Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547),

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇帝) with the

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

Gaozu (高祖), was the paramount general and a minister of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty and its branch successor state Eastern Wei dynasty. Although he was an ethnic Han, Gao was deeply influenced by Xianbei culture and was often considered more Xianbei than Han by his contemporaries. During his career, he and his family became firmly in control of the Eastern Wei court. Eventually, in 550, his son Gao Yang forced Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei to yield the throne to him, establishing the Gao clan as the imperial house of a new Northern Qi dynasty.

Background

Gao Huan was born in 496, at Northern Wei's northern garrison town Huaishuo (懷朔鎮, near Guyang in modern Baotou,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

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

ways. (Gao Huan's nickname Heliuhun was a Xianbei name.) His father was Gao Shusheng (高樹生), and his mother was Han Qiji (韩期姬), Gao Shusheng's wife, died soon after his birth, and he was raised at the house of his older sister Gao Loujin (高娄斤) with her husband, Wei Jing (尉景). In his young days, his family was poor, and he became a servant at the old Northern Wei capital Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi). While serving at Pingcheng, Lou Zhaojun an ethnic

, and the daughter of a wealthy house, saw him and was impressed with his appearance and behavior, and she married him despite her parents' opposition. It was only after this marriage that Gao had sufficient money to buy a horse, and he became a courier for the Pingcheng defense headquarters, often delivering official mail to and from the capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

. In 519, Gao happened to be at Luoyang when a mob of soldiers, angry over the minister Zhang Yi (張彝)'s new policy of excluding soldiers from civil service, sieged Zhang's house and then killed him. The regent Empress Dowager Hu ( Emperor Xiaoming's mother) did not dare to punish them, but largely pardoned them except for eight leaders. Gao was unimpressed by Empress Dowager Hu's actions and believed that Northern Wei was on the verge of collapse. When he returned to Pingcheng, he sold his properties and used the funds to gather associates around him, stating that if disturbances occurred, the property might not be his any more anyway. His associates around this time included people from diverse ethnic backgrounds such as Xianbei, Chinese and Xiongnu, in addition to his brother-in-law Wei Jing, Sima Ziru (司馬子如), Liu Gui (劉貴), Jia Xianzhi (賈顯智), Sun Teng (孫騰),

Hou Jing Hou Jing (; died June 552), courtesy name Wanjing (萬景), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a general of Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several ...

(侯景), and Cai Jun (蔡儁). Together they were often in the countryside, and when they saw injustices, they would seek to correct them. In 525, in the midst of Six Frontier Towns rebellions (六镇之乱) against Northern Wei's rule, Gao and his associates joined one of the major Xianbei and Turkic rebel leaders, Du Luozhou (杜洛周). However, Gao soon became unimpressed with Du's behavior, and he escaped from Du's army. He then joined another rebel leader, Ge Rong (葛榮), but eventually went to the Northern Wei general and

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

tribal leader Erzhu Rong. By this time, Liu Gui, a Xiongnu descendant and close friend of Gao Huan was already serving under Erzhu, and he often praised Gao's talent, but when Erzhu met Gao, he was not initially impressed as Gao was poor, and looked haggard and unconfident. However, when Gao was able to tame a very wild horse, Erzhu became impressed, and they became closer and closer, with Gao pointing out that with the empire in disarray, it would be a good opportunity for Erzhu to seize power.

Ethnic identity

Gao Huan was descended from a Han Chinese family, at least paternally. However, at the same time he maintained a very public culturally Xianbei appearance. He claimed the Bohai Chinese Gao clan ( 渤海高氏) as his ancestors and Bohai his ancestral land, but had become de-Sinicized. It was recorded that he would make speech to his soldiers only in the Xianbei language instead of Chinese, unless one of his most fiercest generals - Gao Aocao (高敖曹) was at the scene, he would then switch his use of language from Xianbei to Chinese, Gao Aocao was one of the few ethnic Chinese whom had earned respect from Gao Huan. Gao Huan was also reported as having frequently said to his soldiers in Xianbei language: "Those weak Chinese are just your servants and dogs, all you guys need to do is simply to fight and protect our empire." He had become Xianbeified as his clan had lived in Xianbei cultural region for some time after being relocated from what is now modern

