Background
Xiao Yan was born in 464, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song. His father Xiao Shunzhi (蕭順之), who claimed ancestry from the great Han Dynasty prime minister Xiao He, was a distant cousin of the Liu Song general Xiao Daocheng, and was part of Xiao Daocheng's close circle of advisors in Xiao Daocheng's eventual seizure of the Liu Song throne and establishment of Southern Qi (as its Emperor Gao) in 479. For Xiao Shunzhi's contributions, Xiao Daocheng created him the Marquess of Linxiang and made him a general. Xiao Yan was Xiao Shunzhi's third son, and his mother was Xiao Shunzhi's wife Zhang Zhirou (張至柔), who was also the mother of his older brothers Xiao Yi (蕭懿) and Xiao Fu (蕭敷), his younger brother Xiao Chang (蕭暢), and his younger sister Xiao Linyi (蕭令嫕). Lady Zhang died in 471, predating Xiao Shunzhi's becoming a marquess during Southern Qi.
Xiao Yan had six other brothers born of Xiao Shunzhi's concubines. One of them, Xiao Xiu (475–518) is now mainly remembered because of his comparatively well-preserved funerary statuary ensemble near Nanjing.
Around 481 or 482, Xiao Yan married Chi Hui (郗徽), the daughter of the Liu Song official Chi Ye (郗燁) and the Princess Xunyang. She bore him three daughters—Xiao Yuyao (蕭玉姚), Xiao Yuwan (蕭玉婉), and Xiao Yuhuan (蕭玉嬛), but no sons.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Wu Of Liang
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