64 Facts About Gao Huan

Gao Huan was born in 496, at Northern Wei's northern garrison town Huaishuo.

Gao Huan was ethnically Han, but his family, having resided at Huaishuo ever since his grandfather Gao Mi was exiled there for faults while serving as a Northern Wei official, had largely been acculturated in the Xianbei ways.

Gao Huan was unimpressed by Empress Dowager Hu's actions and believed that Northern Wei was on the verge of collapse.

However, Gao Huan soon became unimpressed with Du's behavior, and he escaped from Du's army.

Gao Huan then joined another rebel leader, Ge Rong, but eventually went to the Northern Wei general and Xiongnu tribal leader Erzhu Rong.

However, when Gao Huan was able to tame a very wild horse, Erzhu became impressed, and they became closer and closer, with Gao Huan pointing out that with the empire in disarray, it would be a good opportunity for Erzhu to seize power.

Gao Huan was descended from a Han Chinese family, at least paternally.

Gao Huan claimed the Bohai Chinese Gao clan as his ancestors and Bohai his ancestral land, but had become de-Sinicized.

Gao Huan had become Xianbeified as his clan had lived in Xianbei cultural region for some time after being relocated from what is modern Hebei.

Gao Huan pointed out that his powerful Chinese general Hou Jing was capricious, cunning and could not be trusted, who will rebel after his death, he then appointed several Xianbei and Chile generals whom he considered to be both upright and talented to be on guard of Hou Jing.

Gao Huan suggested that Erzhu accept the offer, but Erzhu hesitated and ultimately ruled against it.

Gao Huan thereafter participated in the campaigns against Ge Rong and Xing Gao Huan, as well as the rebel general Yang Kan, serving with distinction.

Erzhu Zhao, trusting Gao Huan, commissioned him with Ge Rong's former troops and, accepting his suggestion, allowed him to take his new troops east of the Taihang Mountains to seek food.

In spring 531, Gao Huan was posturing to attack his distant relative Gao Gan, who had declared a rebellion at Xindu, against the Erzhus.

Gao Huan thereafter stirred his troops by forging orders from Erzhu Zhao that indicated that Erzhu Zhao was about to turn them into servants for his own troops.

Gao Huan's troops believed the forged orders, and when he declared a rebellion in summer 531, they supported him.

However, at Sun Teng's urging, in fall 531, Gao Huan declared another distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, Yuan Lang, emperor.

Gao Huan then defeated Erzhu Zhao in battle in winter 531, forcing Erzhu Zhao to withdraw as well.

In spring 532, Gao Huan captured the important city Yecheng, and used it as a base for subsequent operations.

However, despite the Erzhus' numerical superiority, Gao Huan defeated them, forcing Erzhu Zhao to flee back to Jinyang and Erzhu Zhongyuan back to his base Dong Commandery.

However, Gao Huan was beginning to believe that Yuan Lang, due to his lineage's being distant from recent emperors, to be an inappropriate choice to be emperor as well.

Gao Huan toyed with the idea of allowing Emperor Jiemin to remain emperor, but decided against it after his generals Wei Lan'gen and Cui Ling advised him that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control in the future.

Gao Huan considered Emperor Xiaowen's son Yuan Yue the Prince of Huai'nan, and he welcomed Yuan Yue back from Liang, but he subsequently heard that Yuan Yue was arbitrary in his actions, and so decided against it as well.

Gao Huan became the paramount general of the empire, although the imperial government became largely run by Husi Chun and Emperor Xiaowu's associate Wang Sizheng.

Emperor Xiaowu initially deferred to Gao Huan, who continued to command the largest army of the state and took over Erzhu Rong's old headquarters at Jinyang as his own, on most decisions, and Emperor Xiaowu married Gao's daughter as his empress in late 532.

Gao Huan created Gao the Prince of Bohai, a title that Yuan Lang initially created Gao in 531 but Gao continuously declined until winter 533.

However, the relationship between Emperor Xiaowu and Gao Huan soon deteriorated, over Emperor Xiaowu's suspicions that Gao Huan had designs on the throne, and over Emperor Xiaowu's desires to reassert imperial authority.

Gao Huan tried to remain deferential to Emperor Xiaowu outwardly, but was becoming increasingly displeased with the emperor's independence.

When Gao Huan tried to make overtures to Yuwen, Yuwen arrested his messengers and delivered them to Emperor Xiaowu.

Wang Sizheng, believing that the imperial troops were not strong enough to resist Gao Huan's, suggested Emperor Xiaowu to flee to Yuwen's territory, and Emperor Xiaowu decided to do so, rejecting Husi Chun's offer to take one final stand at Luoyang, particularly when Heba Sheng failed to come to the emperor's aid and when Yuwen's troops failed to arrive quickly.

Meanwhile, Gao Huan took over the Luoyang region, and soon defeated Heba Sheng, taking over his territory and forcing him to flee to Liang.

Gao Huan then wrote repeated petitions to Emperor Xiaowu, requesting that he return to Luoyang and indicating that he was willing to return to the status quo ante.

Gao Huan therefore made Yuan Shanjian, the son and heir apparent of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan the Prince of Qinghe emperor and moving the capital from Luoyang to Yecheng, thus formally dividing the empire into two, albeit with each claiming to be the rightful one.

