Gao Xianzhi

Gao Xianzhi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	高仙芝
Simplified Chinese	高仙芝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gāo Xiānzhī Wade–Giles Kao Hsien-chih
Korean name
Hangul	고선지
Hanja	高仙芝
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Go Seonji McCune–Reischauer Ko Sŏnji

Gao Xianzhi, (died in 756) also known as Go Seon-ji, was general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He is known for taking part in multiple military expeditions to conquer the Western Regions over the infamous Pamir Mountains, all the way to the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, and later to expand the Tang empire's territory once more, all the way to the reaches of Central Asia. In 751, he was the commander of the Tang forces during the Battle of Talas, fighting against the Arabs under the command of Abbasid Caliphate, which was ultimately a decisive battle that helped transmit eastern culture and technology, including paper and compass. Gao's father Gao Sag-ye was captured by the Tang, but later joined the Tang army. Gao Sag-ye's son Gao then fought for the Chinese.

Early life

Gao was the son of Go Sagye, a general from Goguryeo. After the capitulation of Goguryeo by combined forces of Tang China and Silla Korea in 668, Go Sagye was captured by Tang forces and later surrendered, and there, he was given a post in their army. Gao was born during his duty in Tang's western regions.

Unlike most soldiers of his day, historical records say Gao 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 was an ethnic minority, his loyalty and bravery allowed him to be promoted to the position of general in the Tang Army at the age of 20, serving in Central Asia near Kashgar, in the Taklamakan Desert along with his father. Although he was considered an extraordinary tactician, the military Governors of the Kashgar province resented him and did not recognize his skills as commander, until a new governor recognized his skills and promoted him to a deputy.

First Western Campaign

Gao established his name in a battle against the combined forces of Qiang and Muslims. He defeated a combined attack from th Qiangs and Saracens in 747, and led his army of 10,000 cavalry on a massive counterattack, pursuing the enemy across the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, reaching local Hindu and Persian kingdoms of present-day Afghanistan. As a result of Gao's first campaign, the Tang Dynasty ended up with a hostile relatiohship between Umayyad Caliphate and Qiang. About 72 local Indian and Sogdian kingdoms became Tang vassals, ending the Qiang dominion of the Pamir Mountains. Until 755, he was the military governor, placing Tokmak, Kucha, Kashmir, under the Jurisdiction of his headquarters.

Second Campaign and Battle of Talas

In 750, Gao led another campaign against the Sogdian kingdoms, conquering Samarkand and Tashkent, sending captured Sogdian king to the Tang capital Chang'an. However, the politicians in the Tang capital executed the king of Tashkent, which outraged Sogdians and Turks of Central Asia. The Arabs, supported by the Persians from Khorasan, attacked Chinese territories with a larger army. Gao led his forces of about 30,000 men to Talas to confront Arab advance.

Gao was beaten at the hands of the Abbasid Caliphate at the Battle of Talas in 751. The Karluk mercenaries defected to Abbasid side while the battle was ongoing. Despite losing the battle, he did deal substantial damage to the Arabs. As a result of his defeat, the Tang Empire lost much of their influence in Central Asia, even though no territorial changes were made just yet. Paper making technology was transmitted westward through the Tang prisoners of war that were captured in Talas. Gao planned a swift counterattack, but his subordinates persuaded him that there was not enough manpower to mount a successful attack, and the plan was aborted.

Arrest and Execution

Four years later, a rebellion of An Lushan broke out. The Tang court was desperate for reinforcements, so they ordered the withdrawal of key garrisons in the western frontier, leaving the gateway open to a Qiang invasion which could have cut off the Tang's western garrisons. Subsequently, Chinese influence diminished and Central Asia was affected by the Muslim culture pushing eastward.

Gao was later recalled to duty during the rebellion by An Lushan, and was in charge of defending the capital Chang'an. However, he disregarded the initial imperial order and moved his forces to Tong Guan, the gateway to the capital with strategic importance. He also brought all the supplies from Taiyuan, one of the major cities in the North, which eventually caused it to fall to the rebels.

Tang court, under Emperor Xuanzong, began to fear the growing power of many of its Military governors, particularly after An Lushan who was also a military governor, rebelled against the empire. After the rebellion broke out, the Tang court reduced the administrative powers of its military governors, including Gao and Geshu Han.

One of his Subordinates, who had a personal vendetta against Gao, secretly reported Gao's actions as going against imperial orders, charging him of corruption and embezzlement of supplies. Such a report from an officer of low rank only managed to reach the Tang emperor's ears because it was deliberately exaggerated and specially introduced to the emperor by the racist inner circle of the Tang Government, who sought to use any small reason to cleanse Tang of non-Chinese officers. Emperor Xuanzong finally gave the order to arrest Gao and execute him for treason. Gao was immediately arrested; most of his deputies wanted to prove his innocence but Gao allegedly refused to receive any help from them, and was subsequently beheaded along with another general Feng Changqing.

Legacy

The success of Gao (surname), who was ethnic Goguryeo and was born as a subject of the Tang empire, is perceived as extraordinary by many Koreans. At the time, people with various ethnic background from all over the east and central Asia lived under the power of the Tang Dynasty; they were forced to become Tang subjects when their kingdoms were conquered by the Tang empire. After defeating Goguryeo, Tang divided many of its people into small groups and trafficked them throughout the empire. For the majority of those people, the only way to escape the harsh life was to enlist in the army, and Gao was such an example.

His tactics, which helped him to defeat many Sogdian troops with superior power, was well recoginized among Koreans. Many Korean historians praised him as one of the greatest military commanders in both Korean and Chinese history.

He is also considered historically important by many Koreans since he led the Tang army in the Battle of Talas even though his Tang army was outnumbered. 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 compass, which spread to Europe through the Muslim World, became an important tool in navigation and led the way to the Age of Exploration.