Western Wei declared Emperor Yuan's nephew
Xiao Cha the Emperor of Liang (known in history as the
Western Liang), but the declaration was not recognized by most Liang generals, and the chief of those generals, Wang Sengbian, welcomed Emperor Yuan's son
Xiao Fangzhi the Prince of Jin'an to the old Liang capital
Jiankang, declaring him the Prince of Liang in spring 555 and preparing to make him emperor. Emperor Wenxuan had other ideas, however, and he created Emperor Yuan's cousin
Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang, whom Eastern Wei captured in 547 during Liang's attempt to aid Hou Jing's rebellion against Eastern Wei, emperor, commissioning his brother Gao Huàn (高渙, note tone difference with his father) the Prince of Shangdang to command an army to escort Xiao Yuanming back to Liang territory. Emperor Wenxuan wrote letters to Wang recommending Xiao Yuanming as emperor, arguing that Xiao Fangzhi (who was 12 years old) was too young. Wang initially rejected Xiao Yuanming, but after Gao Huan won a few battles over Wang's generals, Wang decided to submit and, after Northern Qi escorting troops agreed to limit their presence to 1,000 men, and Xiao Yuanming agreed to make Xiao Fangzhi crown prince, accepted Xiao Yuanming as emperor. To show his good faith, Wang sent his son Wang Xian (王顯) and nephew Wang Shizhen (王世珍), as well as Wang Xian's mother Lady Liu, to Yecheng as hostages. Xiao Yuanming became Liang's emperor, and there was peace between Northern Qi and Liang, with Liang now a vassal. Just four months later, however, the situation changed. Wang Sengbian's lieutenant Chen Baxian, displeased over Xiao Yuanming's ascension (as he saw Xiao Yuanming's claim as being too attenuated), make a surprise attack on Jiankang from his headquarters of Jingkou (京口, in modern
Zhenjiang,
Jiangsu), killing Wang Sengbian and forcing Xiao Yuanming to yield the throne to Xiao Fangzhi (who took the throne as Emperor Jing). Initially, Chen claimed that Liang would still agree to be a vassal, and Emperor Wenxuan sent the official Sima Gong (司馬恭) to swear an oath with Liang officials. However, with several generals loyal to Wang Sengbian rising against Chen following Wang's death, Emperor Wenxuan's mind changed, particularly after two, Xu Sihui (徐嗣徽) and Ren Yue (任約) submitted to him, making a surprise attack on the near-Jiankang fortress
Shitou and capturing it. Emperor Wenxuan sent the general Xiao Gui (蕭軌) to reinforce Xu and Ren. Chen defeated Northern Qi troops and Xu and Ren, however, and Xiao Gui's assistant Liu Damo (柳達摩), sieged by Chen in Shitou, sought peace. Chen agreed, and sent his nephew Chen Tanlang (陳曇朗), Emperor Jing's nephew
Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Yongjia, and Wang Min (王珉), the son of the key official Wang Chong (王沖), to serve as hostages to Northern Qi, allowing Liu to withdraw. (Upon Liu's return to Northern Qi, however, Emperor Wenxuan had him executed.) During the campaign against Liang, Emperor Wenxuan made another display of his increasing instability, as he, jealous over the fact that his concubine Consort Xue had previously had a sexual relationship with Gao Yue, ordered Gao Yue to commit suicide. Thereafter, he beheaded Consort Xue and hid her head in his sleeves. At a banquet later that day, he tossed her head onto a platter and cut her body into pieces, beginning to play with her leg, which he converted into a fiddle, surprising all of the banquet attendants. At the end of the banquet, he packed her body parts and began crying, following the cart carrying her body on foot. In fall 555, Emperor Wenxuan became convinced that
Buddhism and
Taoism should be but one religion, and that one of them should be merged into the other. He had the leading Buddhist and Taoist monks debate before him, and he declared the Buddhists the victors, ordering Taoism merged into Buddhism and Taoist monks to become Buddhist monks. Some Taoist monks initially rejected this edict, but after he executed four monks, the others submitted, and Taoism became banned within Northern Qi. In spring 556, border battles between Northern Qi and Liang resumed, and Northern Qi prepared another campaign against Liang. In summer 556, Northern Qi forces were again south of the Yangtze, operating in Jiankang's vicinity, but they were stalemated against Liang troops, eventually defeated by Chen and his generals after they ran out of food. A number of Northern Wei generals were captured and executed by Liang, and in response, Emperor Wenxuan put Chen Tanlang to death. By this point, Emperor Wenxuan's erratic behavior became even greater in scope, fueled by his alcoholism. As described by Sima Guang in his
Zizhi Tongjian: :''... [Emperor Wenxuan] drank heavily and lived immorality, carrying out cruel and barbarous act at his on whim. Sometimes he sang and danced day and night. Sometimes he spread his hair and wore barbarian clothing with colorful sashes. Sometimes he bared his body and put on makeup. Sometimes he rode donkeys, cows, camels, or elephants without using saddles. Sometimes he ordered Cui Jishu or Liu Taozhi (劉桃枝) to carry him and a large drum to allow him to beat the drums. He was accustomed to making surprise charges into the nobles' and imperial officials' private residences. He often crossed streets, sometimes sitting in the streets and sometimes even sleeping on them. Sometimes when it is warm, he would be naked to bask in the sun, but even in the coldest winter, he would strip naked as well and run around. His attendants could not stand his behavior, but he himself did not care. ... Once, he asked a woman on the street, "How is the
