58 Facts About Gao Wei

Gao Wei was born in 557, when his father Gao Zhan was the Prince of Changguang under Emperor Wenxuan, Gao Zhan's older brother.

However, as Princess Hu was his wife, Gao Zhan publicly announced that Gao Wei was born first and treated him as the first-born.

In spring 567, Gao Wei celebrated his rite of passage.

Gao Wei was considered a young man of weak personality, and while Gao Wei was emperor, Emperor Wucheng and Retired Empress Hu both greatly favored his younger brother, Gao Yan the Prince of Dongping, honoring Gao Yan with many high offices and making sure that Gao Yan received all of the same supplies as his emperor brother did.

Gao Wei Rui, in particular, was most critical of He Shikai for being corrupt and immoral, as it was an open secret that He Shikai was having an affair with Empress Dowager Hu.

When Gao Rui nevertheless entered the palace to try to pressure Empress Dowager Hu and Gao Wei to remove He Shikai.

The other favorite associates of Gao Wei included Gao Wei's wet nurse Lu Lingxuan and her son Mu Tipo, as well as Zu Ting.

In winter 570, Gao Wei created Gao Heng crown prince.

Gao Wei then defeated Northern Zhou troops at Yiyang.

On his way back to the capital Yecheng, Gao Wei ordered his troops demobilized even though many of the soldiers had not received rewards.

Hulu Guang submitted a secret petition to Gao Wei, requesting the emperor to send imperial messengers to the army to honor the soldiers.

Gao Wei did not act immediately and the army approached Yecheng without receiving any words from the emperor.

Gao Wei was displeased that Hulu Guang brought the army close to the capital, and he summoned Hulu to the palace before sending messengers to honor the soldiers and demobilizing them.

Hulu, while he approved of Gao Wei Yan's killing of He Shikai, was still loyal to the emperor, and he intervened on the emperor's side, ordering Gao Wei Yan's troops to disband, and they collapsed.

At Hulu's urging, Gao Wei spared Gao Yan initially, although in winter 571 he nevertheless had Liu Taozhi suffocate Gao Yan, and Gao Yan's four posthumous sons were killed.

Gao Wei saw her and was infatuated with her, and he took her as a concubine.

In 572, Empress Hulu gave birth to a daughter, and Gao Wei, wanting to please Hulu Guang, initially claimed that she gave birth to a son, but eventually had to admit that the child was a daughter.

Gao Wei disliked Zu, and he often complained to his generals that Zu rarely consulted military generals.

Gao Wei wrote two songs in couplets, one of which read:.

Gao Wei sent spies to spread the songs near Yecheng, and the songs soon became popular.

Gao Wei consulted another favorite, Han Zhangluan, who believed that he should not suspect Hulu, so Gao Wei initially took no action.

Gao Wei believed it this time, and under Zu's suggestion, he awarded Hulu a horse, and then, as Hulu arrived at the palace to thank the emperor, he had Liu Taozhi seize Hulu and strangle him to death.

Lady Lu saw that Gao Wei favored Empress Hu, and so agree to jointly suggest, with Zu Ting, that Consort Hu be created empress, and Gao Wei did so.

Gao Wei favored Empress Hu so greatly that he made clothes for her out of pearls, although those clothes were later destroyed in a fire.

Gao Wei therefore engaged witches to use witchcraft on Empress Hu.

The issue of corruption became severe, and with Gao Wei himself living in luxury and waste, constantly building palaces and tearing them down and rebuilding them, the Northern Qi imperial treasury was at a state of exhaustion.

In spring 573, Gao Wei created Right Empress Mu sole empress.

Also in spring 573, Zu Ting, knowing that Gao Wei had a love of literature, with Gao Wei's approval, established the Wenlin Hall, headed by the officials Li Delin and Yan Zhitui.

Gao Wei went against the advice of the officials Wang Hong, who advocated passive resistance while reducing tax burdens to strengthen the people's resolve, and Zhao Yanshen, who advocated commissioning the Liang dynasty general Wang Lin, who had long wanted to reestablish Liang at Chen's expense, with an army.

Further, during the campaign, Gao Wei became suspicious of his cousin Gao Changgong the Prince of Lanling, a capable general, and poisoned Gao Changgong to death.

Gao Wei was intending to visit the secondary capital Jinyang, which he and his predecessors did on a regular basis.

Han suggested that these officials were in fact intending to rebel, and Gao Wei agreed, executing Cui, Zhang, Feng, Liu, Pei, and Guo.

