Gao Jifu
Encyclopedia
Gao Jifu (596
– January 16, 654), formal name Gao Feng (高馮) but went by the courtesy name of Jifu, formally Duke Xian of Tiao (蓨憲公), was a chancellor of the Chinese
court in the Tang Dynasty
, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong
and Emperor Gaozong
.
, Shandong
). His grandfather Gao Biao (高表) was a commandery governor during either late Northern Wei
or Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei
. His father Gao Heng (高衡) was a county magistrate during Sui Dynasty
. Gao Jifu himself was said to be both studious and trained in the martial arts when he was young, and was also said to be particularly appropriate in his actions during the mourning period after his mother's death. His older brother Gao Yuandao (高元道) served as the magistrate of Ji County (汲縣, in modern Xinxiang
, Henan
). In 618 or 619, when Sui was on the verge of total collapse after the death of Emperor Yang
, people of Ji County surrendered to agrarian rebels, and Gao Yuandao was killed in the process. Gao Jifu led Gao Yuandao's followers in combat and was able to capture and execute those who had killed his brother, taking their heads to his brother's tomb to be offered to his brother. Thereafter, he gathered his own band of agrarian rebels. He soon submitted to the rule of Tang Dynasty
, one of the regimes that rose out of the confusion of Sui's collapse, along with another rebel leader in the region, Li Yude (李育德), who had been a general of the rebel ruler Li Mi, and was made the military advisor to Li Yude, who was made the prefect of Zhi Prefecture (陟州, roughly modern Jiaozuo
, Henan
).
, Gao was serving as assistant imperial censor, and he often pointed out faults of the other officials, as his duty as assistant censors, without fearing reprisals. He was eventually made a midlevel official at the legislative bureau of the government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). In 634, he was serving as such when, in response to Emperor Taizong's call for officials to offer suggestions, Gao offered five suggestions, in these areas:
Emperor Taizong praised him for his suggestions.
In 643, Gao was made an assistant head of household to the crown prince
Li Zhi
. In response to further suggestions about governance that Gao suggested, Emperor Taizong awarded him with a stalactite
, then used as medication, stating, "You provided medication for the state, so I am providing you with medication." In 644, he was made the assistant minister of civil service affairs, and was said to be appropriate in his selection of officials. Emperor Taizong awarded him with a gold-plated mirror to symbolize that his acts were clean and honorable.
In 645, during Emperor Taizong's campaign against Goguryeo
, Emperor Taizong left Li Zhi at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding
, Hebei
), to be in charge of logistics, assisted by a number of officials led by the chancellor Gao Shilian
, and Gao Jifu was a member of Li Zhi's staff there. In 648, he was made Zhongshu Ling (中書令) -- the head of the legislative bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor, and also served as minister of civil service affairs. He also participated in the editing of imperial history, and was created the Duke of Tiao -- his home county.
. Later, he was soon said to be forced to reduced to home rest due to an illness, and Emperor Gaozong recalled his brother Gao Jitong (高季通), who was then the prefect of Guo Prefecture (虢州, part of modern Sanmenxia
, Henan
), to be the assistant minister of imperial clan affairs, so that he could attend to Gao Jifu. Gao Jifu died in 654.
596
Year 596 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 596 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Religion :* King Ethelbert of Kent asks for missionaries...
– January 16, 654), formal name Gao Feng (高馮) but went by the courtesy name of Jifu, formally Duke Xian of Tiao (蓨憲公), was a chancellor of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
court in the 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...
, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
and Emperor Gaozong
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
.
Background
Gao Jifu was born in 596. He was from the locale that would eventually be Tang's De Prefecture (德州, roughly modern DezhouDezhou
Dezhou is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north....
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
). His grandfather Gao Biao (高表) was a commandery governor during either late Northern Wei
Northern Wei
The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...
or Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei
Eastern Wei
The Eastern Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550.In 534 Gao Huan, the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory following the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty installed Yuan Shanjian a descendant of...
. His father Gao Heng (高衡) was a county magistrate during 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....
