Early Life
Xiao Baoyin was born in 487, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, to whom his father Xiao Luan was a cousin. He was Xiao Luan's sixth son, and his mother was Xiao Luan's wife Liu Huiduan (劉惠端). She also bore two older brothers of his, Xiao Baojuan, Xiao Baoxuan (蕭寶玄), and a younger brother, Xiao Baorong, but died in 489, when Xiao Baoyin was just two. During Emperor Wu's reign, Xiao Luan carried the title of Marquess of Xichang and was a high level official. After Emperor Wu's death in 493, Xiao Luan served as prime minister to Emperor Wu's grandson and successor Xiao Zhaoye, but in 494 killed the frivolous Xiao Zhaoye, briefly replacing Xiao Zhaoye with Xiao Zhaoye's brother Xiao Zhaowen before seizing the throne himself (as Emperor Ming). He created his sons imperial princes, and Xiao Baoyin carried the title of Prince of Jian'an.
Read more about this topic: Xiao Baoyin
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)