Ancient Liang
 |
|
The Liang Family and Clan History The Liang
The Shiji mentions another small kingdom of Liang near the Zhou royal capital ca. 273 B.C. which was a
different Liang kingdom from the one annexed in 641 B.C. (See "Shi Ji" extracts of, for the origins of the surname.)
The name Liang however, predates its first use as a family surname. The Liang family
name is considered a dynastic name as there were two Dynasties and numerous
states under the Liang name. The name Liang appears earliest as one of the Nine Ancient Provinces
(Jiu Zhou) of China from the Tribute of Yu (Yu Gong) chapter of the Classic of Documents (Shangshu/Shujing).
These were the domains of the legendary King Yu that were inherited by the Xia dynasty ca. 2200 B.C.
1) Jizhou 冀州
1) Jizhou 冀州: Central Hebei and/or Shanxi The ancient name for the city of Kaifeng was Da Liang (大梁) or "Great Liang" (See
During the Eastern Han period, a time when the Han Dynasty was in chaos and decline, a power struggle ensured between three rival groups, the powerful eunuchs, the cliques of officials and the consort families of which the Liang was one of them. This was largely due to the fact that starting in A.D. 88, minors were placed on the throne and hence effective control of the Dynasty was in the hands of Regents. There were three successive empresses starting with Liang Na (梁妠) (A.D. 116-150), formally Empress Shunlie (順烈皇后, literally "the kind and achieving empress"), Liang Nuying (梁女瑩) (A.D. ???-159) formally Empress Yixian (懿獻皇后, literally "the meek and wise empress") and the adopted Liang Mengnu (梁猛女) (A.D. ???-165) (Deng Mengnu or Bo Mengnu). "The Liang family, by providing three empresses, In A.D. 159 a eunuch gang in the service of Huan-ti slaughtered relatives of the Empress Dowager Liang, effectively bringing an end to the Imperial aspirations of the Liang family.
The first major Liang Dynasty of A.D. 502 - 556 with its capital at Nanjing, was under the Emperor Wu Di. The dynasty was part of a period after the break-up of the Jin Dynasty, A.D. 265 - 420 called the Southern and Northern Dynasties, A.D. 520 - 588. The Liang Dynasty was one of the Southern Dynasties, the Song, Qi, Liang and the Chen, which struggled against the Northern non-Chinese Dynasties of the Later Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. Emperor Wu Di, or Hsiao Yen was a cousin of the Emperor of the Southern Qi. He held a fief in the strategic area of the Hsiang-yang, in the north of Hupei. In A.D. 502 he marched on Nanjing and eventually forced the cession of power to himself. The Liang Dynasty under the Emperor Wu Di was a period of great cultural advancement. Buddhism thrived, as did literature, art and philosophy. The flourish of Buddhism in China during this period was very rapid under Emperor Wu Di. Shortly after his conversion from Confucianism to Buddhism in about A.D. 511, an envoy by the name of Song Yuan was sent to India to obtain new Buddhist text for study. He also invited 3000 monks to Nanjing from India from the Gupta Kingdom. One such monk, Paramartha who arrived in A.D. 548 set about translating many Indian Buddhist text. Another referenced monk from India is Monk Damo who came to Guangdong in A.D. 527 Prince Xiao Ming of the Liang Dynasty is considered an early Chinese thinker on Buddhism. His essays "On the Two Truths", collected in the Kuang-hung-ming-chi (Taisho Tripitaka, vol. 52) and his "Two-bodies" theory represents one Chinese attempt to come to terms with Buddhism's Maadhyamika philosophy of Naagaarjuna. It was also during this period when Emperor's eldest son, Liang Xiao Tong compiled China's most famous anthology, the Wen Xuan (Literary Selections). The second Liang Dynasty was called the Later Liang Dynasty, A.D. 907 - 923 with its capital at Kaifeng. The break-up of the Tang Dynasty, A.D. 618 - 907, resulted in the creation of 5 smaller Dynasties contending for the Mandate of Heaven. This period is known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, A.D. 907 - 960. The Later Liang was under the rule of Emperor Tai Zu. The Five Dynasties included the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou. Most historians tend to view the period as a great divide in Chinese history. The era's military and political upheavals were just symptoms of deeper changes in the society. This seemingly chaotic period was in fact less chaotic than other rebellious times, except from the point of view of the aristocrats, whose status disappeared along with their large estates, usually taken over in bits by their former managers. The aristocratic dominance in Chinese history was at an end, with a new bureaucratic era about to begin with the rise of the Song Dynasty, A.D. 960 - 1279. The Famous Ancient Liangs There have been many significant Liangs in
ancient
Chinese history. Liang Hongyu was a female general and the wife of a
mighty Song Dynasty general, Han Shizhong. Her tale is one of courage
and strength. Green Pearl is another
Lady mentioned in ancient Chinese History. She was a singer and dancer
