Gao Side

Life

Gao Side was the son of Gao Jia. In his youth he studied under Li Kunchen; after his father died at Mian, he brought the remains home and initially had no intention of entering official service.

Under Emperor Lizong, he passed the jinshi examination in the second year of the Shaoding era (1229). He was appointed an Observing and Investigating Assistant of Lizhou Circuit (利州路觀察推官). Toward the end of the Duanping era, Li Xinchuan recruited him to the Historiography Institute, where he served as a collator. He assisted in compiling the history of four reigns and took part in preparing the annals of Emperors Guangzong and Ningzong.

After submitting a memorial on the winter thunder, he offended Shi Songzhi and was sent out as assistant prefect of Shaoxing; the following year he was appointed concurrent assistant prefect of Taizhou. In the early Chunyou era he was summoned as an erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and promoted to Secretary Lang. In the sixth year of Chunyou, he was again forced out after remonstrating on the matter of Shi Songzhi. After remonstrating on affairs of state, he was sent out as prefect of Yanzhou and later served as judicial commissioner for eastern Zhejiang and Hunan. He was summoned as an assistant director in the Ministry of Rites and, after a year, sent out as deputy financial transport commissioner for Fujian Circuit. When Ding Daquan was chief councillor, Ding’s faction falsely impeached him; he was stripped of office and demoted, and the case was cleared after Ding’s dismissal.

His appointments also included Chaofeng lang (1247), Chaosan lang (1248), Zhi Baowen Ge (1271), and Xianwenge daizhi (1274), as well as the prefectures of Muzhou (1247–1248), Quanzhou (1271), and Jianning (1274), and the office of transport commissioner for Fujian Circuit. At the accession of Emperor Duzong, he was summoned as Director of the Palace Library, promoted to Qiju Sheren, and concurrently appointed editor of the National History Institute, examiner of the Veritable Records Institute, and lecturer; he was then sent out as prefect of Jianning. When Duzong died and Chen Yizhong became chief councillor, Gao was summoned as acting Minister of War. He was subsequently promoted to Hanlin Academician, Director of Edicts and lecturer, Duanming Palace Academician, and concurrently Signer of the Privy Council and Vice Grand Councillor. In the first year of Emperor Gong’s Deyou era, he reached the office of Vice Grand Councillor. After criticizing Jia Sidao for bringing ruin on the state and dealing with his case, he was framed by Liu Mengyan and dismissed.

After the fall of the Song, Gao Side lived in seclusion in the Tiaozha area and died there.

Works

His works included 《詩膚說》, 《儀禮合抄》, 《增損刊正杜佑通典》, 《徽宗長編》, 《孝宗繫年要錄》, and 《恥堂存稿》. 《恥堂文集》 was lost; Qing Siku editors used 《永樂大典》 to reconstruct 《恥堂存稿》 in eight volumes. His poetry was edited with the facsimile Wenyuange edition of 《四庫全書》 as its base text, collated against 《武英殿聚珍版叢書》, with newly collected poems outside the collection appended at the end.