Eastern Wei's territorial size and military strength was far stronger than Western Wei's, and Gao Huan made a number of attempts to try to end the division by conquering Western Wei, but the battles largely proved to be inconclusive, allowing Western Wei to stand.

Gao Huan saw Emperor Xiaowu's flight as a blot on his personal history, so he treated Emperor Xiaojing with great formal respect, deferring to Emperor Xiaojing in all public occasions.

In spring 535, Gao Huan learned that around the new year 535, Emperor Xiaowu, who had a falling out with Yuwen Tai over Yuwen's refusal to condone his incestuous relationships with his cousins, had been poisoned to death by Yuwen.

Gao Huan suggested that an official mourning period be held for Emperor Xiaowu, and while there were disagreements, eventually a mourning period was held.

Gao Huan caned Gao Cheng and put him under house arrest, and refused to meet with Gao Cheng's mother Princess Lou.

Gao Huan considered replacing Gao Cheng as heir apparent with Gao You, the son of his concubine Erzhu Ying'e, the daughter of Erzhu Rong who had previously been Emperor Xiaozhuang's empress.

Around the new year 536, Gao Huan tried to make an alliance with Rouran against Western Wei, by marrying a princess to Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulu Anagui.

In spring 536, Gao made a deep incursion into Western Wei territory, capturing Xia Province, while rescuing his ally Cao Ni the governor of Ling Province, who had been trapped behind Western Wei lines.

The Western Wei general Moqi Pu, his son Moqi Shouluogan, and other generals Chigan Baole and Poliuhan Chang, who were stationed in the western Western Wei territory, joined Gao Huan and returned to Eastern Wei with him.

Gao Huan Cheng was sent to Yecheng, and he took over actual reign of the Eastern Wei imperial government.

In spring 537, Gao Huan launched a major attack three-pronged on Western Wei, commanded by himself and his key generals Dou Tai and Gao Aocao, intending to draw Yuwen's troops to himself while having Dou advance deep into Western Wei territory.

In winter 537, after hearing news that the Guanzhong region was suffering from a major famine, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei.

Gao Huan encountered Yuwen at the Battle of Shayuan, and, believing that he had overwhelming numerical advantage, rejected the strategy of Hulu Qiangju to bypass Yuwen and make a direct attack on Chang'an, and his own initial inclination to set fire to the grass fields at Shayuan to have it burn Yuwen's troops, instead directly engaging Yuwen in battle.

In light of his defeat, the southern provinces and Luoyang area largely rebelled and declared allegiance to Western Wei, but in spring 538 Gao Huan sent Hou Jing against the southern provinces, recapturing them.

In fall 538, Gao Huan, assisted by Hou Jing and Gao Aocao, put Luoyang under siege.

However, Gao Huan was unable to take advantage of the disturbance that Zhao caused, and Yuwen was able to return to Chang'an to suppress Zhao's rebellion.

In summer 539, Gao Huan gave his second daughter to Emperor Xiaojing in marriage as Emperor Xiaojing's wife and empress.

In winter 541, Gao Huan had Emperor Xiaojing issue an edict standardizing measurement units for cloth, to avoid the populace's being unfairly taxed.

In winter 542, Gao Huan launched a major attack on the Western Wei border city of Yubi, but the Western Wei defence was held successfully and Gao was forced to withdraw.

Gao Huan therefore surrendered the important garrison of Hulao to Western Wei.

Yuwen led his troops to try to come to Gao Zhongmi's aid and further again seize the entire Luoyang region, but was repelled in a major battle near Luoyang, during which both Yuwen and Gao Huan were nearly killed in battle, with Heba Sheng, then a Western Wei general, nearly killing Gao with a spear.

Gao Huan Cheng made one of his close assistants, Cui Jishu an assistant to Emperor Xiaojing, in order to keep a closer eye on Emperor Xiaojing.

In fall 545, due to an alliance between Western Wei and Rouran to attack Eastern Wei, Gao Huan sued for peace with Rouran by requesting a marriage between a daughter of Yujiulu Anagui and Gao Cheng.

Yujiulu Anagui refused, stating that it would only be sufficient if Gao Huan himself married her.

In fall 546, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei, apparently to make one final attempt to destroy it.

Gao Huan put Yubi under siege, intending to attract Western Wei forces to Yubi in order to destroy it, but Western Wei did not respond.

Yuwen' Chinese general in charge of defending Yubi, Wei Xiaokuan defended against all kinds of siege tactics that Gao Huan tried, for 50 days, and Eastern Wei forces suffered 70,000 deaths from the battle and the illnesses.

Gao Huan himself was physically and emotionally drained, and he became ill, and he was forced to withdraw.

Gao Huan's illness continued to progress once he returned to Jinyang, and he recalled Gao Huan Cheng to Jinyang to give him final instructions.

Gao Huan Cheng became increasingly concerned that the powerful Chinese general Hou Jing, who was then defending Luoyang and in charge of the provinces south of the Yellow River, would rebel, particularly after Hou refused a recall order.

Gao Huan died in spring 547, and while a false casket was buried publicly, he was buried at a secret location in Cheng'an.