Son of Heaven like?" The woman responded, "He is so crazy that he really cannot be considered a Son of Heaven." He beheaded her.'' Once, when he was drunk and acting irrationally, his mother Empress Dowager Lou rebuked him, and he threatened to marry her to an old barbarian. When she became angry, he became fearful, and he wanted to induce her to smile again, so he crawled on the ground under her seat, but in doing so, he flipped the seat over, and she was injured. After he sobered up, he realized how she had been injured, and he set a large fire, intending to jump in to die, causing her to have to grab him to save him. He thereafter pledged not to drink any more, but was only able to do so for 10 days before he began drinking again. He also once shot an arrow at Empress Li's mother Lady Cui and whipped her. Further, it was described that most women of the imperial Gao clan were forced to have sexual relations with him at one point or another. When Gao Huan's concubine
Erzhu Ying'e, the Princess Dowager of Pengcheng, refused, he killed her with his own hands. Emperor Wenxuan also became homicidal when he drank, and he always wanted to kill people when he was drunk, mostly by dismemberment, but sometimes by burning or drowning. Yang Yin, who was prime minister at this point, therefore set up a group of condemned prisoners and a saw to be available to the palace guards—if Emperor Wenxuan wanted to kill someone, a condemned prisoner would be brought out for him to kill, and if a prisoner was able to survive for three months without being killed, he would be set free. However, even in his erratic behavior, Emperor Wenxuan was still attentive to many important matters, and because of his harshness, his officials did not dare to be corrupt. Further, Yang was a capable prime minister, and Emperor Wenxuan gave him full authorization to carry out laws properly. Therefore, it was said at the time that while the emperor was violent and insane, the government was nevertheless efficient. In winter 557, believing prophecies that Gao Huàn would be emperor, he ordered Gao Huàn arrested. Gao Huàn tried to resist, but was nevertheless captured and delivered to Yecheng. When another brother, Gao Jun (高浚) the prince of Yong'an, sent petitions urging him to change his behavior, he had Gao Jun arrested as well, and the two princes were imprisoned in a dungeon. Also in winter 557, Chen Baxian had Liang's Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, establishing the
Chen dynasty, and subsequently had Emperor Jing killed in 558. The general
Wang Lin, then in control of modern
Hunan and eastern
Hubei, refused to submit to Chen and sought to continue Liang's lineage. He therefore requested Northern Qi to return Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Yongjia to be emperor. In spring 558, Northern Qi troops escorted Xiao Zhuang to Wang's territory, and Wang declared Xiao Zhuang emperor, as a Northern Qi vassal, with his capital at Jiangxia (江夏, in modern
Wuhan,
Hubei). By this point, Emperor Wenxuan's military campaigns and other wasteful behavior had caused the imperial treasury to be drained. He had also become unhappy with his son Gao Yin, believing that Gao Yin was too Han-like in behavior, and he considered deposing Gao Yin. Once, he ordered Gao Yin to personally execute a prisoner, but Gao Yin could not bring himself to do so, and Emperor Wenxuan battered him with a whip handle, causing Gao Yin to thereafter have a
panic disorder and at times be unable to speak. When Emperor Wenxuan became drunk, he would often state that he might eventually pass the throne to his brother Gao Yan, and he stopped stating as such only after urging by Yang and Wei Shou, who believed that his words were causing an unstabling effect in causing a doubt as to who would succeed him. Around the new year 559, Emperor Wenxuan visited the imprisoned Gao Jun and Gao Huàn. He initially took pity on them and considered releasing them, but, at the urging of another brother,
Gao Zhan the Prince of Changguang, did not do so, and further started to pierce them with spears. He also ordered that torches be thrown at them, burning them to death. He rewarded the princes' wives to the soldiers who delivered the death blows. In summer 559, Emperor Wenxuan, suspecting that the members of the Northern Wei imperial Yuan clan would eventually try to return to power, ordered the Yuans to be slaughtered, regardless of age or gender, and had the bodies thrown into the Zhang River. In particular, a man named
Yuan Huangtou was flown off a tower strapped to a kite as part of an experiment of Emperor Wenxuan, in the first known case of human flight. He survived but was starved to death in prison. Only several households who were particularly close to the Gaos were spared. In fall 559, Emperor Wenxuan suffered a major illness that historians believed to be alcoholism-driven. He stated to Empress Li, "A person will live and die, and there is nothing to regret, other than that our son Gao Yin is still young, and someone else will take his throne." He stated to Gao Yan, "Go ahead and take the throne, but do not kill him!" However, he did not change the succession order, and after his death, Gao Yin took the throne as Emperor Fei. The officials tried to mourn at his death, but no one was actually able to shed a tear other than Yang Yin. Not long after, Gao Yan killed Yang Yin and deposed Gao Yin, becoming emperor. ==Physical appearance==