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

(Bohai). The Eastern Wei enfeoffed the land of Bohai to Gao Huan, and he became "Prince of Bohai" or "King of Bohai". Before Gao's death, he sang the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

song (Chile song was considered by many scholars as a military song for all Xianbeified soldiers) together with his trusted

general Hulü Jin (斛律金) in front of most of his major Xianbei, as well as Xianbeified Xiongnu, Chile and Chinese generals, and wept bitterly. He also pointed out that his powerful Chinese general

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. In the end Hou did rebel against Gao Huan's son Gao Cheng, but the rebellion was successfully put down by Eastern Wei's senior general Murong Shaozong (慕容紹宗).

Under the Erzhus

Erzhu Rong was impressed with Gao Huan's talents, and he made Gao one of his military commanders. In 528, Emperor Xiaoming, displeased at the hold on power that Empress Dowager Hu's lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) and Zheng's associate Xu Ge (徐紇) had, entered into a conspiracy with Erzhu to have Erzhu advance on the capital to force Empress Dowager Hu to kill Zheng and Xu. Erzhu therefore began to march on the capital, and he made Gao his forward commander. On the way, however, Emperor Xiaoming ordered him to stop, but the news of the conspiracy still leaked, and Empress Dowager Hu poisoned Emperor Xiaoming to death and declared his distant toddler nephew Yuan Zhao emperor. Erzhu refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor, and he continued his march on Luoyang, declaring Yuan Ziyou the Prince of Changle emperor (as Emperor Xiaozhuang). Luoyang's defenses collapsed, and Erzhu arrested and threw Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

to drown. Believing that the imperial officials would never obey him, he massacred a large number of them (including Emperor Xiaozhuang's brothers), and Emperor Xiaozhuang, fearing what would come next, offered to yield the throne to Erzhu. Gao suggested that Erzhu accept the offer, but Erzhu hesitated and ultimately ruled against it. His general Heba Yue (賀拔岳), who opposed Erzhu's taking of the throne, suggested Erzhu that Gao should be executed to show his good faith, but Erzhu ruled against it. In fact, for Gao's contributions to the campaign, Emperor Xiaozhuang created him the Count of Tongdi. Erzhu subsequently carried out a number of campaigns against agrarian rebels to try to reunify the empire. Gao thereafter participated in the campaigns against Ge Rong and Xing Gao (邢杲), as well as the rebel general Yang Kan (羊侃), serving with distinction. On one occasion, when Erzhu Rong was asking his commanders for opinions on who could succeed him as the commanding general of the army if he were no longer there, most opined that

Erzhu Zhao Erzhu Zhao (爾朱兆) (died 533), courtesy name Wanren (萬仁), Xianbei name Tumo'er (吐沒兒), was a general of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He was ethnically Xiongnu and a nephew of the paramount general Erzhu Rong. After ...

could, but Erzhu Rong himself opined that Gao Huan was the only one capable of doing so, and he warned Erzhu Zhao, "You are no match for Gao Huan, and one day he will surely pierce through your nose." Erzhu Rong thereafter made Gao the governor of Jin Province (晉州, roughly modern

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976, ...