who lived about the year A.D. 300. Throughout Chinese history, scholars have been part and parcel of everyday life. The passing of government exams can mean high ranking posts of power and respect. There have been many famous chinese scholars through the 3000 years of Chinese history. The story of Liang Qichao (A.D. 1873 - 1929) is one such story. In the 16th century, a scholar by the name of Liang Juyuan (A.D. 1527 - 1579), better known for his pseudonym Ho Xinyin, advocated and attempted to implement the conception of the ideal state, known as Clan Communism. In an essay, "Concerning the Theory: Fatherlessness and the Absence of Princes Are Not Identical with Parricide and Regicide" (Pien wu-fu wu-chun fei shih-fu shih-chun), he illustrated that Man has a consciousness of hierarchy and moral obligation. In A.D. 1553, he built the "Hall for Gathering in Harmony" (Chu-ho tang) in the Yang-feng district (Jiangxi province). He proposed that the powerful and far-flung Liang clan set up a kind of family commune with two principal areas of activity, a communal educational system, and the common cultivation of the fields. Liang Fa, also known as 'Ah Fa', was the first Chinese Pastor in a Protestant church. Born in Gao He of Guangdong in A.D. 1784, Liang traveled to Guangzhou to study the technology of block printing in A.D. 1804. He met Robert Morrison (A.D. 1782 - 1834) in A.D. 1810 and began to print Bibles for Mr. Morrison, despite the ban by the Qing government. In A.D. 1815, Liang joined the British Missionary and was baptized the following year. Morrison made Liang the first Chinese pastor in Macao in A.D. 1824 and Liang later returned to preach in Guangzhou. Liang was also know for his work in editing and distributing Christian booklets (e.g., the Bible Homework, etc.) and flyers, and he turned his house into a meeting place for Christians. Liang died in Guangzhou in A.D. 1854. Liang's work had quite a bit of impact on Hong Xiu Quan who initiated the Taiping Rebellion (A.D. 1851). Another well know scholar is Liang Hong who in his own right has a claim to fame, but together with his wife, Meng Guang comes a story of love and respect. The Chinese phrase "holding the tray level with the eyebrows" pays tribute to the couple, and is used to this day, to characterize married couples who treat each other with love and respect. However, not every love story turns out for the better as was in the case of Liang Shanbo (梁山伯) and Zhu Yingtai (祝英台). A well known legend and tale of tragic love. This tale is a well told tale immortalized in song and dance, tribute to the "Romeo and Juliet of the Ancient Chinese. During the Song Dynasty in the 13th century A.D., there lived a well known Chinese painter called Liang Kai (A.D. 1140?-1210?). His works hail as some of the greatest works of Chinese classical art. Liang Kai pioneered an expressive and simplified style of ink painting. After becoming a Zen monk, he turned from his earlier landscapes to concentrate mainly on figure paintings done in a new technique using a wide, soft brush with a few deft and seemingly spontaneous strokes. Among some of his best works is a portrait of the Poet Li Bai (Li Po or Li Pai or Li Tai-Po) currently housed at the National Museum, Tokyo. For his contributions to humanity, Liang Kai has been immortalised by having a crater on Mercury named after him! In the 8th century A.D., military engineer Liang Lingzan together with learned Buddhist monk Yixing, in trying to devise a more precise calendar, constructed a great astronomical clock on the grounds of the palace in Ch'ang-an. This ancestor of all modern clocks, completed in A.D. 721, was the first machine known to employ an escapement, the basic device that is still used to regulated clocks. It divided the power from a water-wheel into exactly similar unit impulses so that the apparent motions of stars and the less regular wanderings of the planets could be duplicated by the measurable movements of a bronze microcosm of rings and little spheres, while wooden figures struck out the sequence of the hours. Other historical Liangs of significance that we are still trying to research are:
|
The Liang Star The Liang Family has a
star bearing the surname. In the Chinese star-chart, within the Eastern (Azure Dragon) quardrant of the
sky, on the "Youyuan (Right Wall)" constellation of the "Heavenly Market Enclosure" group is a star called
Liang. This star in the western star-chart corresponds to the star "Yed Prior" of the "Ophiuchus (Serpent-
bearer)" constellation. It's coordinates are R.A. 16h15m Dec. -3.7 degrees, has a brightness of Magnitude
2.76 and is 172 Lightyears from Earth.
I am still researching the History of the Family. Please do help me by feeding me with information if you have any that might be useful.
Written by Leong Kit Meng
Leong Family Tree Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved
family name has been in existence for approximately 2600 years. The
first Liang was Liang Kang Hou who was the ruler of the State of Liang,
a small city-state based in the city of Shaoliang 少梁 (also known as Xiayang 夏阳) in eastern
Shaanxi, on the border between Qin and Jin in the northwestern part of China. The
State of Liang existed during the Zhao Dynasty of 1027 - 221 B.C. The
descendents of Liang Kang Hou retained the name Liang as their surname
in memory of the Liang state when it was annexed by the neighboring
State of Qin in 641 B.C. 
Liang Dynastic Name