Gao Yin

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Gao Yin was born into the Northern Qi imperial house. He was the eldest legitimate son of Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang, and his mother was Empress Zhaoxin Li Zu'e. His grandfather was Gao Huan, the founder of the Northern Qi ruling house, later honored as Emperor Shenwu, and his grandmother was Empress Wuming Lou Zhaojun. Gao Yin was born in 545, the third year of the Eastern Wei Wuding era, when his father Gao Yang had not yet proclaimed himself emperor and remained a powerful official of Eastern Wei.

Gao Yin was exceptionally intelligent from childhood. When he first learned the fanqie method of indicating pronunciation, he annotated the character “traces” with “self-reversal.” An attendant did not understand, and Gao Yin explained that the character combined the “foot” radical with “also,” asking whether this was not itself a reversal. The explanation was presented as evidence of his sensitivity to phonology. Gao Yin often held outings and banquets at the Northern Palace, but would not allow Gao Xiaowan, Prince of Hejian, to enter. When attendants asked why, Gao Yin said that this was the place where Emperor Wenxiang Gao Cheng had met his death and that the Prince of Hejian should not be there. The episode was taken to show both his familiarity with historical precedent and his cautious nature.

Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang thought that Gao Yin's temperament resembled that of the Han Chinese rather than his own. At one point he considered deposing him and replacing him as Crown Prince with his second son, Gao Shaode, Prince of Taiyuan, but Yang Yin persuaded him not to do so.

Years as Crown Prince

On the dinghai day of the sixth month of 550, the first year of Tianbao, Gao Yin was made Crown Prince at the age of six. Emperor Wenxuan initially ordered Li Baoding, a Doctor of the Directorate of Education, to serve as his teacher. After Li Baoding died, Xing Zhi, another Doctor of the Directorate of Education, was appointed lecturer. Xing Zhi was older, while Gao Yin was mild, open, and said to have the bearing of a ruler. Gao Yin read widely, followed current affairs, and enjoyed a good reputation.

In the winter of 556, the seventh year of Tianbao, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi gathered literary scholars and ritual officials from among the court ministers for a banquet in the Eastern Palace. He ordered them to question and answer one another on the meaning of the classics and personally listened in. Gao Yin took notes as he asked further questions, to the admiration of those present.

In 558, the ninth year of Tianbao, Emperor Wenxuan traveled to Jinyang and Crown Prince Gao Yin acted as regent. He gathered Confucian scholars to lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety. He also asked Yang Yin to convey a question to Xu Sanchou, an Assistant Instructor at the Directorate of Education: “Sir, by what means have you supported yourself in the world?” Xu replied that since youth he had neither shared the bed of a handsome boy nor entered the chamber of a young woman, but had devoted himself sincerely to books and texts until old age approached unnoticed; such, he said, had been the whole of his life's aspirations. Gao Yin answered that even Yan Yuan, who withdrew indoors and was praised for chastity, and Liuxia Hui, who was unmoved with a woman seated on his lap, could not compare with an old man who had grown white-haired without taking a wife. He then awarded Xu one hundred bolts of silk.

On another occasion, Emperor Wenxuan ascended Jinfeng Terrace and ordered Crown Prince Gao Yin to execute a prisoner with his own hands. Gao Yin felt compassion and showed reluctance, repeatedly failing to behead the man. Enraged, Emperor Wenxuan struck him three times with a horsewhip. Thereafter Gao Yin suffered palpitations and stammering and was often mentally unsettled. The source presents the episode as a severe psychological trauma that also affected his disposition during his reign.

Accession and Reform

In the tenth month of 559, the tenth year of Tianbao, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi died. On the nineteenth day of the month, Crown Prince Gao Yin ascended the throne in Xuande Hall of the Jinyang Palace and proclaimed a general amnesty. Yang Yin, Yanzi Xian, and Song Qindao were ordered to assist in government. The ranks of civil and military officials were raised by one grade, and those who had lost office or noble rank could have them restored. On the twenty-sixth day, Gao Yin honored his grandmother Lou Zhaojun, then Empress Dowager, as Grand Empress Dowager, and his mother Empress Li Zu'e as Empress Dowager.

