Gao Shengtai (died 1096) was the founder and the only

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the short-lived Dazhong Kingdom from 1094 until his death in 1096. He was from

Cang Mountain Cangshan or Cang Mountain () is a mountain range immediately west of Dali City in Yunnan province of Southwest China. The highest summit, Malong, is 4,122 m, but the range includes another 18 peaks that are over 3,500 m elevation. History The mo ...

in the present-day southern Chinese province of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

Life

In 1080, Duan Lianyi, the 12th ruler of the

Dali Kingdom The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a state situated in modern Yunnan province, China from 937 until 1253. In 1253, it was conquered by the Mongols but members of its former ruling dynasty continued to a ...

, was overthrown and killed by Yang Yizhen, who seized the throne from him. Gao Shengtai and his father,

Gao Zhisheng Gao Zhisheng (born 20 April 1964) is a Chinese human rights attorney and dissident known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting human rights abuses in China. Because of his work, Zhisheng has been disbarred and det ...

, the Marquis of Shanchan (in present-day Kunming, Yunnan), led military forces to attack Yang Yizhen and defeated him. They restored the Dali monarchy by installing

Duan Shouhui Duan may refer to: * Duan (surname), a Chinese surname ** Duan dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Dali Kingdom * Duan tribe, pre-state tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China * Duan language, spoken on the Laotian–Vietnamese border * D ...

on the throne. However, in 1081, Gao Zhisheng and Gao Shengtai forced Duan Shouhui to abdicate and replaced him with

Duan Zhengming Duan Zhengming, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Baoding of Dali, was the 14th emperor of the Dali Kingdom. In 1081, the regent Gao Zhisheng forced Duan Zhengming's predecessor, Duan Shouhui, to abdicate and replaced him with ...

. In 1094, Gao Shengtai forced Duan Zhengming to relinquish the throne to him, after which he renamed the Dali Kingdom to "Dazhong Kingdom" with the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

"Shangzhi".

Death

He died of illness in 1096. Before his death, he instructed his son, Gao Taiming, to return the throne to the Duan family.

Duan Zhengchun Duan Zhengchun, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Zhongzong of Dali, was the 15thIf Gao Shengtai's reign is taken into consideration, Duan Zhengchun would have been the 16th emperor. Se emperor of the Dali Kingdom. He reigned from 109 ...

, Duan Zhengming's younger brother, became the new ruler and he restored the kingdom's former name. In spite of this power transition, Gao Shengtai's relatives and descendants still occupied highly influential positions in the Dali Kingdom after his death. Gao Shengtai was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

"Emperor Fuyou Shengde Biaozheng".

In fiction

Gao Shengtai is fictionalised as a minor character in the

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils ''Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised concurrently from 3 September 1963 to 27 May 1966 in the newspapers ''Ming Pao'' in Hong Kong and ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' in Singapore. It has been ...

'' by

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Shengtai 1096 deaths Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Founding monarchs Bai people Dali Kingdom