Gao Huan

Who was Gao Huan?

Gao Huan, nickname Heliuhun, formally Prince Xianwu of Qi, later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu, then as Emperor Shenwu with the temple name Gaozu, was the Han Chinese paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei and Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei. Though being ethnically Han, Gao was deeply affected by Xianbei culture and was often considered more Xianbei than Han by his contemporaries. During his career, he and his family became firmly in control of the government of Eastern Wei, and eventually, in 550, his son Gao Yang forced Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei to yield the throne to him, establishing the Gao clan as the imperial clan of a new Northern Qi state.