancient books on fire, and this is commonly considered as one of the greatest disasters for the study of ancient works in Chinese history. (Wikipedia)
The paying tribute to Chinese emperor, painted by Emperor Yuan of Liang (Xiao Yi) himself, from the 6th century. 《職貢圖》，6世紀梁朝
You may need to click on the picture and use the scroll to view complete image. (3,641 × 460 pixels, file size: 1.3 MB )
Emissaries from right to left: Uar (Hephthalites); Persia; Baekje; Qiuci; Wo (Japan); Langkasuka; Dengzhi (鄧至) of Qiang ethnic group; Karghalik (Yarkand, 周古柯), Kabadiyan (呵跋檀), Kumedhan (胡蜜丹), Baiti (白题, of similar Hephthalite stocks), whom dwell close to Hephthalite; Mo (Qiemo) (且末). The painting is held in Nanjing Museum, China (南京博物院)
中文: 右到左：滑/嚈噠人，波斯，百濟，龜茲，倭（日本），狼牙修，鄧至，周古柯，呵跋檀，胡蜜丹，白题，且末。
A section of "The paying tribute to Chinese emperor"
A section of "The paying tribute to Chinese emperor"
