Overview
Gao Yuanhai was a Son of Sizong; palace attendant and minister under three Northern Qi reigns.
IdentityHistorical · Male
Found inBook of Northern Qi
Life and dates
Death
- AD 578 周建德七年Execution · At Ye 鄴Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 96
Attested activity
- AD 578 周建德七年Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 96
- AD 571 to AD 573 後主時Dated from the passage context · Book of Northern Qi 39, passages 206, 217
- AD 561 皇建末Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 47
- AD 560 to AD 565 高元海Dated from the passage context · Book of Northern Qi 47, passage 200
Family
Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.
- Spouse of Yuanhai’s later wifelater wife 後妻Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 90
- Child of Sizong (思宗)son 子Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 41
Key source chapters
- Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 14 Volume 14 Biographies 6: Guangping Gongcheng; Yangzhou Gong Yongle; Di Zhangbi; Prince of Xiangle, Xiang Guo; Prince of Shangluo, Si Zong; Zi Yuanhai; Di Sihao; Prince of Pingqin, Guiyan; Prince Pu of Wuxing; Changle, Governor of Lingshan; Sizi Fuhu 24 passages
- Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 39 Volume 39 Biographies 31: Cui Jishu; Zu Ting 5 passages
- Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 47 Volume 47 Biographies 39: Cruel Officials 5 passages
Career and standing
- Director of the Masters of Writing 尚書令AppointedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 95
- Commander of the Army 領軍AppointedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 46
- Governor of Zhengzhou 鄭州刺史AppointedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 217
- Palace Attendant, Opener of a Government Office Equal in Protocol to Three Imperators, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince 侍中、開府儀同三司、太子詹事AppointedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 84
- Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry 散騎常侍HeldDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 41
- Right Vice Minister 右僕射HeldDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 99
Show 4 more source-backed claims
- Governor of Zheng Province 鄭州刺史Sent out asDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 94
- Governor of Yan Province 兗州刺史Sent out asDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 89
- Plotted rebellion at Ye and was executedAD 578 周建德七年 · ExecutedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 96
- Slandered by He Shikai and beaten sixty strokes with the horsewhipDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 85
Places and affiliations
- Polity Northern Qi 北齊 · Relation ServedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 206
- At Zhengzhou 鄭州 · Relation Posted toDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 217
- Organization faction with Yin Zihua, Li Shuyuan, Zhang Shulüe 結朋樹黨 · Relation Member ofDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 215
Learning and skills
- Belief Buddhism 釋典 · Relation AspirantDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 42
Works and attributed material
- Persuaded the Later Lord to forbid slaughter and cut off the sale of wineCounsel · SpeakerDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 99
- Reassured Wucheng that the Empress Dowager and the emperor bore him no ill willCounsel · SpeakerDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 61
- Was rebuked for urging Wucheng to rebel against his elder brother and for troops resisting Bing ProvinceRebuke · AddresseeDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passages 86-88
- When pressed, urged Wucheng to seize power by force, arguing the Prince of Ji’nan was the legitimate heir wrongly displacedDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passages 74-75
- Speech · Speaker · Direct quotationDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 210
Events and relationships
- Devised three stratagems overnight for Wucheng to secure himself, citing the precedent of Prince Xiao of LiangDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passages 63, 65-72
- Entered Mount Linlu for two years to cultivate the Buddhist canon, then petitioned to returnDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passages 43-44
- Jointly held court governance with Zu Ting in the Wuping eraDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 91
- Memorialized Ting unfitDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 211
- Secret deliberationPolitical · DeliberatorDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 206
- Stayed behind at the capital to manage confidential affairs while Xiaozhao visited Jinyang and Wucheng remained on guardDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 47
Show 1 more source-backed claim
- Relation Rivalry with · Person Zu Ting (祖珪)Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 93
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment Han man unfit to command guards because blind · Mode named-speech Speaker Gao Yuanhai (高元海) · About Person Id Zu Ting (祖珽)Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 210
- Assessment his heart was not truly at peace, and in the end he brought on ruin · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 100
- Assessment loved disorder and delighted in calamity, yet feigned benevolence, abstaining from wine and meat · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 97
- small in capacity but great in ambition, prided himself on clever stratagemsCharacterDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 46
Source notes
- Historicity historicalDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 39, passage 206
- counseled Wenxuan to revere Buddhism and cease blood offerings at the ancestral temple in the last years of TianbaoDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 98
- often reported the Empress Dowager Lu’s confidential words to Zu TingDirectly stated · Book of Northern Qi 14, passage 92
References in the histories
34 passages
No matching passages.