Gao Gan
Gao Gan | |
|---|---|
| Cao càn | |
| Inspector of Bing Province ( tịnh châu thứ sử ) | |
| In office ?–206 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Qi County, Kaifeng,Henan |
| Died | 206 |
| Relations | |
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Warlord |
| Courtesy name | Yuancai ( nguyên tài ) |
Gao Gan() (died 206),courtesy nameYuancai,was a minor warlord who lived during the lateEastern Han dynastyof China. He was a maternal nephew and subordinate of the warlordYuan Shao.
Life[edit]
Gao Gan was from an influential family in Yu County (Ngữ huyện), Chenliu Commandery (Trần lưu quận), which is around present-dayQi County, Kaifeng,Henan.He was also a maternal nephew of the warlordYuan Shao,who controlled most of the territories in northern China from the 190s to his death in 202. Gao Gan held the appointment of Inspector (Thứ sử) ofBing Province,which was one of the four provinces in northern China under Yuan Shao's control around 200 CE. He governed Bing Province for about seven years.
In 200 CE, Yuan Shao lost theBattle of Guanduagainst his rival,Cao Cao,who controlled the Han central government and the figureheadEmperor Xian.After Yuan Shao's defeat, only the troops under Gao Gan's command in Bing Province, numbering about 50,000, were the most organised and highest in morale among all of Yuan Shao's forces.
After Yuan Shao's death in 202, Gao Gan gained support fromGuo Yuanand the southernXiongnuleaderHuchuquanto counter Cao Cao's advances into northern China. However, he decided to surrender to Cao Cao in 203 after Guo Yuan's defeat and after internal conflict broke out between Yuan Shao's sonsYuan TanandYuan Shang.Cao Cao allowed him to continue serving as the Inspector of Bing Province after his surrender.
Although Gao Gan surrendered to Cao Cao, he was only pretending to do so. In 205, when Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Yuan Shang and theWuhuantribes, Gao Gan seized the opportunity to start a rebellion in Bing Province. He took the Administrator of Shangdang Commandery ( thượng đảng quận; a commandery in Bing Province) hostage and fortified his defences at Hu Pass ( hồ quan; west of present-dayLucheng, Shanxi). Cao Cao's forces, led byLi DianandYue Jin,attacked Gao Gan at Hu Pass but could not overcome him even after some months of siege.
In 206, Cao Cao turned back and personally led his forces to attack Gao Gan. Gao Gan fled from Hu Pass, leaving behind his subordinates Xia Zhao (Hạ chiêu) and Deng Sheng (Đặng thăng) to defend the pass, and went to seek help from the Xiongnu. After the Xiongnu refused to help him, Gao Gan headed south towardsJing Provinceto seek aid fromLiu Biao,the provincial governor. However, along the way, Wang Yan (Vương diễm), the Colonel-Director of Retainers (Tư lệ giáo úy), led his troops to intercept Gao Gan and kill him and then present his head to Cao Cao.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Chen, Shou(3rd century).Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi).
- Pei, Songzhi(5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi zhu).