Empress Gao

Who is Empress Gao?

Empress Gao was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Eastern Wei — a branch successor state to Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Xiaojing, Eastern Wei's only emperor.

She was the second daughter of the paramount general Gao Huan, who, after a formal break with Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei in 534, made Xiaojing, then age 10, emperor, thus dividing Northern Wei into Eastern Wei and Western Wei. In 539, Gao Huan married her to Emperor Xiaojing. It is not known whether Emperor Xiaojing's only son known by name, Yuan Zhangren, who was created crown prince in 549, was her son or not.

In 550, Empress Gao's brother Gao Yang, who had by that point succeeded Gao Huan and another son of Gao Huan's, Gao Cheng, forced Emperor Xiaojing to yield the throne to him, ending Eastern Wei and starting Northern Qi as its Emperor Wenxuan. He created the former Emperor Xiaojing the Prince of Zhongshan, and created the former Empress Gao the Princess Taiyuan, and she therefore carried double titles. Fearful that her brother, who was known for his violent nature, would harm her husband, she took her husband wherever she went, and she also tasted all of his food to make sure that it was not poisoned. Despite her precautions, however, she could not prevent his death, as around the new year 552, Emperor Wenxuan invited her to the palace for a feast, and then, as she was attending the feast, he sent assassins to force the Prince of Zhongshan and his three sons to drink poisoned wine.