Yang Xingmi

Yang Xingmi (楊行密) (852–December 24, 905), né Yang Xingmin (楊行愍, name changed 886), courtesy name Huayuan (化源), formally Prince Wuzhong of Wu (吳武忠王, "martial and faithful"), later posthumously honored King Xiaowu of Wu (吳孝武王, "filial and martial") then Emperor Wu of Wu (吳武帝) with the temple name of Taizu (太祖), was a military governor (Jiedushi) of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, whose takeover of Huainan and several nearby circuits allowed him and his family to rule over territory that would eventually become the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms state Wu — including most of modern Jiangsu and Anhui and parts of modern Jiangxi and Hubei. (Although Yang Xingmi would be the first ruler in his line to receive the title of Prince of Wu, it was a Tang-bestowed title and did not denote independence of the state.)