Emperor An
Meanwhile, Liu Yu, having accepted the title Duke of Song and the nine bestowments in summer 418, had Emperor An create him the Prince of Song, but then publicly declined the title. Meanwhile, he became convinced of the truth of a prophecy that stated, "There will be two more emperors after Changming." ("Changming", which meant "dawn," was the courtesy name of Emperor An's father Emperor Xiaowu.) He therefore became resolved to kill Emperor An, and he tried several times to have Emperor An's servants poison him, but because Emperor An's brother Sima Dewen continuously attended to him, the servants had no chance to poison him. However, around the new year 419, Sima Dewen was himself ill and had to be at his house. Liu Yu's assassin Wang Shaozhi () then took the opportunity to kill Emperor An—according to "Zizhi Tongjian", by twisting clothes into a rope and then using it to strangle Emperor An. Liu Yu then made Sima Dewen emperor (as Emperor Gong).