Shi Hu Jilong lived from 295 to 349 AD and reigned from 334 to 349. He was the foster brother of Emperor Shi Le Shilong for whom he served as a general. He was very successful at this, if a bit stern in the execution of his duties. Officers who disagreed with him or showed promise of being better tacticians than him were summarily executed. And the list of cities he conquered and then depopulated in a bloodbath is long.
He eventually succeeded Shi Le as Emperor after first bullying his successor and son. He consolidated his power later by systematically slaughtering all the descendants of the emperor along with quite a few of his wives and concubines. He then spent the rest of his life pursuing his dream of conquering all of China, collecting wives and concubines on the way, and giving lavish banquets.
His need for wives was self-explanatory. They tended to die of beheading if they were unlucky, or being demoted and exiled if they were lucky. His first two wives, chosen by Emperor Shi Le, he loathed. He had them murdered shortly after their marriage. The ups and downs in the fortunes of his later wives had to do with the political luck of their sons, several of which he promoted to being crown prince and then beheaded.
As his self styled Empire was not strong enough to conquer all of China, his title of Emperor of China remained an affectation. Instead he became posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Later Zhao. His little Empire fell apart in the internecine struggle of his remaining sons after his death.
As to his banquets, that’s where his concubines come in. Or go out? They play a central role at these festivities, anyhow. The Emperor would have them paraded before him and then chose one of them for the night’s entertainment. The chosen concubine was then beheaded and her body served for dinner to the guests. The breasts, by the way, were reserved for the most important guests as they were considered a delicacy.
To make sure his guests appreciated the succulent feast he set before them, and to prove that he had not stinted in choosing a beautiful concubine to be served up, the head of the concubine was paraded in front of the guests during dinner. I imagine, he needed quite a few concubines for just that little bit of ostentation.
His oldest son was quite another matter. He had a woman dressed up well before beheading her. He then ate her all on his own. The Emperor was quite right in beheading that selfish glutton, don’t you agree?
Further reading
Prime Minister for Dinner
Imperial Wedding Document for Princess Theophanu
Evacuation From Yalta 1919
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