, Shanxi), and while governor, Gao gathered much wealth, intending for use later. In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu would eventually seize the throne, ambushed and killed him in the palace. The Erzhus, led by Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong, fought against Emperor Xiaozhuang, and Erzhu Zhao was thereafter marching on Luoyang, declaring Erzhu Rong's wife the Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye emperor. Erzhu Zhao summoned Gao to aid him, but Gao declined, using the excuse that he needed to fight against local agrarian rebels. Erzhu Zhao was displeased, but for the time being did not act against Gao. Later in the year, Erzhu Zhao captured Luoyang and arrested Emperor Xiaozhuang, delivering Emperor Xiaozhuang to his headquarters at Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). Gao wrote a letter to Erzhu Zhao urging him not to harm the emperor, but Erzhu Zhao refused to answer, and subsequently strangled Emperor Xiaozhuang to death. Despite this, Gao remained nominally under the Erzhus' command structure, and when, around the new year, the general Gedouling Bufan (紇豆陵步番), loyal to Emperor Xiaozhuang, attacked Erzhu Zhao and initially defeated him, approaching Jinyang, Gao came to Erzhu Zhao's aid, and together they defeated and killed Gedouling. After the battle, Erzhu Zhao and Gao swore themselves to be brothers. Erzhu Zhao, trusting Gao, commissioned him with Ge Rong's former troops (largely Xianbei) and, accepting his suggestion, allowed him to take his new troops east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

to seek food. In spring 531, Gao Huan was posturing to attack his distant relative Gao Gan (高乾), who had declared a rebellion at

Xindu Xindu District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Southwest China, covering part of the northern suburbs. Overview The Xindu District borders the prefecture-level city of D ...

(信都, in modern

Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...

), against the Erzhus. However, Gao Gan and Li Yuanzhong (李元忠) were able to persuade him that the Erzhus, because of their corruption, were hated by the people, and he could overthrow them. 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.

Rebellion against the Erzhus

Initially, Gao Huan's rebellion formally continued to recognize Emperor Jiemin, whom Erzhu Shilong had made emperor in spring 531 to replace Yuan Ye (whose distant imperial lineage made him appear inappropriate as emperor). However, at Sun Teng's urging, in fall 531, Gao declared another distant member of the imperial Yuan clan,

Yuan Lang Yuan Lang (元朗) (513Yuan Lang's biography in ''Book of Wei'' indicated that he was 20 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus, his birth year should be 513. – 26 December 532), courtesy name Zhongzhe (仲哲), frequently known by his pos ...

, emperor. Despite Gao's reputation for being a capable soldier, his army was still weak, and initially, most key members of the Erzhu clan did not take him seriously, except Erzhu Shilong. Soon, Erzhu Shilong's brothers Erzhu Zhongyuan (爾朱仲遠) and Erzhu Dulü (爾朱度律), as well as Erzhu Zhao, converged against Gao, but Gao successfully spread rumors to make the Erzhus suspicious of each other, due to existing conflicts that Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Shilong already had, and Erzhu Zhongyuan and Erzhu Dulü subsequently withdrew. Gao then defeated Erzhu Zhao in battle in winter 531, forcing Erzhu Zhao to withdraw as well. In spring 532, Gao captured the important city Yecheng, and used it as a base for subsequent operations. The Erzhus soon reconciled, and soon, Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Zhongyuan, Erzhu Dulü, and

Erzhu Tianguang Erzhu Tianguang () (496–532) was a general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. He became a major general during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhuang, when his father's cousin Erzhu Rong was the paramount general of the state. He was r ...

converged on Yecheng. However, despite the Erzhus' numerical superiority, Gao defeated them, forcing Erzhu Zhao to flee back to Jinyang and Erzhu Zhongyuan back to his base

Dong Commandery Dong Commandery ( zh, 東郡) was a commandery in historical China from the Warring States period to Sui dynasty. Its territories were situated in present-day Henan, Hebei and Shandong provinces. The commandery was established by the state of Qin i ...

(東郡, in modern Anyang,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü tried to retreat to Luoyang, but at this time, the general

Husi Chun Husi Chun () (495–537), courtesy name Fashou (法壽), Xianbei name Daidun (貸敦), formally Prince Wenxuan of Changshan (常山文宣王), was a general and official of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei and Western Wei dynasties of China. Early car ...

rebelled against the Erzhus in Luoyang itself, killing Erzhu Shilong and another brother of Erzhu Shilong, Erzhu Yanbo (爾朱彥伯), and he also captured Erzhu Dulü and Erzhu Tianguang in battle, delivering them to Gao. Erzhu Zhongyuan soon abandoned Dong Commandery and fled to rival

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

, leaving Erzhu Zhao as the only major surviving member of the Erzhu clan. Gao marched toward Luoyang, then controlled by Husi, with Yuan Lang. However, Gao 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. He toyed with the idea of allowing Emperor Jiemin to remain emperor, but decided against it after his generals Wei Lan'gen (魏蘭根) and Cui Ling (name not in

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...

