Tang Gao was born in Yansi town, She county, Huizhou, South Zhili, in Ming China. Tang Gao became the Zhuangyuan, or Number One Scholar in the ninth year of the Zhengde Emperor's reign during the Ming Dynasty. He styled himself as Shouzhi, Xin’an, and Ziyang hermit. Due to his premature death, the loss of his biography and epitaph, and the fact that much of his early life was not documented, scholars have been unable put together a detailed summary of his life.
Life
Tang Gao was born into an educated and aristocratic family within a well-established Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianist academic tradition. Little is known about his early life, but at some point his family lost much of their wealth and he led a meager lifestyle during early adulthood. Despite failing the imperial examinations multiple times he eventually passed and started his career as an Imperial Historian at the Hanlin Academy. He then became an expositor of the academy but died unexpectedly in 1526 aged 58. His 12-year political career, though relatively short, was during the transition from the Zhengde Emperor to the Jiajing Emperor's reign during the Ming Dynasty, and was a period of great change to politics, the economy, academic life, and literature.
Political activities
Tang Gao, who had a straightforward attitude and was mature in nature, was generally considered to be a future Prime Minister. At the beginning of his official life, he had already adopted the view that the government statutes should be strengthened. In the twelfth year of Zhengde Emperor, as the vice examiner of the metropolitan examination, he appointed many talented people. When the Zhengde Emperor died, he served as an imperial envoy abroad to Korea and issued the Imperial Edict of the Ascent to the Throne of the Jiajing Emperor, which was the peak of his political career. During his visit to Joseon, he was acclaimed as the most righteous man in the world by the King and officials there, due to his discipline and honesty. After he returned to China, Tang Gao wanted to realize his aspirations, and wrote a letter depicting the employment problems of the Jiajing Emperor. In the “Great Rites Controversy”, he mediated between the two groups, and expressed political foresight, which angered the Emperor. In the fourth year of Jiajing Emperor, “The Factual Record of Ming Emperor Wu Zong” was finished. As a historian, he made a significant contribution to the historiography of the Ming Dynasty.
Confucianism
Tang Gao once pursued his studies in Ziyang Academy, the Prefectural School of Huizhou, where the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was deeply rooted. He advocated pragmatism, focused on the ways of the world and the heart of humans, so that his early works all agreed with the concept of Neo-Confucianism. However, in his late years, he turned to WangYangming’s Idealistic Theories, and his articles then combined both the Cheng-zhu School and the Idealistic School. Unlike his early poems and essays, which regarded Taoism as heresy, his late works often cited Buddhist Scriptures. The representative work of the convergence of the three religions entitled “Xing-Ming-Gui-Zhi” was circulated.
Literature
As Tang Gao advocated pragmatism, his works focused on the documentary form. Influenced by the “Former Seven Scholars”, his writing style tended to revert to the old ways. The several existing Yue Fu drafted by him all seemed extraordinary with a trace of Yang Weizhen’s style. The poems were once selected into Qian Qianyi ’s “Lie-Chao-Shi-Ji”, which represented his retroactive trend. He especially admired Li Mengyang and was also on good terms with some retroactive scholars like Wang Jiusi. During his diplomatic mission, he versified together with some civil officials of Joseon Dynasty such as Li Xing, and introduced the opinions of the"Former Seven Scholars" such as Li Mengyang from the official level. The “Xin-Si-Huang-Hua-Ji” versification and the direct result—the spread of Li Mengyang’s poetry eastwards, had a far-reaching effect on the literary innovation in the mid and late period of the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, several of his travel poems carried a style of Xie Lingyun ’s scenic poems. Among them, some particular ones also contained the style of Tang Yin ’s Wu School. His poetic creation drew widely from others’ strong points and appealed to both refined and popular taste. This was quite similar to that of his good friend Yang Shen.
Tang Gao led a short life, which made many scholars feel that he had not fulfilled himself. Tang Gao’s wife Yan left a single poem, with the prosperous charm of the Tang Dynasty. His eldest grandson Tang Rulong received a good education from Tang Gao, studied Li Bai ’s poetic style and was highly appreciated by Qian Qianyi. He attempted the imperial examinations several times but was unsuccessful and grew depressed.
