고구려인 고선지 (1/12) Go-seonji" The Goguryeo- born Tang General who had tight control over the silk road.

• published: 11 Mar 2013
• views: 3392

Gao Xianzhi, or Ko Sōnji, (died January 24, 756) was a Tang general of Korean (Goguryeo) descent. He was known as a great commander during his lifetime. He is most well known for taking part in multiple military expeditions to conquer the Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet Central Asia) region over the infamous Pamir Mountains, all the way to the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea. In 751, he was the commander of the Tang forces during the Battle of Talas, fighting against forces of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Tang defeat, which exposed the Abbasid forces to such technology as paper and compass, is considered the event that marked both the end of western expansion by Tang and eastern expansion by the Abbasid Caliphate. Around the new year 756, while Gao and fellow general Feng Changqing were defending Tong Pass against forces of An Lushan, who had rebelled against Tang rule in 755, both Gao and Feng offended the powerful eunuch Bian Lingcheng (邊令誠). Bian then accused Feng of cowardice and Gao of corruption, and both were executed. Early life Gao Xianzhi was the son of Go Sagye, a general from Goguryeo (one of the three kingdoms of Korea) which was vanquished by a Tang-Silla alliance in 668 AD. Go Sagye was captured by Tang forces and later surrendered, and there, he was given a post in their army. Gao Xianzhi was born during his duty in Tang's western regions. Unlike most soldiers of his day, historical records say Gao Xianzhi was not muscular or extraordinarily strong like other army officers; his father always worried about his son's poor health. However, he demonstrated great courage from an early age; he possessed skills in cavalry and archery. Gao Xianzhi's loyalty and bravery, allowed him to be promoted to the position of general in the Tang army in his 20s, serving in Central Asia near Kashgar, in the Taklamakan Desert along with his father, under the Tang military command for Anxi Circuit (安西, headquartered in modern Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang). He successively served under the military governors (jiedushi) Tian Renwan (田仁琬) and Gai Jiayun (蓋嘉運), but was not promoted by them. However, Gai's successor Fumeng Lingcha (夫蒙靈詧) was impressed by him, and so repeatedly recommended him for promotions. By the end of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era (727-741), he was serving as Fumeng's deputy First western campaign At that time, Lesser Bolü (小勃律, a city state centering modern Gilgit, Pakistan) was allied with Tufan, leading to some 20 city states around it to also become Tufan vassals. A Tufan princess became the wife and queen of Lesser Bolü's king. Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun, and Fumeng Lingcha all had tried to attack Lesser Bolü before, but was unable to defeat it. In 747, Gao Xianzhi led a three-pronged attack of 10,000 cavalry soldiers, surprising both Lesser Bolü and Tufan forces stationed in Lesser Bolü. He captured Lesser Bolü's king and queen and returned to Tang territory with them.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao_Xianzhi