) advised him that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control in the future. He also considered Emperor Xiaowen's son Yuan Yue (元悅) 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. Instead, he offered the throne to Emperor Xiaowen's grandson Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang, and Yuan Xiu accepted, taking the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Gao became the paramount general of the empire, although the imperial government became largely run by Husi Chun and Emperor Xiaowu's associate Wang Sizheng (王思政).

During Emperor Xiaowu's reign

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. He also created Gao the Prince of Bohai, a title that Yuan Lang had initially created Gao in 531 but Gao continuously declined until winter 533. However, the relationship between Emperor Xiaowu and Gao soon deteriorated, over Emperor Xiaowu's suspicions that Gao had designs on the throne, and over Emperor Xiaowu's desires to reassert imperial authority. Emperor Xiaowu therefore tried to align himself with independent generals, the brothers Heba Yue (賀拔岳), who controlled the western provinces, and Heba Sheng (賀拔勝), who controlled the southern provinces. Gao tried to remain deferential to Emperor Xiaowu outwardly, but was becoming increasingly displeased with the emperor's independence. Gao tried to undermine Emperor Xiaowu's allies. In winter 533, he sent his associate Zhai Song (翟嵩) to persuade Heba Yue's lieutenant Houmochen Yue (侯莫陳悅) to betray Heba, while in spring 534 ambushing a major tribal leader, Gedouling Yili (紇豆陵依利), whom Emperor Xiaowu had also made overtures to, taking over Gedouling's troops. Soon thereafter, Homouchen assassinated Heba Yue, but Homouchen missed an opportunity to take over Heba Yue's troops. Subsequently, those troops supported Heba Yue's assistant Yuwen Tai as their leader, and Yuwen soon defeated Houmochen, who committed suicide. Emperor Xiaowu subsequently entered into an alliance with Yuwen. When Gao tried to make overtures to Yuwen, Yuwen arrested his messengers and delivered them to Emperor Xiaowu. Emperor Xiaowu soon prepared a campaign against Gao, and he, trying to catch Gao by surprise, issued a secret edict to Gao claiming to be actually planning to attack Yuwen and Heba Sheng. Gao, however, saw through Emperor Xiaowu's plot, and marched toward Luoyang. Wang Sizheng, believing that the imperial troops were not strong enough to resist Gao'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. It took Gao only a month to reach Luoyang, and Emperor Xiaowu fled west, encountering Yuwen's troops on the way, and had them escort him back to Yuwen's headquarters at

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

, where he reestablished the imperial government and made Yuwen prime minister. Meanwhile, Gao Huan took over the Luoyang region, and soon also defeated Heba Sheng, taking over his territory and forcing him to flee to Liang. Gao 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. Emperor Xiaowu did not respond to any of Gao's overtures. Gao therefore made Yuan Shanjian, the son and heir apparent of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan (元亶) the Prince of Qinghe emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing) and moving the capital from Luoyang to Yecheng, thus formally dividing the empire into two ( Eastern Wei under Emperor Xiaojing and

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

under Emperor Xiaowu), albeit with each claiming to be the rightful one.

