Gao You

Gao You (c. 168–212) was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty under its last emperor and the warlord Cao Cao. Gao You was born in Zhuo Commandery (涿郡, Zhuōjùn; present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei) around AD 168. He studied with one of the area's preëminent scholars at the time, Lu Zhi. Lu was known for his work with texts concerning Chinese rituals and for his assistance in compiling the History of the Eastern Han (t 東觀漢記, s 东观汉记, Dōngguān Hànjì). His other students included Liu Bei, the future king of Shu, and Gongsun Zan, another regional warlord of the era. Gao's schooling was interrupted by the Yellow Turban Rebellion in AD 184. Gao was working in Xuchang in the Capital Construction Office in AD 205 when he received his first post as magistrate of Puyang in the Eastern Commandery (t 東郡, s 东郡, Dōngjùn). This was about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) south of the location of the present county-level city of Puyang in Henan. He later held some other mid-level appointments under Cao Cao, who ruled northern China in the name of the Han emperor until his death in 220. Gao died in AD 212.