Gao Wei further exiled their clan members, confiscated their women, and castrated their boys.

Gao Wei sent Tang Yong to resist Gao Sihao while personally leading the next army north, but before he could get there, Gao Sihao was defeated, and he committed suicide by drowning.

Meanwhile, around this time, Gao Wei had become less attracted to Empress Mu, instead becoming more infatuated with Empress Mu's servant girl Feng Xiaolian, making her an imperial consort.

At the time the news of Northern Zhou's attack on Pingyang arrived, Gao Wei was hunting at Qilian Lake with Consort Feng, and Gao Anagong, not believing the matter to be serious, did not report the news to Gao Wei.

Gao Wei gathered his troops and headed for Pingyang, and Emperor Wu, believing Gao Wei's troops to be still strong, withdrew but put the general Liang Shiyan in charge of defending Pingyang against the Northern Qi counterattack.

Gao Anagong advised against direct faceoff with Emperor Wu's troops, but Gao Wei, egged on by eunuchs, chose to directly engage Emperor Wu, and the armies engaged in a battle around year 577.

Once at Jinyang, instead of preparing for resistance, Gao Wei instead planned to have his cousins Gao Yanzong the Prince of Ande and Gao Xiaoheng the Prince of Guangning defend Jinyang, planning to himself flee north to Shuo Province, against Gao Yanzong's advice.

Gao Wei first sent Empress Dowager Hu and Gao Heng to Shuo Province.

Meanwhile, Mu Tipo abandoned Gao Wei and surrendered to Northern Zhou.

Once Gao Wei arrived at Yecheng, he ordered that high rewards be posted for people who would join the army, but he himself was unwilling to contribute treasures from his own palace holdings.

The official Gao Mai, who had escorted Empress Dowager Hu and Crown Prince Heng back from Shuo Province, suggested making one last stand at Yecheng, but Gao Wei did not accept his suggestion.

Gao Wei continued to exercise imperial authority, even though Gao Heng was emperor.

Gao Wei honored his mother Empress Dowager Hu as Grand Empress Dowager, while Empress Mu took the title of empress dowager.

Meanwhile, the official Moduolou Jingxian and the general Wei Xiangyuan plotted to try to have Gao Anagong killed, and then declare Gao Xiaoheng emperor, but the plot dissolved when the ambush they set in place for Gao Anagong could not be carried out.

Meanwhile, Gao Wei Xiaoheng requested an army so that he could resist Northern Zhou, but Gao Wei Anagong and Han Zhangluan, suspecting him of plotting a coup, sent him out to be the governor of Cang Province.

Gao Wei left the general Murong Sanzang in charge of Yecheng and fled toward Ji Province, where had earlier sent Grand Empress Dowager Hu, Empress Dowager Mu, and the emperor Gao Heng.

Once Gao Wei left, Murong Sanzang was unable to defend the city, and it fell.

When Gao Wei arrived at Ji Province, he issued an edict in Gao Heng's name further passing the throne to Gao Wei's uncle Gao Jie the Prince of Rencheng, sending the edict and the imperial seal to Gao Jie at Ying Province with the official Hulu Xiaoqing, where Gao Jie was governor.

Meanwhile, Gao Wei left Grand Empress Dowager Hu and Gao Anagong at Ji Province while further fleeing with Empress Dowager Mu, Consort Feng, Gao Heng, Han, and Deng Changyu further east to Qing Province.

Gao Wei planned to further flee to Chen, but Gao Anagong, who had been in communications with Northern Zhou forces and was planning to offer Gao Wei as a prize, fed him false information to slow him down.

When Northern Zhou forces arrived at Ji Province, Gao Wei Anagong surrendered, allowing Northern Zhou forces to quickly descend on Qing Province.

Gao Wei quickly tried to flee, but was captured by the Northern Zhou general Yuchi Qin and delivered back to Yecheng, to Emperor Wu.

Meanwhile, Gao Jie and Gao Xiaoheng made an attempt to resist Northern Zhou at Cang Province, and when Emperor Wu had Gao Wei send an edict to Gao Jie to order his surrender, Gao Jie refused.

Gao Wei ceremonially offered Gao Wei and the other captives to the ancestors at the ancestral temple, but did not harm them at this point.

In winter 577, Emperor Wu, apprehensive of the Gao clan, falsely accused Gao Wei of plotting rebellion with Mu Tipo, and then ordered him and other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide.

Only during the regency of Yang Jian over Emperor Wu's grandson Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou were members of the Gao clan, including Gao Wei, properly buried north of Chang'an.