Yang Gao (楊杲; 607 – 11 April 618),Volume 185 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' indicated that the palace revolt against Yang Guang (Emperor Yang) began on the ''yimao'' day of the 3rd month of the 14th year of the ''Da'ye'' era of his reign, and that Yang Gao was killed the next day (i.e. the ''bingchen'' day). The date corresponds to 11 Apr 618 on the Julian calendar. The volume also indicated that Yang Gao was 12 (by East Asian reckoning) when he was killed by Pei Qiantiong. (帝爱子赵王杲，年十二，在帝侧，号恸不已，虔通斩之...) Thus by calculation, Yang Gao should be born in 607. nickname Jizi (季子), was an imperial prince of the Chinese

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. He was the youngest son of Emperor Yang.

Life

Yang Gao was born in 607, after Emperor Yang had already become emperor. His mother was Consort Xiao, of whom little is known, and she might have been a sister or a relative of Emperor Yang's wife Empress Xiao. In 613, he was created the Prince of Zhao. Yang Gao was said to be intelligent and handsome in his childhood, as well as filially pious—such that when Emperor Yang was ill and unable to eat, Yang Gao would refuse to eat as well, and when Empress Xiao was ill and considered

moxibustion Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and ...

, he volunteered to undertake it first. Emperor Yang, when he was under siege by the Eastern Turk leader

Shibi Khan Shibi Khagan (r. 609 or 611 – April 619 AD) succeeded Yami Qaghan as the second khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Reign He succeeded Yami Qaghan in 609 or 611. From 613 to 615 he was actively supporting agrarian rebels inside China. ...

in 615 at the seat of

Yanmen Commandery Yanmen Commandery was an administrative subdivision (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until AD758. It occupied lands in what is now Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Its first seat was at Shanwu ...

in present-day

Daixian Dai County, also known by its Chinese name Daixian, is a county in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, China. Its county seat at Shangguan is also known as Daixian. The county has an area of and had a population of 178,870 at the time of the 2020 c ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

,. was recorded as so desperate that he was not doing anything except holding Yang Gao and crying. In 618, while Emperor Yang was at Jiangdu (江都, in modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

), forces participating in a coup led by the general

Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huaji (; died March 22, 619) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Sui dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against and murdered Emperor Yang of Sui. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao emperor and ...

entered the palace and surrounded him. Yang Gao was by his side and started crying bitterly. Perhaps in irritation or perhaps to show Emperor Yang that the coup leaders were serious, Pei Qiantong (裴虔通) seized Yang Gao and killed him with a sword in Emperor Yang's presence, with Yang Gao's blood spilling onto Emperor Yang's clothes. Emperor Yang then offered to commit suicide but was strangled to death instead. Empress Xiao and her

ladies in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but o ...

had to take decorative wooden boards within the palace to make makeshift caskets for Emperor Yang and Yang Gao.

References

Citation

Bibliography

* ''

Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' () is the official history of the Sui dynasty, which ruled China in the years AD 581–618. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, ...

'', vol. 5

* ''

History of Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Western ...

'', vol. 7

* . * ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vols.

181 Year 181 ( CLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Burrus (or, less frequently, year 934 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 181 for this ye ...

, 182, 185. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Gao Sui dynasty imperial princes 607 births 618 deaths People executed by the Sui dynasty People executed by the Sui dynasty by decapitation 7th-century executions