During Emperor Xiaojing's reign

Eastern Wei's territorial size and military strength was far stronger than Western Wei's, and Gao 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. Periodically, Western Wei generals who had prior relationships with Gao would defect to Eastern Wei, and Gao at times carried out campaigns deep within Western Wei territory. However, Western Wei was able to portray Gao as a renegade general who expelled the emperor, and often during campaigns, local populace would assist Western Wei troops because they believed Western Wei's characterization. During this period, Gao also tried to foster harmony between the ethnic Xianbei and Chinese, persuading the Xianbei that they needed the Chinese to practice agriculture to be fed, and persuading the Chinese that they needed the Xianbei's military aptitude to protect them. He 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

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

uous relationships with his cousins, had been poisoned to death by Yuwen. Gao suggested that an official mourning period be held for Emperor Xiaowu, and while there were disagreements, eventually a mourning period was held. Also in spring 535, a sex scandal affected Gao's household. Gao's

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Gao Cheng, born of his wife Princess Lou, had an affair with Gao Huan's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Zheng Dache (鄭大車), and the affair was discovered. Gao Huan caned Gao Cheng and put him under house arrest, and refused to meet with Gao Cheng's mother Princess Lou. He also considered replacing Gao Cheng as heir apparent with

Gao You Gao You (–212) was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty under its last emperor and the warlord Cao Cao. Life Gao You was born in Zhuo Commandery ''Zhuōjùn''; present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei). around ...

(高浟), the son of his concubine Erzhu Ying'e, the daughter of Erzhu Rong who had previously been Emperor Xiaozhuang's empress. After intercession by Gao Huan's friend Sima Ziru, who reminded him how much Princess Lou had done for him before he had accomplished great things and who used violent methods to force the servant girls who were witnesses to the affair to recant, Gao Huan calmed down and did not replace Gao Cheng. 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 Yujiulü Anagui. However, Yujiulü Anagui soon took a Western Wei princess as consort as well, and the alliance did not materialize. In spring 536, Gao made a deep incursion into Western Wei territory, capturing Xia Province (夏州, roughly modern Yulin,

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

), while also rescuing his ally Cao Ni (曹泥) the governor of Ling Province (靈州, roughly modern

Yinchuan Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its buil ...

Ningxia Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

), who had been trapped behind Western Wei lines. The Western Wei general Moqi Pu (万俟普), his son Moqi Shouluogan (万俟受洛干), and other generals Chigan Baole (叱干寶樂) and Poliuhan Chang (破六韓常), who were stationed in the western Western Wei territory, also joined Gao and returned to Eastern Wei with him. Also in spring 536, Gao Huan, at Gao Cheng's request, made Gao Cheng the Eastern Wei prime minister, despite the fact that Gao Cheng was only 14 at this point. Gao 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 (竇泰) and Gao Aocao (高敖曹), intending to draw Yuwen's troops to himself while having Dou advance deep into Western Wei territory. Yuwen, pretending to be ready to abandon Chang'an to withdraw to modern eastern Gansu, instead launched a surprise attack on Dou's troops, slaughtering most of them. Dou committed suicide. Gao Huan and Gao Aocao were forced to withdraw. In counterattacks, Western Wei took modern western

and southwestern Shanxi. In winter 537, after hearing news that the Guanzhong region (the heart of the Western Wei state) was suffering from a major famine, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei. He encountered Yuwen at the

Battle of Shayuan The Battle of Shayuan () was fought in 537 AD and was the second battle between the two successor states of Northern Wei during the Southern and Northern Dynasty period. During the battle, Yuwen Tai of Western Wei successfully ambushed and defeat ...

(沙苑, in modern

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of S ...

), and, believing that he had overwhelming numerical advantage, rejected the strategy of Hulü Qiangju (斛律羌舉) 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. Yuwen's troops, however, fought hard, one of Yuwen's key generals Li Bi (李弼), led about 600 elite cavalry, charged through Gao's 200,000 soldiers and broke their formation. They defeated Gao's troops, forcing Gao to withdraw. In light of his defeat, the southern provinces and Luoyang area largely rebelled and declared allegiance to Western Wei, but in spring 538 Gao sent

against the southern provinces, recapturing them. In 538, after

Emperor Wen of Western Wei Emperor Wen of Western Wei ((西)魏文帝) (507 – 28 March 551), personal name Yuan Baoju (元寶炬), was an emperor of Western Wei—a branch successor state to Northern Wei. In 534, Yuan Baoju, then the Prince of Nanyang, followed his cousi ...

