Xiao Ni - Under Emperor Wu

Under Emperor Wu

Emperor Wu conferred a number of honorific titles on Xiao Ni, and while publicly, Xiao Ni did not participate in policy decisions, in private they often discussed important matters of state, and Emperor Wu almost always listened to Xiao Ni's suggestions. He also frequently visited Xiao Ni's mansion, where both he and Xiao Ni would wear informal wear that brothers would wear while meeting with each other, rather than the formal clothing of an emperor and his subject. As a special honor, Emperor Wu also made Xiao Ni's wife Princess Yu be in charge of the ancestral worship of their parents and grandparents. Xiao Ni was said to be tall and attentive to his appearance, but careful in his actions. Several times he sought to transfer the powerful governorship of Yang Province to Emperor Wu's son Xiao Ziliang (蕭子良) the Prince of Jingling, who was also a trusted advisor of Emperor Wu, but Emperor Wu refused, telling Xiao Ni that the post was his for life.

Initially, Xiao Ni did not have any sons, and probably sometime during Emperor Gao's reign, he adopted Emperor Wu's son Xiao Zixiang (蕭子響) as his heir apparent -- a status that Xiao Zixiang, by Xiao Ni's request, continued to hold even after Xiao Ni had his own sons. However, in 488, after an incident where Xiao Zixiang threw a temper tantrum over not being able to wear the same style as his brothers (because his brothers were princes, while he was just the heir apparent of a prince), the adoption was rescinded, and Xiao Zixiang was returned to Emperor Wu's line and created the Prince of Badong. (Xiao Zixiang was subsequently executed in 490 after he killed a number of his advisors.)

In 492, Xiao Ni died and was buried with great honors. In words that he left his five sons, he stated:

As for ability, some are capable and some are less capable. As for official posts, some are fortunate to be promoted while some are blocked. As for fortune, some are rich and some are poor. These are all natural phenomena, and you should not use your position to bully others.

The high praise that Xiao Ni received in official histories might be related to the fact that his son Xiao Zixian (蕭子顯) was the official who was later, in the succeeding Liang Dynasty, commissioned to author the official history of Southern Qi, the Book of Qi.