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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary

of the Northern Ch'i dynasty. Proud, sensual and extravagant, he neglected his duties, and in 564 resigned the throne to his son 維 Wei. At length his dominions were annexed by the House of Chou, and he and his son 恒 Hêng, known in history as 幼主, together with all his family, were slain. Canonised as 世祖武成帝.


947 Kao Ch'an 高蟾. 9th cent. A.D. A native of Po-hai in Shantung, who at first failed to take his chin shih degree. He consoled himself however by writing some verses in which he pointed out that the beautiful hibiscus blooms late, when the peach and the almond blossoms are gone; and he justified his simile by presenting himself again as a candidate and winning the coveted prize. By 876 he had risen to high office, but it is by his poetry that he is known.


948 Kao Chi-hsing 高季興 or Kao Chi- 昌 ch'ang (T. 貽孫). Died A.D. 929. A native of Shensi, who was a servant-boy in the establishment of the wealthy man adopted by Chu Wên as his son. He gained favour with Chu Wên, and in 907 was placed in charge of Ching-nan, a part of Hupeh between the Han river and the Yang-tsze. In 913 he became Prince of Po-hai in Shantung, and invaded Ssŭch'uan. In 923 he tendered his alliance to the Later T'ang dynasty, and was appointed Prince of 南平 Nan-p'ng in Hu-Euang. In 927 he revolted, but in 928 he was utterly defeated by the Ch'u State and his power broken. His son and successor once more submitted to the T'angs, and was re-instated; and the Ching-nan Principality dragged on until 963, when it was annexed by the House of Sung.


949 Kao Ch'i-cho 高其倬 (T. 章之. H. 芙沼). A.D. 1675-1738. Cousin of Kao Ch'i-wei. Graduated as chin shih in 1694, and shut himself up to study for several years before entering on his career. In 1720 be became Governor of Kuangsi, where he put down an aboriginal rising by riding alone and unarmed into the