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 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

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

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

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 huntin ...

which is presently in modern

Heshui Heshui County () is a 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 2023 wa ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. 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 Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...

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 Empress Chen of Wu (孝武陳皇后) was empress#China, empress of the Han dynasty and the first wife of Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che). She was also known as Chen Jiao () or as her milk name Chen A'Jiao (陈阿娇). She was born to Chen Wu (Wester ...

, who was then madly jealous of

Wei Zifu Wei Zifu (; died 9 September 91 BC), posthumous name, posthumously known as Empress Si of the filial piety, 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 ...

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

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

. 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

. 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 BCE) 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 X ...

, 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, contro ...

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 (; ) 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 with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

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

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...

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 89 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, and his clan exterminated.

References

*''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

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