On the second day of the eleventh month, Hulü Jin, Right Grand Councilor and Prince of Xianyang, was appointed Left Grand Councilor; Gao Yan, Prince of Changshan, who held authority over the Department of State Affairs, became Grand Preceptor; Gao Zhan, Prince of Changguang and Minister over the Masses, became Defender-in-chief; Duan Shao, Prince of Pingyuan and Minister of Works, became Minister over the Masses; Gao Yan, Prince of Pingyang, became Minister of Works; Gao Shi, Prince of Gaoyang, became Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs; Gao Xiaowan, Prince of Hejian, became Governor of Sizhou; and Palace Attendant Yanzi Xian became Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In the twelfth month, Gao Shaoren, Prince of Shangdang, was re-enfeoffed as Prince of Yuyang; Gao Shaoyi, Prince of Guangyang, as Prince of Fanyang; and Gao Shaolian, Prince of Changle, as Prince of Longxi.

To guard against a usurpation, Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang had ordered before his death that Prefect of the Masters of Writing Yang Yin, Gao Guiyan, Prince of Pingqin and Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Palace Attendant Yanzi Xian, and Palace Secretariat Vice Director Zheng Zimo serve as regents for Gao Yin.

After taking the throne, Gao Yin devoted himself to government and showed particular concern for popular welfare. He dispatched envoys to inspect the regions, investigate successes and failures in administration, observe local customs, and inquire into the people's hardships. He sought to rectify official administration and restore political order. Military officers over sixty were released from service and sent home; the aged and weak were removed from the army while the strong were retained, increasing military effectiveness. He ordered corvée burdens reduced and palace construction halted, easing to some degree the critical condition into which Northern Qi had fallen in the Tianbao period.

With Gao Yin's support, Yang Yin planned comprehensive reforms intended to restore political order and strengthen imperial authority. To set a personal example, Yang first requested that Gao Yin strip him of the rewards associated with opening an office and being granted princely rank. An edict then awarded honorary positions to soldiers aged seventy and above, while military officers over sixty and those seriously ill and unable to perform their duties were required to retire. Officials who lacked ability or virtue and had risen through bribery were removed on a large scale. Yang Yin's measures caused an uproar at court and beyond. The dismissed favorites and opportunists resented the reforms and gathered around the two princes, Gao Yan and Gao Zhan.

Coup and Deposition

At the time, imperial princes exercised great power at court. Gao Yan, Prince of Changshan, Gao Zhan, Prince of Changguang, and Grand Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun effectively controlled Northern Qi's military and political authority. Gao Yan had been building his own power base and was preparing to seize the throne once his position was secure. Yang Yin's reforms drove the conflict between the two sides to a climax.

In 560, the first year of Qianming, Yang Yin and Gao Yin secretly discussed appointing the two princes, Gao Yan and Gao Zhan, as provincial governors in order to remove them from the center of power and strengthen imperial authority. Gao Guiyan, Prince of Pingqin, had initially belonged to Gao Yin and Yang Yin's faction. After weighing the situation, however, he concluded that the young emperor was isolated and weak. He betrayed Gao Yin and revealed the plan to the two princes. Enraged, Gao Yan and Gao Zhan turned the scheme to their own advantage. Using the occasion of going to the Department of State Affairs to formally assume their appointments, they brought several thousand troops and seized Yang Yin and the other officials at a banquet, beating them until they were covered in blood.

