Gao Gong

In this Chinese name, the family name is Gao.

Gao Gong (1513–1578) was a Chinese scholar-official during the Ming dynasty. During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, he held a prominent position in the Emperor's inner circle. He served as the minister of rites from 1565 to 1566, and later as a grand secretary and minister of personnel. He was also the head of the Grand Secretariat from 1571 to 1572.

Gao Gong
高拱
Senior Grand Secretary
In office 1571–1572
Monarch	Longqing
Preceded by	Li Chunfang
Succeeded by	Zhang Juzheng
Minister of Personnel
In office 1570–1572
Monarchs	Jiajing Longqing
Preceded by	Yang Bo
Succeeded by	Yang Bo
Grand Secretary
In office 1566–1567, 1570–1572
Monarchs	Jiajing Longqing
Minister of Rites
In office 1565–1566
Monarch	Jiajing
Preceded by	Dong Fen
Succeeded by	Gao Yi
Personal details
Born	1513
Died	1578 (aged 64–65)
Education	jinshi degree (1541)
Courtesy name	Suqing[a]
Art name	Zhongxuan[b]
Posthumous name	Wenxiang[c]
Chinese name
Chinese	高拱
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gāo Gǒng

Biography

Gao Gong was born in early 1513 in Xinzheng, Henan Province. He focused on studying Confucianism and passed the highest level of civil service examinations, known as the palace examination, with top marks in 1541. After the examinations, he was appointed to a position at the Hanlin Academy. He gradually rose through the ranks and offices. In 1552, he was chosen by the Jiajing Emperor to serve as a tutor to his heir, Zhu Zaiji, the future Longqing Emperor (r. 1567–1572), for nine years. Gao was highly regarded by Zhu Zaiji and was considered his most trusted and beloved teacher.^[1] He held the positions of vice minister of rites and vice minister of personnel, before being promoted to minister of rites in 1565.

In April 1566, Gao was appointed grand secretary alongside Guo Pu with the support of Senior Grand Secretary Xu Jie. However, he soon faced accusations of disloyalty to the emperor from a censor, which he believed were instigated by Xu. This led to a rift between the two and he began to oppose Xu. Despite being a skilled politician who staunchly defended his beliefs, Gao was also known for his arrogance and bluntness.^[2] He often pushed for his own ideas without regard for precedent or rules, which made him a target for criticism from supervisory authorities.^[3] His tendency to centralize power and lack of tact weakened his political standing and hindered his ability to gain support from the bureaucracy, ultimately leading to his downfall.^[4]

In early 1567, the Jiajing Emperor died. Xu, with the assistance of Hanlin academician Zhang Juzheng drafted the Jiajing Emperor's final edict, and arranged for the accession of the Emperor's son, Zhu Zaiji.^[5] Xu refused the help of the other grand secretaries, including Gao, which further widened the rift between them.^[6] As a result, Xu and Gao, along with their respective supporters, began accusing each other of various missteps in the first half of 1567. Despite both parties being involved in the accusations, the accusations against Gao were more severe, leading to his resignation in June 1567.^[7]

The following year, Xu was forced to resign and Gao, with the assistance of his long-time ally Zhang Juzheng returned to the position of grand secretary in early 1570. This was a highly unusual move, as he also took on the role of minister of personnel.^[8] Upon his return, Gao removed his critics from their positions and, with the support of Zhang's close relationship with the imperial eunuchs, gained control over the entire administration.^[9] Together, they were able to restore state finances^[10] and strengthen regional administration by appointing capable officials.^[9] Additionally, Gao successfully negotiated peace with the Mongol Altan Khan, effectively ending decades of warfare on the northern border of the Ming dynasty. He tackled state issues on a case-by-case basis, without implementing a general reorganization of the administration. The History of Ming, the official history of the dynasty, described his governing style as "I gave Yin Chengmao one million taels of silver; he might have pocketed a half of it, but he got the job done".^[8]

In 1571, Gao ousted Senior Grand Secretary Li Chunfang, who was previously an ally of Xu, and took his position. In 1572, he had a falling out with Zhang^[8][d] and also clashed with the eunuchs of the imperial palace. As a result, he was forced to resign after the death of the Longqing Emperor in 1572. He spent the rest of his life in his hometown, where he focused on writing his memoirs, the Bingta yiyan (病榻遺言). He died in 1578.^[11]

Notes

1. simplified Chinese: 肃卿; traditional Chinese: 肅卿; pinyin: Sùqīng
2. Chinese: 中玄; pinyin: Zhōngxuán
3. Chinese: 文襄; pinyin: Wénxiāng
4. Gao Gong's agent gathered evidence of the wrongdoings of Xu Jie's family, including usury and the fraudulent seizure of small estates. Consequently, Xu's sons were facing the death penalty. However, Zhang Juzheng intervened and negotiated a lighter punishment with Gao. Gao lost trust in Zhang when rumors spread that Zhang had accepted a bribe of 30,000 liang (1,119 kg) of silver from Xu.^[8]