Gao Kaidao - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Yan Wang
Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Gao (高, gāo)
Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Kaidao (開道, kāi dào)
Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... :	None

Gao Kaidao (高開道) (died 624), at one point known as Li Kaidao (李開道), was an agrarian rebel leader who rose against Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

rule at the end of Emperor Yang

Emperor Yang of Sui

Emperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...

's reign. He occupied the region centering Huairong (懷戎, in modern Zhangjiakou

Zhangjiakou

Zhangjiakou, also known also by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province of North China, adjacent to Beijing to the southeast. Its administrative area has a population of 4.35 million, and covers...

, Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

) and claimed the title of Prince of Yan, in alliance with Eastern Tujue. In 620, he briefly submitted to Emperor Gaozu of Tang

Emperor Gaozu of Tang

Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...

and was bestowed the imperial surname of Li, but in 621 he rebelled against Tang and reasserted independence. In 624, his general Zhang Jinshu (張金樹) started a coup and he, realizing that the coup was about to succeed, committed suicide.

Initial uprising

Little is known about Gao Kaidao's background, and his birth year is not known. He was from Cang Province (滄州, roughly modern Cangzhou

Cangzhou

Cangzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. Cangzhou's urban center has a population of approximately 514,074 at the 2010 census which correspond to the built up area), while the prefecture-level administrative region in total has a population of 7,134,053...

, Hebei

Hebei

). In his youth, he supported himself by boiling sea water to yield salt. He was said to be strong and fast on his horse.

In or before 616, Gao joined the rebel leader Ge Qian (格謙). Ge was killed by the Sui general Yang Yichen

Yang Yichen (Sui Dynasty)

Yang Yichen , né Yuchi Yichen , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. During the late reign of Emperor Yang, Yang Yichen was one of the few Sui generals having success against agrarian rebels, but in 616, Emperor Yang, suspicious of Yang Yichen's abilities, removed him from his...

in 616, and Gao gathered the remainder of Ge's troops. He led them in pillaging the modern northern Hebei

Hebei

.

In 617, Gao put Beiping (北平, in modern Qinhuangdao

Qinhuangdao

Qinhuangdao is a port city in northeastern Hebei province of North China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea....

, Hebei

Hebei

) under siege -- a siege that lasted for more than a year. Around the new year 619, the Sui general Li Jing (李景), who defended the city, could not defend the city any more, and abandoned it when another Sui general, Deng Gao (鄧暠), came to his aid. Gao Kaidao was then able to capture Beiping, and he then also captured Yuyang (漁陽, in modern Tianjin

Tianjin

' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

). He declared himself the Prince of Yan and changed the era name to show independence from Sui. He set his capital at Yuyang.

Meanwhile, there was another major rebel leader nearby -- Gao Tansheng (高曇晟), a Buddhist monk who had seized Huairong and claimed the title of Dacheng Emperor (i.e., Emperor of Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

). Gao Tansheng sent messengers to persuade Gao Kaidao to submit to him, and Gao Kaidao agreed. Gao Tansheng created him the Prince of Qi, but several months later, Gao Kaidao assassinated Gao Tansheng, taking over Gao Tansheng's troops and making Huairong his capital. Both he and another rebel leader, Dou Jiande

Dou Jiande

Dou Jiande was a leader of the agrarian rebels who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui near the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty...

, tried to get Luo Yi

Luo Yi

Luo Yi , known during service to Tang Dynasty as Li Yi , courtesy name Ziyan or Ziting , was a Sui Dynasty official who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui and occupied the modern Beijing region. He subsequently submitted to Emperor Gaozu of Tang and was created the Prince of Yan and...

, who then occupied You Prefecture (幽州, roughly modern Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

), to submit, but Luo refused, submitting instead to Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

Brief submission to Tang and subsequent rebellion against Tang

In summer 620, Dou put Luo, who had by now been bestowed the Tang imperial surname Li and was known as Li Yi, under siege. Li Yi sought aid from Gao, who personally led two thousand cavalry soldiers to aid Li Yi, causing Dou to withdraw. Gao thereafter sought to submit to Tang, through Li Yi. In winter 620, Emperor Gaozu of Tang

Emperor Gaozu of Tang

commissioned Gao as the commandant at Wei Prefecture (蔚州, roughly modern Zhangjiakou) and bestowed the imperial surname of Li on him as well, creating him the Prince of Beiping. It was around this time that an incident that showed both Gao's fortitude and cruelty was recorded, as an arrowhead was stuck in Gao's face. When he asked a surgeon to remove it, the surgeon replied, "The arrowhead was in too deep. I cannot remove it." Gao, in anger, executed the surgeon. He then asked another surgeon, who responded, "I can remove it, but it will be very painful." Gao again, in anger, executed to the surgeon. He then asked a third surgeon, who responded, "No problem." The surgeon thereafter operated on him, drilling into his bone and cracking it open, to remove the arrowhead. It was said that during the operation, Gao continued feasting and had singing and dancing girls entertain him.