Having eliminated Gao Yin's chief ministers, the two princes put on armor, carried weapons, and escorted Yang Yin and the others to confront the emperor. At the Eastern Pavilion Gate, Commander Cheng Xiuning drew his sword and sternly tried to prevent the princes from entering. The surrounding guards, however, saw the two princes and concluded that Gao Yin could no longer be relied upon; they threw down their weapons. Finding himself alone, Cheng Xiuning could only sigh and stand aside. The princes entered the hall and presented Grand Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun with a list of Yang Yin and his associates' alleged “crimes.” Furious, the Grand Empress Dowager berated Gao Yin's mother Li Zu'e: “Are we Xianbei really to be controlled by an old Han woman like you?” Li Zu'e immediately knelt before her and apologized. Gao Yin was caught unprepared and did not know what to do; armed force was already at the gates, and the Grand Empress Dowager sided with the two princes.

On the third day of the eighth month, Grand Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun ordered the young emperor Gao Yin deposed and reduced to Prince of Jinan, with one commandery as his fief, and sent to live in a separate palace. Gao Yan then ascended the throne and ordered Gao Zhan, Prince of Changguang, to move Gao Yin to Jinyang.

Death and Posthumous Treatment

In the ninth month of 561, the second year of Huangjian, Emperor Xiaozhao Gao Yan secretly ordered Gao Guiyan to Jinyang to kill Gao Yin. Gao Yin was seventeen. Before his death, Gao Yang had said that the throne could be yielded if necessary but Gao Yin must not be harmed. When Gao Yin was deposed, his grandmother Lou Zhaojun had also made Gao Yan swear that Gao Yin's life would not be taken. Nevertheless, fearing future trouble, Gao Yan ultimately had his nephew secretly killed the following year.

In 562, the second year of Taining, Gao Yin was buried northwest of Wuning Mausoleum and was posthumously titled Prince Mindao.

Major Activities

Political Activities

During his reign, Gao Yin devoted himself to government and showed great concern for the welfare of the people. He dispatched envoys throughout the realm to investigate successes and failures in administration, observe local customs, and inquire into popular hardships. He sought to rectify the bureaucracy and restore orderly government. Military officers over sixty were released from service and sent home; the elderly and weak were removed from the army while the strong were retained, strengthening the military. He also ordered corvée obligations reduced and palace construction stopped, easing Northern Qi's difficulties inherited from the Tianbao period.

Gao Yin supported Yang Yin's reforms. Yang first requested that Gao Yin remove the rewards he had received for opening an office and being granted princely rank. An edict then granted honorary posts to soldiers aged seventy and above, required military officers over sixty and those gravely ill and unable to serve to retire, and removed on a large scale officials without ability or virtue who had obtained office through bribery. These reforms were intended to restore political order and strengthen imperial authority.

Cultural Learning

Gao Yin was intelligent from childhood, widely read, attentive to contemporary affairs, and enjoyed a strong reputation. In the winter of 556, the seventh year of Tianbao, Emperor Wenxuan gathered literary scholars and ritual officials from among the court ministers for a banquet in the Eastern Palace and ordered them to question one another on the meaning of the classics. Gao Yin took notes while posing further questions, greatly impressing those present. In 558, the ninth year of Tianbao, while acting as regent, he gathered Confucian scholars to lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety and discussed life aspirations with Xu Sanchou, an Assistant Instructor at the Directorate of Education, displaying his learning and breadth of mind.

Relations with the Regents

After Gao Yin took the throne, Yang Yin, Yanzi Xian, and Song Qindao were ordered to assist him in government. Yang Yin was a prominent Northern Qi minister highly trusted by Emperor Wenxuan, and Gao Yin relied heavily upon him. Yang's reforms received Gao Yin's strong support. Together they planned to weaken the power of the imperial princes and strengthen the throne. This provoked intense opposition from Gao Yan, Gao Zhan, and other members of the ruling house, ultimately leading to the coup.

