Gao Qiu

Gao Qiu (died 1126) was a government official who served Emperor Huizong during the Song Dynasty. He is also featured as one of the main antagonists and nemesis of the 108 Liangshan outlaws in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

Biography

According to the Chinese historical text Huizhulu (揮麈錄) by Song Dynasty scholar Wang Mingqing, Gao Qiu was the son of Gao Dunfu (高敦復) and was from Kaifeng. He had two brothers and four sons.

Gao Qiu used to be a servant of poet and statesman Su Shi before moving on to serve the artist Wang Shen. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, Gao Qiu participated in battles under Liu Zhongwu's command and followed Lin Shu on a diplomatic mission to the rival Liao Dynasty. As he was favoured by Emperor Huizong, Gao Qiu's position in politics and the military rose until he became a Grand Marshal (太尉).

After the fall of Emperor Huizong (abdicated on 18 January 1126), Gao Qiu's influence in the imperial court decreased and he died of illness in 1126.

Gao

Gao /ɡaʊ/ is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, 320 km (200 mi) east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.

For much of its history Gao was an important commercial centre involved in the trans-Saharan trade. In the 9th century external Arabic writers described Gao as an important regional power and by the end of the 10th century the local ruler was said to be a Muslim. Towards the end of the 13th century Gao became part of the Mali Empire, but in first half of the 15th century the town regained its independence and with the conquests of Sonni Ali (ruled 1464–1492) it became the capital of the Songhai Empire. The Empire collapsed after the Moroccan invasion in 1591 and the invaders chose to make Timbuktu their capital. By the time of Heinrich Barth's visit in 1854, Gao had declined to become an impoverished village with 300 huts constructed from matting. In 2009, the urban commune had a population of 86,633.

Gao (disambiguation)

Gao is a city in Mali and the capital of Gao Region.

Gao or GAO may also refer to:

Places

Languages

Battles

Other uses

Gao–Guenie meteorite

Gao–Guenie is a H5 ordinary chondrite meteorite fell on in 1960 in Burkina Faso, Africa. The fall was composed by a large number of fragments and it is one of the largest observed meteorite showers in Africa to date.

Name

The meteorites formerly known as Gao and Guenie in 1999 were officially paired and they name fused into the collective name Gao–Guenie.

History

Gao–Guenie meteorites fell in Burkina Faso on March 5, 1960 at 17:00 (local time). After three separate detonations, several thousands of stones rained down over an area of about 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi). The sound of the fall was heard as far as Ouagadougou, which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) away. Eyewitnesses said that some trees were broken and henhouses destroyed. The largest stones recovered weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb).

Composition and classification

Gao–Guenie is classified as H5 ordinary chondrite.

Surface details of a small oriented fragment

Surface details of a small oriented fragment

308 g sample