Gao Shiqi (, 26 October 1645 – 1703) was a

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

politician,

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Career

Gao was born in

Guan Guan may refer to: * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan ( ...

Zhili Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

province in 1631 and raised in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

. Although poor, he developed a great talent for writing and

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

at an early age. In search of better prospects he ventured north when he was 19 and eventually moved to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in 1665. He enrolled in the Imperial Academy and became a clerk in the

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pen ...

after winning a competitive examination in 1671. In 1675, he gained a clerkship in the Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction. Although Gao did not possess a coveted ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' degree, his literary talents were enough to propel his career forward. His impressive skills in calligraphy and writing court poems attracted the attention of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

, who summoned him to serve in the Imperial Study in 1677. Gao was given a home west of the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

so that he could be quickly summoned. Until 1688, he would frequently appear by the emperor's side day and night. He also accompanied the emperor on many imperial tours, leaving intimate accounts of these journeys in ''Songting xingji'' (松亭行紀), which concerned a journey to Jehol in 1681 and in ''Hucong dongxun rilu'' (扈從東巡日錄), which recounted a trip to

Mukden Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a p ...

and Ula (

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

) in 1682. In 1680, Gao was made an expositor in the Hanlin Academy before being promoted to supervisor of instruction in 1687. However, the following year, he was relieved of his duties and relegated to compiling literary works of lesser importance after being involved in a bribery case. This was a relatively light punishment, perhaps owing to Gao's status as a

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

of the emperor. In early 1689, Gao was summoned to accompany the emperor on his second tour of south China. Later the same year, Gao was again accused of taking bribes by Guo Xiu, who pointed out in his

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

that Gao had become very rich in less than twenty-five years after coming to the capital as a poor student. Gao by this time had indeed developed a 'notorious' reputation for taking bribes, with popular

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

satirizing how he received jewellery and gifts from 'ten thousand countries'. As a result, Gao was forced to retire and he left the capital for

Pinghu, Zhejiang Pinghu is a county-level city in the east of Jiaxing's administrative area, in the northeast of Zhejiang Province, bordering Shanghai to the northeast. It sits next to the East China Sea and the north shore of Hangzhou Bay. Prior to the Ming ...

, where he indulged in various literary pursuits. In 1694, Gao was summoned to

by the emperor to work on the

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' is the final official Chinese history included in the '' Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It was written by a number of officials commissio ...

. The emperor also reappointed him to serve in the Imperial Study as one of his personal secretaries. He continued to accompany the emperor on various trips around China, even joining the latter on two of his expeditions against Galdan. Gao was finally granted leave to retire in 1697 to look after his aged mother. He was appointed vice-president in the

Board of Rites The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China. It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Along with religious rituals and cou ...

in 1702, but declined the appointment to spend more time on literary pursuits at home and to continue looking after his elderly mother. He died in 1703 after returning from an audience with the emperor in Beijing. He was canonized as ''Wenke'' (文恪) in 1704, a highly unusual posthumous honour given his relatively modest official rank.

Art collecting

Gao was a highly accomplished art collector who amassed a huge private art collection. He is considered to be one of the most important art collectors of the early Qing period. According to art historian Amy Huang, his collecting practices played an important part in how he defined his political and social status in the Qing imperial court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Shiqi Qing dynasty government officials

Career

Art collecting

See also

References