 Xiao Tong's enduring legacy is the literary compendium "Wen Xuan" ("Literary Anthology").Xiao Tong was born to Xiao Yan, then a Southern Qi general nearing final victory in a civil war against the cruel and violent emperor Xiao Baojuan, in winter 501.He was born at Xiao Yan's power base of Xiangyang, to Xiao Yan's concubine Ding Lingguang ().