Zhao Gao

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Zhao Gao ( Chinese  趙高  /  赵高 , Pinyin Zhào Gāo ; * approx. 258 BC ; † 207 BC in Xianyang ) was chief eunuch during the Qin Dynasty under Emperor Qin Er Shi in China. He was also the only eunuch in Chinese history to receive the title of Prime Minister.

Life

Zhao Gao came from Zhao State , to whose ruling family he was distantly related. According to the historical records in Shiji, his parents committed a crime for which he and his brother were forced to be castrated.

Zhao Gao committed himself to serving the Qin after the fall of his country . He became the tutor of the emperor's second son (Qin Er Shi) and was henceforth in his favor. He was responsible for the deaths of General Meng Tian and the emperor's eldest son, Fusu , who were stationed on the northern border, when he and Li Si led the first emperor's second son, Huhai , to forge the emperor's will. After the seizure of power, he also had Li Si eliminated.

207 BC The Qin dynasty was about to collapse. Fearing that the emperor would blame him, Zhao Gao conspired with others and forced the emperor to commit suicide.

Then Zhao Gao had a son of Fusu, Ziying , proclaimed ruler. But soon afterwards Ziying killed the chief eunuch and a year later surrendered to the rebel leader Liu Bang , the founder of the Han dynasty .

saying

The well-known Chinese proverb “spend a deer for a horse” ( 指鹿為馬 , zhǐ lù wéi mǎ ) is associated with Zhao Gao . It goes back to an anecdote according to which he had shown a stag as a horse to the young emperor, with the intention of testing which ministers were ready to contradict him and which willingly agreed with his opinion.

literature

  • Michael Loewe: On the Terms bao zi, yin gong, yin guan, huan, and shou Was Zhao Gao a Eunuch? , Pp. 301-319, in: T'oung Pao , Second Series, Vol. 91, Fasc. 4/5 (2005) link

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Zhao, Gao
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 趙高 (Chinese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Head eunuch during the Qin Dynasty under Emperor Qin Er Shi
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 207 BC Chr.
Place of death Xianyang