. Gao Jifu himself was said to be both studious and trained in the martial arts when he was young, and was also said to be particularly appropriate in his actions during the mourning period after his mother's death. His older brother Gao Yuandao (高元道) served as the magistrate of Ji County (汲縣, in modern Xinxiang
Xinxiang
Xinxiang is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the provinces of Shanxi and Shandong to its northwest and...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
). In 618 or 619, when Sui was on the verge of total collapse after the death 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...
, people of Ji County surrendered to agrarian rebels, and Gao Yuandao was killed in the process. Gao Jifu led Gao Yuandao's followers in combat and was able to capture and execute those who had killed his brother, taking their heads to his brother's tomb to be offered to his brother. Thereafter, he gathered his own band of agrarian rebels. He soon submitted to the rule of 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...
, one of the regimes that rose out of the confusion of Sui's collapse, along with another rebel leader in the region, Li Yude (李育德), who had been a general of the rebel ruler Li Mi, and was made the military advisor to Li Yude, who was made the prefect of Zhi Prefecture (陟州, roughly modern Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the west, Luoyang to the southwest, and the province of Shanxi...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
).
During Emperor Taizong's reign
Gao Jifu's activities for the next several years are not recorded in history. It was said that early in the reign of Tang's second emperor Emperor TaizongEmperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
, Gao was serving as assistant imperial censor, and he often pointed out faults of the other officials, as his duty as assistant censors, without fearing reprisals. He was eventually made a midlevel official at the legislative bureau of the government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). In 634, he was serving as such when, in response to Emperor Taizong's call for officials to offer suggestions, Gao offered five suggestions, in these areas:
- He suggested that greater emphasis should be paid to promoting officials who were kind and honest.
- He suggested that the conscription of people into public works projects should be reduced.
- He suggested that ways should be found to curb the tendency for princesses and nobles to conduct business to make more money, as he opined that their stipends were already sufficient.
- He suggested that local officials' salaries should be increased, as he opined that at the time the salaries were not sufficient for them to support their families.
- He suggested that clear guidelines should be established that the emperor's sons be considered lower in rank than the emperor's brothers, as it was not clear at the time, leading to confusion in how the emperor's sons and brothers dealt with each other.
Emperor Taizong praised him for his suggestions.
In 643, Gao was made an assistant head of household to the crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Li Zhi
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
. In response to further suggestions about governance that Gao suggested, Emperor Taizong awarded him with a stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
, then used as medication, stating, "You provided medication for the state, so I am providing you with medication." In 644, he was made the assistant minister of civil service affairs, and was said to be appropriate in his selection of officials. Emperor Taizong awarded him with a gold-plated mirror to symbolize that his acts were clean and honorable.
In 645, during Emperor Taizong's campaign against Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, Emperor Taizong left Li Zhi at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly 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
' 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...
), to be in charge of logistics, assisted by a number of officials led by the chancellor Gao Shilian
Gao Shilian
Gao Shilian , formal name Gao Jian but went by the courtesy name of Shilian, formally Duke Wenxian of Shen , was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
, and Gao Jifu was a member of Li Zhi's staff there. In 648, he was made Zhongshu Ling (中書令) -- the head of the legislative bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor, and also served as minister of civil service affairs. He also participated in the editing of imperial history, and was created the Duke of Tiao -- his home county.
During Emperor Gaozong's reign
After Emperor Taizong died in 649, Li Zhi succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong). In 651, Gao Jifu was made Shizhong (侍中), the head of the examination bureau of government, still a post considered for a chancellor. in 652, he also took on the additional title of advisor for Emperor Gaozong's crown prince Li ZhongLi Zhong
Li Zhong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 86th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 50th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Tiger Slaying General".-Background:...
. Later, he was soon said to be forced to reduced to home rest due to an illness, and Emperor Gaozong recalled his brother Gao Jitong (高季通), who was then the prefect of Guo Prefecture (虢州, part of modern Sanmenxia
Sanmenxia
-Administration:The prefecture-level city of Sanmenxia administers one district, two county-level cities and three counties.*Hubin District*Lingbao City*Yima City*Lushi County*Shan County*Mianchi County*Sanmenxia Development Zone...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
), to be the assistant minister of imperial clan affairs, so that he could attend to Gao Jifu. Gao Jifu died in 654.