In winter 621, Li Yi's You Prefecture was suffering from a famine. Gao agreed to supply You Prefecture with food, and when Li Yi sent the weaker of his men to Wei Province to save them from the famine, Gao treated them well. Li Yi was pleased, and he sent three thousand men with several hundred wagons and over 1,000 horses and donkeys to Wei Prefecture to transport food. Gao, however, turned against Li Yi and kept all of them, breaking off the relations with Li Yi and Tang Dynasty. He allied himself with Eastern Tujue to the north and Liu Heita

Liu Heita

Liu Heita was an agrarian rebel leader during China's transition period from Sui Dynasty to Tang Dynasty, who initially successively served under Hao Xiaode , Li Mi, and Wang Shichong. He eventually followed Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia...

to the south. He attacked Yi Prefecture (易州, part of modern Baoding

Baoding

-Administrative divisions:Baoding prefecture-level city consists of 3 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 18 counties:-Demographics:The Baoding urban area has a population of around 1,006,000 . The population of the Baoding administrative area is 10,890,000. The considerable majority are...

, Hebei

Hebei

) but could not capture it. He, however, carried out pillaging raids against the prefectures under Li Yi's and other Tang generals' controls. In spring 623, he joined Eastern Tujue's Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi and Wan Junzhang (苑君璋), a general formally under Liu Wuzhou

Liu Wuzhou

Liu Wuzhou was a rebel leader who rose against the rule of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty late in the dynasty's history, and he took imperial style -- although it was not completely clear whether the title he took was khan or tianzi...

the Dingyang Khan, in attacking the Tang fortress Yanmen (雁門, in modern Xinzhou, Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

), but could not capture it. He continued to raid Tang prefectures for several years, often in conjunction with Tujue or Xi

Kumo Xi

The Kumo Xi ) were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Manchuria from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan...

. In 623, he assisted Ashina Duobi in sieging Mayi (馬邑, in modern Shuozhou

Shuozhou

Shuozhou is a city in the north of Shanxi Province in North China, located on the upper reaches of the Fen River. As of 2004, its population is approximately 1.25 million, and the city has an area of approximately 5,737 square kilometres. Administratively, Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city, with...

, Shanxi

Shanxi

' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

) and capturing it, although Ashina Duobi soon returned Mayi to Tang.

Death

By spring 624, Tang had largely wiped out the competitors for rule of China. Gao, fearful that he would be targeted next, considered surrendering, but decided not to do so because he had turned against Tang previously and because Eastern Tujue supported him. His men, however, were largely from territory now ruled by Tang, and they missed their homeland. Gao, fearing that the men might turn against him, selected several hundred men and formally adopted them as sons, having them guard his mansion, putting his confidant Zhang Jinshu (張金樹) in charge of the guards.

Meanwhile, Liu Heita had been defeated and killed by Tang in 623, and his general Zhang Junli (張君立) fled to Gao. Zhang Junli and Zhang Jinshu subsequently plotted against Gao. One night, Zhang Jinshu had his coconspirators secretly cuttingly the strings on the guards' bows and hiding their swords and spears. After people were asleep, Zhang Jinshu and his coconspirators attacked Gao's mansion. When the guards realized that their weapons were useless or missing, they surrendered. Gao, realizing that his situation was hopeless, nevertheless put on his armor and armed himself with weapons, sitting in his great hall. He held a feast with his princess wife and concubines and ordered the music be played. The conspirators, fearing his ferocity, did not dare to approach. When dawn came, Gao committed suicide by hanging, and his wife, concubines, and sons all committed suicide as well. Zhang Jinshu then massacred Gao's adopted sons and Zhang Junli, surrendering to Tang.

Era name

Shixing (始興 shǐ xīng) 618-624

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