married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter as his empress, Yujiulü Anagui cut off relations between Rouran and Eastern Wei. In fall 538, Gao Huan, assisted by Hou Jing and Gao Aocao, put Luoyang under siege. Yuwen and Emperor Wen led the Western Wei troops to aid Luoyang's defender, the general Dugu Xin, and a largely inconclusive battle with heavy losses on both sides occurred—with Western Wei being able to kill Gao Aocao, and Yuwen nearly killed in the battle as well. However, eventually Western Wei troops were forced to abandon Luoyang and withdraw, and at the same time, the Eastern Wei general Zhao Qingque (趙青雀), who had been captured by Western Wei in the Battle of Shayuan, rebelled against Western Wei at Chang'an, forcing the Western Wei officials who remained in Chang'an to escort the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

Yuan Qin out of Chang'an. 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. Meanwhile, Western Wei also recaptured some of the southern provinces. For the next few years, while there continued to be border battles, no major campaigns was initiated by either Eastern Wei or Western Wei. 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 (玉壁, in modern

Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

, Shanxi), but the Western Wei defence was held successfully and Gao was forced to withdraw. In spring 543, another sexual wrongdoing by Gao Cheng would lead to a new campaign between Eastern Wei and Western Wei. The official Gao Zhongmi (高仲密, Gao Aocao's brother), already fearful over his situation because one of Gao Cheng's major assistants, Cui Xian (崔暹), had tried to pick his faults after he divorced Cui Xian's sister, was further aggravated when Gao Cheng tried to rape his second wife, Li Changyi (李昌儀). He therefore surrendered the important garrison of Hulao (虎牢, in modern Zhengzhou,

) 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. (In retaliation, Gao Huan later had all of Heba's sons who remained in Eastern Wei territory executed.) By summer 543, the Western Wei forces had withdrawn, and the entire Luoyang region was again under Eastern Wei control. in 544, with Gao Huan believing that four key officials who were close to him—Sun Teng, Sima Ziru, his cousin Gao Yue (高岳), and his sworn "brother" Gao Longzhi (高隆之) -- were wielding too much power, he gave the 22-year-old Gao Cheng additional authorities, and Gao Cheng increasingly asserted authorities over these officials and others. For example, once when Sun visited Gao Cheng but was acting insufficiently deferentially, Gao Cheng had his attendants throw Sun on the ground and pound him with the sword hilts. Gao Cheng also made one of his close assistants, Cui Jishu (崔季舒, Cui Xian's uncle) an assistant to Emperor Xiaojing, in order to keep a closer eye on Emperor Xiaojing. Gao Cheng soon greatly enhanced the authorities of both Cui Xian and Song Youdao (宋遊道) and charged them with the responsibilities of stamping out corruption among officials—which Gao Huan himself had been reluctant to do so. Based on Cui Xian's and Song's recommendations, Sima was arrested and reduced to commoner rank, while Yuan Tan (元坦) the Prince of Xianyang was relieved of all governmental posts. In spring 545, Erzhu Ying'e's brother Erzhu Wenchang (爾朱文暢) and Zheng Dache's brother Zheng Zhongli (鄭仲禮), along with Ren Zhou (任冑), conspired to assassinate Gao Huan and support Erzhu Wenchang as leader, but the conspiracy was discovered, and the conspirators were put to death, along with their families. However, because of Gao Huan's favors for Erzhu Ying'e and Zheng Dache, he spared their brothers. Lou Zhaojun supported and assisted Gao Huan when he married more women, wanting to expand his power. 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 Yujiulü Anagui and Gao Cheng. Yujiulü Anagui refused, stating that it would only be sufficient if ''Gao Huan'' himself married her. Gao Huan himself initially refused, but Princess Lou, Gao Cheng, and Wei Jing all persuaded him otherwise, and he married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter, referring to her as the

Princess Ruru Princess Ruru of Northern Qi (蠕蠕公主) (530 CE – 6 May 548 CE) was the consort of Gao Huan, the regent of Eastern Wei, and later of Gao Cheng. She was the daughter of Anagui, the famed khan of the Rourans. Biography She was born in Mobei ...