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Gao Huan, Emperor Shenwu
• Grandmother: Lou Zhaojun, Empress Wuming
• Father: Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang
• Mother: Empress Zhaoxin Li Zu'e
• Full younger brother: Gao Shaode, Prince of Taiyuan
• Full sister: Gao Baode, Grand Princess of Changle Commandery, who married Yushi Bian, son of Grand Preceptor Yu Can
• Crown Princess: Li Nansheng, of the Li clan of Zhao Commandery; Gao Yin's maternal cousin and daughter of Li Zuxun
• Liangdi: Lady Zheng, of the Zheng clan of Xingyang and daughter of Zheng Chu
• Li Baoding: Doctor of the Directorate of Education and Gao Yin's teacher
• Xing Zhi: Doctor of the Directorate of Education; became Gao Yin's lecturer after Li Baoding died
• Xu Sanchou: Assistant Instructor at the Directorate of Education; Gao Yin once discussed life aspirations with him
• Yang Yin: Prefect of the Masters of Writing and regent; central figure in Gao Yin's reforms
• Yanzi Xian: Palace Attendant and regent
• Song Qindao: Palace Secretariat Vice Director and regent
• Gao Guiyan: Prince of Pingqin, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and regent; later betrayed Gao Yin
• Hulü Jin: Left Grand Councilor
• Duan Shao: Minister of Works, later Minister over the Masses
• Gao Yan: Prince of Changshan and Gao Yin's sixth uncle; launched the coup that seized the throne, deposed Gao Yin, and later had him killed
• Gao Zhan: Prince of Changguang and Gao Yin's ninth uncle; took part in the coup
• Lou Zhaojun: Grand Empress Dowager and Gao Yin's grandmother; issued the order deposing him

Historical Assessment

Northern Qi / Contemporary

• Li Baiyao wrote in the Book of Northern Qi: “The emperor was precociously intelligent, generous, benevolent, and wise; during the Tianbao period he enjoyed an excellent reputation.”
• Li Baiyao also wrote in the Book of Northern Qi: “He was mild and open, possessed the bearing of a ruler, was thoroughly versed in classical learning, and examined current government, winning a fine reputation.”
• The Book of Northern Qi records Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang as saying of Gao Yin: “The Crown Prince has the nature of the Han people and does not resemble me.”

Sui and Tang Periods

• Li Yanshou wrote in the History of the Northern Dynasties: “When Jinan inherited the enterprise, he greatly reformed its abuses; customs and education became bright and clear, and the gentry considered themselves fortunate.”
• On Gao Yin's failure, Li Yanshou wrote: “His chief ministers and assistants, though sincere in their intentions, could neither uphold and enlarge moral governance and maintain harmony among close kin, nor plan far enough to protect themselves and devise deeply enough to guard their ruler. When a decision was required they failed to decide, and so brought disaster upon themselves.”
• Li Yanshou concluded: “The ministers were executed and the ruler soon deposed and humiliated; all this resulted from entrusting responsibilities to men unequal to them.”

Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Gao Yin's deposition with sympathy for his fate and presents Gao Yan as having violated promises made to Gao Yang and Lou Zhaojun.
• In his commentary on the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Hu Sansheng wrote of Gao Yin's death that Gao Yan “broke his pledge and killed his nephew; what could be more inhumane?”
• Wang Fuzhi wrote in Du Tongjian Lun that Gao Yin “inherited the great position while a confused child; although he had the loyalty of Yang Yin, it was not enough to secure himself,” expressing regret over the failure of his reforms.

Modern Scholarship

• Lü Simian wrote in History of the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties that although Gao Yin was young, his reforming ambition was praiseworthy; unfortunately his assistants were inadequate and the imperial princes watched for an opportunity, leading to his death and political disorder.
• Zhou Yiliang, in his notes on Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, attributed Gao Yin's failure to weakness and indecision and to his inability to deal decisively with the imperial princes.
• Tian Yuqing's The Hegemony and Decline of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi argues that Gao Yin's failure was an inevitable result of intensified conflict between imperial authority and the power of the ruling house; the reforms themselves were sound, but their timing was poor and they threatened vested interests, bringing about his downfall.