Li Gao

Li Gao or Li Hao (; 351–417), courtesy name Xuansheng, nickname Changsheng, formally Prince Wuzhao of (Western) Liang, was the founding duke of the Chinese Western Liang dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. While he claimed only the title of duke during his reign, he was posthumously honored with the princely title. He was initially a Northern Liang official, but in 400, he seceded from Northern Liang's prince Duan Ye's rule and established his own independent state. His state only lasted for 21 years, but his descendants would remain key officials and nobles throughout Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui dynasty, and one of them, Li Yuan, would found the Tang dynasty in 618. After the founding of the Tang dynasty, he was posthumously honored as Emperor Xingsheng. Prior to Western Liang's establishment Li Gao was born in 351, and was a posthumous child of his father Li Chang, who traced his ancestry to the Han dynasty general Li Guang. After Li Chang's death, Li Gao's mother married a man named Song, and they had at least one son, Song Yao. In Li Gao's youth, he was known to be studious, rational, and open-minded. When he grew older, he also studied the military strategies of Sunzi and Wu Qi. He had, for a time, lived in the same house with his half-brother Song Yao and Guo Nen, a minister of Later Liang's founding emperor Lü Guang known for his magical and prophetic abilities. Guo once told Song, "Your place will be among the most honored of all subjects, but Mr. Li will one day found an independent state. This will happen when a mare bears a pony with a white forehead." After Lü Guang's official Duan Ye, with support from the generals Juqu Nancheng and Juqu Mengxun, broke away from Later Liang and established Northern Liang in 397, Li Gao became a county magistrate under Duan Ye's governor of Dunhuang Commandery (roughly modern Dunhuang, Gansu), Meng Min. When Meng died in 400, the officials of Dunhuang Commandery, because Li Gao was popular with the people, asked him to take over. Initially, Li Gao was hesitant, but Song advised him to accept, stating to him that a pony with a white forehead had just recently been born. Li Gao therefore accepted and requested confirmation from Duan Ye, and Duan Ye agreed. However, Duan Ye's official Suo Si, a friend of Li Gao's, warned Duan Ye of Li Gao's ambitions and advised Duan Ye not to allow Li Gao to remain in control of Dunhuang.