Gongsun Ao (died 96 BCE) was a Chinese military commander and general during the

Western Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

of China. He was noted for participating in the imperial campaigns against the Xiongnu.

Life

Gongsun Ao was from

Beidi The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and hunting ...

which is presently in modern

Heshui Heshui County () is a CPRC, county of Gansu province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qingyang, and is the easternmost county-level division of the province. Its postal code is 745400, and its population in 199 ...

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

. Gongsun Ao was known to be a skilled rider and archer. He entered service in the imperial palace as a cavalryman, and participated in small campaigns during the reign of Emperor Jing. Gongsun Ao became friends with

Wei Qing Wei Qing (died 106 BC), courtesy name Zhongqing, born Zheng Qing in Linfen, Shanxi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was acclaimed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches life ...

after rescuing him from the custody of Princess Liu Piao (an elder sister of Emperor Jing) in 138 BC; Liu was the mother of Empress Chen Jiao, who was then madly jealous of

Wei Zifu Wei Zifu (; died 91 BC), posthumously known as Empress Si of the Filial Wu () or Wei Si Hou (衛思后, "Wei the Thoughtful Empress"), was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu ...

, Wei Qing's half-sister, who had the favour of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...

. Gongsun Ao was promoted to a higher post as Superior Grand Master of the Palace. Ao later partook in Wei Qing's many campaigns against the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

. For instance, he led 15,000 cavalry in one of the early campaigns but he failed to engage the Huns after travelling a distance of 2,000 li. Two years later, he was again part of another campaign led by

Li Guang Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiong ...

, proceeding from Yanmen with 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. During the offensives at

Yanmen Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contr ...

in 129 BC, he and Li Guang were heavily defeated by the Xiongnu. They were charged with treason. The Chinese also regarded both capture and defeat the same so Li Guang and Ao were both sentenced to death. However, they were allowed to buy off their death sentence and became commoners. In 124 BCE, Ao was able to demonstrate his martial skills as a commander and became

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of Heqi. In the summer of 121 BC, Gongsun Ao joined

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-bro ...

in an attack against the Xiongnu. After parting ways with Huo, Ao and his troops got lost in the desert. While Huo won great renown in battle later, Ao was sentenced to death for failing to meet up with Huo on time. Again, he paid a fine and was demoted to a commoner. In 97 BC, he commanded a division of

Li Guangli Li Guangli (died 88 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favoured by Emperor Wu of Han. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince Li ...

's army and was again defeated. He was sentenced to death due to his troops suffering heavy losses; he managed to escape but was later arrested. In the spring of 96 BC, his wife was implicated in a witchcraft case, which in turn implicated him. He was executed via

waist chop Waist chop or waist cutting (), also known as cutting in two at the waist, was a form of execution used in ancient China. As its name implies, it involved the condemned being sliced in two at the waist by an executioner. History Waist chopping ...

, and his clan exterminated.

References

*''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', volume 111 96 BC deaths Han dynasty generals from Gansu People from Qingyang {{mil-hist-stub