Xiao Xian (蕭銑) (583–621) was a descendant of the imperial house of the Chinese Liang Dynasty, who rose against the rule of the Sui Dynasty toward the end of the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui. He tried to revive Liang, and for several years appeared to be successful in doing so, as he, with his capital at Jiangling, ruled over a state that included most of modern Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. In 621, however, under an attack by the Tang Dynasty generals Li Jing and Li Xiaogong, he, not realizing that relief forces were approaching Jiangling, surrendered. He was subsequently taken to the Tang capital Chang'an, where Emperor Gaozu of Tang executed him.
Background
Xiao Xian was a great-grandson of Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, a vassal of Western Wei and Northern Zhou, who claimed Liang imperial title under the support from those states with his capital at Jiangling. His throne passed for two more generations, to Emperor Jing (Xiao Cong), until it was abolished by Emperor Wen of Sui in 587. That year, Xiao Xian's grandfather and Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan () the Prince of Anping and Emperor Jing's brother Xiao Huan () the Prince of Yixing, believing that the Sui general Cui Hongdu () was about to launch a surprise attack on Jiangling with Emperor Jing away at the Sui capital Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Wen, surrendered to Chen Dynasty with the people of Jiangling, an act that directly led to Emperor Wen's decision to abolish Western Liang notwithstanding Emperor Jing's submissiveness. In 589, after Emperor Wen conquered Chen, he largely spared Chen officials, but as he bore a grudge against Xiao Yan and Xiao Huan for rebelling against him, he had them executed even after they surrendered.
As a result of Xiao Yan's death by execution, his family, unlike the rest of the Xiaos, was not treated well by Sui authorities. Xiao Xian himself was poor in his youth, supporting himself and his mother by serving as a scribe. He was known for being filially pious to his mother. During the reign of Emperor Yang, because Emperor Yang's wife Empress Xiao was a sister of Emperor Jing's, her relatives were generally given governmental offices, and Xiao Xian was made the county magistrate of Luochuan (羅川, in modern Yueyang, Hunan).
Initial uprising
In 617, several military officers at Baling Commandery (巴陵, roughly modern Yueyang) considered rising against Sui rule. They initially wanted to support one of their own, Dong Jingzhen () as leader, but Dong pointed out that he was of a humble lineage and would not be respected by others, but that Xiao Xian was of imperial heritage and would be supported. They therefore sent messengers to Luochuan to report this to Xiao, who then gathered several thousand men. At the same time, the agrarian rebel leader Shen Liusheng () was attacking Luochuan, and Xiao initially could not repel him. However, when Xiao, believing that the act would cause Shen to submit, declared himself the Duke of Liang and replaced all Sui uniforms with Liang ones, Shen submitted. Within five days of Xiao's declaration, he had several tens of thousands of men, and he led them to Baling. Dong sent one of his followers, Xu Deji () to greet Xiao, when Shen, believing that his accomplishment would be overshadowed by the contributions of Dong and the others, killed Xu and wanted to detain Xiao. Xiao, in shock, offered to resign, which led Shen to, in fear, beg for forgiveness. Xiao initially pardoned him, but Dong argued that if Xiao did not kill Shen, he could not show the rule of law, and so Xiao changed his mind and allowed Dong to execute Shen. Shen's soldiers fled.
In winter 617, Xiao built a tall altar and burned a wooden pire thereon. He declared himself the Prince of Liang and changed era name to show independence from Sui.
Reign
Around the new year 618, Xiao Xian sent his general Su Hu'er () to attack another rebel leader, Lin Shihong the Emperor of Chu, who had earlier taken over most of modern Jiangxi and Guangdong. Su captured Lin's major city Yuzhang (豫章, in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), prompting Lin to retreat from Nankang (南康, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi) to Yugan (餘干, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi).