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Gao Xianzhi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese:高仙芝
Simplified Chinese:高仙芝
Korean name
Hangul:고선지
Hanja:高仙芝

Gao Xianzhi (d. Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. More specifically it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated January 24, 756[1]) (Revised Romanization Go Seon-ji), was an ethnic Goguryeo (one of the three kingdoms of Korea) general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Events By Place Europe Pepin the Short defeats the Lombards of northern Italy, who have threatened Pope Stephen The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language Romanization system in South Korea. Goguryeo or Koguryo was an ancient Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, southern Manchuria, and The Three Kingdoms of Korea ( refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River ( valley in the Neolithic era The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( ( September 8, 685 Background Li Longji was born at the Tang Dynasty eastern capital Luoyang He was known for taking part in multiple military expeditions to conquer the Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet Central Asia) region) over the infamous Pamir Mountains, all the way to the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Western Regions or Xiyu ( was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to 8th century that referred to the regions west of Jade Xinjiang ( Uyghur: شىنجاڭ Shinjang;; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang; Turkish: Sincan, Sincan Uygur Özerk Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The Pamir Mountains are located in Central Asia and are formed by the junction or Knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and The Aral Sea ( Kazakh: Арал Теңізі Aral Tengizi, Orol dengizi Russian: Аральскοе мοре Tajik / Persian: Daryocha-i The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea. In 751, he was the commander of the Tang forces during the Battle of Talas, fighting against forces of the Abbasid Caliphate. Events By Place Europe Pepin the Short is elected as king of the Franks by the Frankish nobility marking the end of the The Battle of Talas in 751 CE was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control The Tang defeat, which exposed the Abbasid forces to such technology as paper and compass, is considered the event that marked both the end of western expansion by Tang and eastern expansion by the Abbasid Caliphate. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging A compass, magnetic compass or mariner's compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the earth's Magnetic poles It consists [2]

Around the new year 756, while Gao and fellow general Feng Changqing were defending Tong Pass against forces of An Lushan, who had rebelled against Tang rule in 755, both Gao and Feng offended the powerful eunuch Bian Lingcheng (邊令誠). Feng Changqing ( d January 24 756 was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Tongguan County ( Chinese: 潼关县 Pinyin: Tóngguān Xiàn literally meaning Tong Pass County is a county in Weinan, Shaanxi Background and Name An Lushan's mother was of Tujue ethnicity from the Ashide clan and served as a sorceress Events By Place Europe Abd-ar-Rahman I lands in Spain, where the next year he will establish a new Umayyad dynasty A eunuch (ˈjuːnək is a Castrated man in particular one castrated early enough to have major hormonal consequences the term usually refers to those castrated in order to Bian then accused Feng of cowardice and Gao of corruption, and both were executed.

Contents

Early life

Gao Xianzhi was the son of Go Sagye, a general from Goguryeo, which was conquered by Tang in 668. Go Sagye ( Hanyu Pinyin: Gāo Shèjī (? was a general of the Goguryeo in its last days Goguryeo or Koguryo was an ancient Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, southern Manchuria, and Events By Place Europe Childeric II succeeds Clotaire III as King of the Franks. Go Sagye was captured by Tang forces and later surrendered, and there, he was given a post in their army. Gao Xianzhi was born during his duty in Tang's western regions. [3] Unlike most soldiers of his day, historical records say Gao Xianzhi was not muscular or extraordinarily strong like other army officers; Go Sagye always worried about his son's poor health. However, he demonstrated great courage from an early age; he possessed skills in cavalry and archery.

Although Gao Xianzhi was an ethnic minority, his loyalty and bravery, as well as his father's accomplishments, allowed him to be promoted to the position of general in the Tang army in his 20s, serving in Central Asia near Kashgar, in the Taklamakan Desert along with his father, under the Tang military command for Anxi Circuit (安西, headquartered in modern Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang). Kashgar or Kashi (officially transliterated as Kaxgar in Uyghur; قەشقەر/K̡ǝxk̡ǝr, is an Oasis The Taklamakan Desert (Takelamagan Shamo 塔克拉玛干沙漠 also known as Taklimakan, is a Desert in Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Aksu Prefecture ( Simplified Chinese: 阿克苏地区 Pinyin: Ākèsū Dìqū ئاقسۇ ۋىلايىتى|Aqsu Wilayati|Ak̡su Vilayiti is located in mid-western Xinjiang ( Uyghur: شىنجاڭ Shinjang;; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang; Turkish: Sincan, Sincan Uygur Özerk He successively served under the military governors (jiedushi) Tian Renwan (田仁琬) and Gai Jiayun (蓋嘉運), but was not promoted by them. The Jiedushi ( were regional military governors in China during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. However, Gai's successor Fumeng Lingcha (夫蒙靈詧) was impressed by him, and so repeatedly recommended him for promotions. By the end of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era (727-741), he was serving as Fumeng's deputy. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( ( September 8, 685 Background Li Longji was born at the Tang Dynasty eastern capital Luoyang Events By Topic Religion Pope Gregory II condemns Iconoclasm, causing Byzantine Italy to break with the Empire This article is about the year 741 For the 741 Integrated circuit, see Operational amplifier. [4][5]

First western campaign

At that time, Lesser Bolü (小勃律, a city state centering modern Gilgit, Pakistan) was allied with Tufan, leading to some 20 city states around it to also become Tufan vassals. Gilgit ( Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of the Northern Areas, Pakistan and a Tehsil (headquarters of Gilgit District Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European A Tufan princess became the wife and queen of Lesser Bolü's king. Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun, and Fumeng Lingcha all had tried to attack Lesser Bolü before, but was unable to defeat it. In 747, Gao Xianzhi led a three-pronged attack of 10,000 cavalry soldiers, surprising both Lesser Bolü and Tufan forces stationed in Lesser Bolü. Events By Place Asia Abu Muslim unites the Abbasid Empire against the Umayyads Ibrahim the Imam leader He captured Lesser Bolü's king and queen and returned to Tang territory with them. [6]

However, Fumeng was angry that Gao directly reported the news of the victory to Emperor Xuanzong without first reporting to him, cursing him with obscenities and threatening to kill him. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( ( September 8, 685 Background Li Longji was born at the Tang Dynasty eastern capital Luoyang The eunuch Bian Lingcheng, whom Emperor Xuanzong had sent to monitor Gao's forces, interceded on Gao's behalf and reported Fumeng's threats to Emperor Xuanzong. A eunuch (ˈjuːnək is a Castrated man in particular one castrated early enough to have major hormonal consequences the term usually refers to those castrated in order to Emperor Xuanzong, in response, around the new year 748, summoned Fumeng back to the capital Chang'an and promoted Gao to take over his position. Events By Place Asia January — An Earthquake strikes the Middle East from northern Egypt to northwestern Mesopotamia Chang'an ( is an ancient Capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history. Despite this, Gao never lost his respect for Fumeng, although he arrested several of Fumeng's subordinates who attacked him -- fellow deputy military governor Cheng Qianli (程千里), and the army officers Bi Sichen (畢思琛) and Wang Tao (王滔), but then released him, stating that he was venting his anger, and that now that he had, he believed that they could still serve under him. [7] He entrusted Feng Changqing as his assistant, often having Feng lead troops or, when he himself led troops in campaigns, had Feng be in charge of the headquarters. Feng Changqing ( d January 24 756 was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. [4][5] Li Siye also first distinguished himself as an army officer under Gao. Li Siye (李嗣業 (died March 2 759) formally Prince Zhongyong of Wuwei (武威忠勇王 was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty [6]

As a result of Gao's first campaign, Tang began to contend for influence with the Abbasid Caliphate and Tufan in the area of modern northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, About 72 local Indian and Sogdian kingdoms became Tang vassals, ending the Tufan dominion of the Pamir Mountains. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. [5] While he served as the military governor of Anxi, placing such places as Tokmak, Kucha, and Kashmir, under the jurisdiction of his headquarters. Tokmak is a city in Uzbekistan located on a peninsula on the south coast of the Aral Sea. Kucha or Kuche (also Kuçar, Kuchar) Uyghur ( كۇچار) Chinese Simplified 库车; Traditional 庫車 This article is about the geographical region of greater Kashmir

Second campaign and Battle of Talas

Main article: Battle of Talas

In late 749, Shilidaqieluo (失里怛伽羅), a prince of the Tuhuoluo (吐火羅, believed by some to be the Tocharians), reported to Tang that the king of Qieshi (朅師, believed to be in modern northern India), had been aligned with Tufan to pin down Chinese forces stationed at Lesser Bolü, and suggested that Emperor Xuanzong send forces the region. The Battle of Talas in 751 CE was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control Events By Place Europe June — Aistulf succeeds his brother Ratchis as king of the Lombards. The Tocharians were the Tocharian -speaking inhabitants of the Tarim basin, making them the easternmost speakers of an Indo-European language in antiquity India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country In spring 750, Emperor Xuanzong sent Gao Xianzhi to attack Qieshi, capturing its king Botemo (勃特沒) and making Botemo's son Sujia (素迦) king instead. Events By Geography Asia Gopala is proclaimed as the first ruler of the Pala Empire. He then made a peace treaty with Shi (石國, modern Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and then, once Shi stood down its defenses, attacked it without warning. Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly He captured the Shi king Chebishi (車鼻施) and sent Chebishi to Chang'an to be executed, drawing great anger from the nearby states, particularly after Gao slaughtered the old and weak captives. Gao also personally took much treasure in the battle -- a large supply of diamonds, several camel-loads of gold, prized horses, and other treasures. In spring 751, Gao personally visited Chang'an, and, for his contributions, Emperor Xuanzong gave him the honorific title Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司) and was poised to move him to Hexi Circuit (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei, Gansu), when the military governor of that circuit, An Sishun, resisted the move. Events By Place Europe Pepin the Short is elected as king of the Franks by the Frankish nobility marking the end of the Wuwei is located in northwest central Gansu province In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest Qinghai. ( is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. An Sishun (安思順 (d April 6, 756) was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, probably Emperor Xuanzong allowed An to remain at Hexi and Gao to remain at Anxi. [7]

Meanwhile, though, a Shi prince had fled, and he reported to the various states around the region how Gao had turned on Shi and destroyed it. The states, in anger, aligned with the Abbasid Caliphate. When Gao heard this, he made a preemptory attack with 30,000 soldiers against Abbasid Caliphate, reaching Talas (in modern Khazakhstan) and meeting Abbasid forces there. Taraz ( Тараз) formerly Talas, Zhambyl (Kazakh Жамбы́л and Aulie-Ata (Kazakh Әулие́-Ата Chagatai: اولياه Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the The armies fought bitterly for five days, before Qarluq forces turned against Gao. The Karluks (obs Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, Arab/Persian Halluh,, customary phonetic Gelolu, Gelu, Khololo Tang forces were crushed, with only several thousand surviving out of the 30,000, and that remnant was only saved due to the valiant efforts of Li Siye. Another subordinate of Gao who distinguished himself at the battle was Duan Xiushi, whom Gao recommended for promotion after the battle. Duan Xiushi (段秀實 ( 719 &ndash November 6, 783) Courtesy name Chenggong (成公 formally Prince Zhonglie of Zhangye [7] The battle marked the end of Chinese advances to the west, and the heavy losses by Abbasid forces despite the victory appeared to end Abbasid designs in the east as well. [2] Gao was then made a commanding general of the imperial guards. [8] In 755, Gao was created the Duke of Miyun. Events By Place Europe Abd-ar-Rahman I lands in Spain, where the next year he will establish a new Umayyad dynasty [4]

Death

Also in 755, An Lushan, the military governor of Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing), rebelled against Emperor Xuanzong's rule. Background and Name An Lushan's mother was of Tujue ethnicity from the Ashide clan and served as a sorceress Emperor Xuanzong nominally commissioned his son Li Wan (李琬) the Prince of Rong the commander of the forces defending against An's attack, and put Gao Xianzhi in charge as Li Wan's deputy. Gao gathered 50,000 soldiers from the Chang'an region and took up position at Shang Commandery (陝郡, roughly modern Sanmenxia, Henan). Sanmenxia ( is a Prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. Henan ( is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country Bian Lingcheng was made Gao's monitor. [9]

Meanwhile, Feng Changqing was sent to the eastern capital Luoyang to defend against An's attack on Luoyang, but once Feng got to Luoyang, he was given inadequate weapon supplies, and An's forces defeated his. Luoyang ( is a Prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. Feng retreated to Shan, and suggested to Gao that Shan was not easily defendable and that they should retreat to Tong Pass, which was a much better defensive position. Tongguan County ( Chinese: 潼关县 Pinyin: Tóngguān Xiàn literally meaning Tong Pass County is a county in Weinan, Shaanxi Gao agreed, and the two of them took up position at Tong Pass. [9] When An's forces subsequently attacked Tong Pass, they could not capture it, and historians credited Gao with the improved defenses. [4]

However, during the campaign, Gao had caused much offence against Bian, as Bian was making demands of him that he was not meeting. When Bian returned to Chang'an, he accused Feng of exaggerating An's strength, and accused Gao of improperly abandoning Shan as well as corruptly withholding food supplies and imperial rewards to soldiers for personal benefit. Emperor Xuanzong, believing Bian, issued edicts for Feng's and Gao's executions. After Bian returned to Tong Pass, he first read the edict for Feng's execution. Feng was beheaded, and upon the completion of that execution, Bian then read the second edict ordering Gao's execution. Gao cried out:

I retreated when I encountered the bandits [(i. e. , An's army)], and I should die for this. But I swear to the heaven above and the earth below -- the accusations that I stole the food supplies and the imperial rewards are false!

The soldiers cried out for Gao as well, but Bian still beheaded Gao. [9] As Gao was to be killed, he looked at Feng's body and stated:[4]

Feng Er [(i. e. , the second son from the Feng household, thus implying that Feng was the second son)], you became prominent from your low station. I promoted you to be my assistant, and you later succeeded me as jiedushi. It is fate that we die together here today.

Legacy

Many Koreans consider it extraordinary that Gao Xianzhi, ethnically Goguryeo, was able to achieve great success as a Tang subject. His tactics, which helped him to defeat many enemy troops with superior power, was well-admired among Koreans. Many Korean historians praised him as one of the greatest military commanders in both Korean and Chinese history.

Gao is also considered historically important by many Chinese and Koreans since he led the Tang army in the Battle of Talas even though his Tang army was outnumbered. The Battle of Talas in 751 CE was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control Despite being the commander of the losing side, the battle helped spread paper and compass to the rest of the world. With the help of paper, which was introduced to Europe around the 1300s, made much foreign knowledge available to more Europeans, and ultimately bringing the Renaissance in Europe. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The compass, which spread to Europe through the Muslim World, became an important tool in navigation and led the way to the Age of Exploration. The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings The Age of Discovery or Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans explored

Gao's defeat, which marked the end of Tang's expansion to the west, was partially fictionalized by the modern Chinese historian Bo Yang in the short story The Tashkent Massacre -- the Chinese Were Cursed Here! (塔什干屠城 -- 就在這裡, 中國人受到詛咒!), in which he gave a fictional curse by the queen of Shi, cursing Tang and the Chinese for eternity for Gao's treachery. Bo Yang ( 7 March 1920 – 29 April 2008) also sometimes called Bai Yang, was a Chinese language writer based in [10]

Notes

  1. ^ 兩千年中西曆轉換
  2. ^ a b Bo Yang, Outlines of the History of the Chinese (中國人史綱), vol. Bo Yang ( 7 March 1920 – 29 April 2008) also sometimes called Bai Yang, was a Chinese language writer based in 2, p. 547.
  3. ^ Korean History
  4. ^ a b c d e Book of Tang, vol. 104. The Book of Tang ( or the Old Book of Tang (舊唐書/旧唐书 is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty.
  5. ^ a b c New Book of Tang, vol. 135. The New Book of Tang ( is a classic work of history about the Tang Dynasty edited by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi (宋祁 and other official scholars of the
  6. ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 215. The Zizhi Tongjian ( was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography.
  7. ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 216.
  8. ^ That Gao left his post at Anxi and became a general of the imperial guards was not explicitly stated in his biographies in the Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang, but Feng Changqing's biographies, contained in the same volumes, indicated that Wang Zhengjian (王正見) became the commander at Anxi, thus implying Gao was no longer at Anxi.
  9. ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 217.
  10. ^ 塔什干屠城──就在這裹，中國人受到詛咒﹗~~柏楊
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