GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 19

高

高 is read as gāo.

Pinyin

gāo

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 高

Basic meaning

high; tall; lofty

Five element

Earth

Origin

Time: Spring and Autumn period, around the 7th century BCE

Place: Qi state, especially Linzi and Gao/Lu fief traditions in today's Shandong

Origin note

A major Gao tradition comes from the Jiang-surname ruling house of Qi. Materials record Gongzi Gao, connected with Qi Wen Gong, and his descendant Gao Xi, an important Qi minister. Gao Xi is remembered as a key ancestor of the Bohai Gao lineage. Some accounts explain the surname through the ancestor name Gao and associated fief traditions in Qi.

Historical figures

高适 (Gao Shi)

c. 704-765 CE · Tang poet

A major frontier poet of the Tang dynasty, known for vigorous borderland poetry.

高颎 (Gao Jiong)

541-607 CE · Sui statesman

A key minister under Emperor Wen of Sui, associated with early Sui statecraft and reunification politics.

Sources checked