(蠕蠕公主). To facilitate this marriage, Princess Lou moved out of the mansion, but Gao Huan and Princess Lou were not formally divorced. In fall 546, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei, apparently to make one final attempt to destroy it. He 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 Wei Xiaokuan (韋孝寬) (509 – 17 December 580''dingwei'' day of the 11th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''. Wei Xiaokuan's biography in ''Book of Zhou'' indicated that he was 72 (by Ea ...

, however, 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. Western Wei subsequently declared that Wei had killed Gao Huan with a powerful crossbow, and Gao Huan, in order to dispel the rumor, appeared before his army to sing

song with Hulü Jin in front of his generals. As he did, he wept bitterly. Gao's illness continued to progress once he returned to Jinyang, and he recalled Gao Cheng to Jinyang to give him final instructions. Gao Cheng became increasingly concerned that the powerful Chinese general

, 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 left Gao Cheng instructions not to announce his death, gave a list of ethnic Xianbei, Xiongnu and

generals that he could depend on such as Kudi Gan (厙狄干) and Hulü Jin (斛律金), and orders to put Murong Shaozong (慕容紹宗) -- a capable general that Gao Huan had intentionally not promoted in order to allow Gao Cheng to do so—in charge of an army against Hou. He died in spring 547, and while a false casket was buried publicly, he was buried at a secret location in Cheng'an (成安, in modern Handan,

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Wuming, of the Lou clan (; 501–562), personal name Zhaojun () ** Gao Cheng, Emperor Wenxiang (; 521–549), first son ** First daughter *** Married Yuan Xiu of Henan (; 510–535) in 532 *** Married Yuan Shao of Henan, Duke Pengcheng (; d. 559) in 535 ** Princess Taiyuan (), second daughter *** Married Yuan Shanjian of Henan, Prince Zhongshan (; 524–552) in 539 *** Married Yang Yin (511–560) in 551 ** Gao Yang, Emperor Wenxuan (; 526–559), second son ** Gao Yan, Emperor Xiaozhao (; 535–561), sixth son ** Gao Yu, Prince Xiangchengjing (; 536–551), eighth son ** Gao Zhan, Emperor Wucheng (; 538–569), ninth son ** Gao Ji, Prince Boling Wenjian (; d. 569), 12th son *

, of the Yujiulü clan (; 530–548) * Lady, of the Erzhu clan (; d. 556), personal name Ying'e () ** Gao You, Prince Pengcheng Jingsi (; 533–564), fifth son ** Gao Ning, Prince Huashan (), 13th son * Lady, of the Han clan (; 504–551), personal name Zhihui () ** Gao Huan, Prince Shangdang Gangsu (; 533–558), seventh son * Lady, of the Erzhu clan () ** Gao Jie, Prince Rencheng (; 538–577), tenth son * Lady, of the You clan () ** Gao Shi, Prince Gaoyang Kangmu (; 538–560), 11th son * Lady, of the Zheng clan of Xingyang (), personal name Dache () ** Gao Run, Prince Fengyi (; 543–575), 14th son * Lady, of the Wang clan () ** Gao Jun, Prince Yong'an Jianping (; d. 558), third son * Lady, of the Mu clan () ** Gao Yan, Prince Pingyang Jingyi (; 531–564), fourth son * Lady, of the Feng clan () ** ''Gao Qia, Prince Hanyang Jinghuai'' (; 542–554), 15th son ** Princess Fuyang () * Unknown ** Princess Changle Zhaoshun (; 525–557), personal name Zheng (), third daughter *** Married Liu Honghui, Prince Pingliang () in 533 ** Princess Yingchuan () *** Married Duan Yi of Wuwei, Prince Pingyuan () ** Princess Dongping () *** Married Kezhuhun Tianhe, Duke Boling (; d. 560) ** A daughter who married Sima Xiaonan of Henei ()