Gāo Jiǒng () (died August 27, 607), courtesy name Zhaoxuan (昭玄), alternative name Min (敏))) known during the Northern Zhou period by the Xianbei name Dugu Jiong (独孤颎/獨孤熲), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. He was a key advisor to Emperor Wen of Sui and instrumental in the campaign against rival the Chen Dynasty, allowing Sui to destroy Chen in 589 and reunify China. In 607, he offended Emperor Wen's son Emperor Yang of Sui (Yang Guang) by criticizing Emperor Yang's large rewards to Tujue's submissive Qimin Khan and was executed by Emperor Yang.
Quoting Arthur Wright, author Hengy Chye Kiang calls Gao Jiong "'a man of practical statecraft" recalling the great Legalist statesmen. His influence saw the replacement of Confucians with officials of "Legalist" outlook favouring centralization.
Background
It is not known when Gao Jiong was born. His father Gao Bin (高宾/高賓) was an official of Eastern Wei who, in 540, fearful of false accusations against him, fled to Western Wei. Gao Bin served on the staff of the Xianbei general Dugu Xin, and on the orders of Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai in 554, changed his family name to Dugu as well. Because of this connection, after Dugu Xin was forced to commit suicide in 557 after the founding of Western Wei's successor state Northern Zhou, Dugu Xin's daughter Dugu Qieluo often visited Gao Bin's home. Gao Bin eventually served as a provincial governor and died during such a posting.
Gao Jiong was himself skilled in history and rhetoric while young. When he was 16, Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi made Gao Jiong a member of his staff. He inherited the title of Count of Wuyang that had been created for his father. He apparently served under Yuwen Xian when Yuwen Xian was a major general in the campaign of his brother Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou in destroying rival Northern Qi, (Eastern Wei's successor state) and was promoted to a mid-level post in the imperial government.
In 580, after the death of Emperor Wu's son Emperor Xuan, Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian (Dugu Qieluo's husband) seized power as regent over Emperor Xuan's son Emperor Jing (by Emperor Xuan's concubine Zhu Manyue). Yang Jian, knowing that Gao was intelligent and full of strategies, sent his associate Yang Hui the Duke of Yu to request that Gao join his staff. Gao, seeing that Yang had great ambitions, responded, "I am willing to be driven by him. Even if the Duke's ambitions could not be carried out, I am willing to have my clan slaughtered over this." He therefore agreed to serve as Yang's secretary. When the general Yuchi Jiong, suspicious of Yang's intentions, rebelled at Xiang Province (相州, roughly modern Handan, Hebei), Yang needed someone to oversee the operations against Yuchi, but his associates Cui Zhongfang (崔仲方), Liu Fang (劉昉), and Zheng Yi (鄭譯) each declined. Gao volunteered, and he not oversaw the operations but also personally defeated Yuchi's son Yuchi Chun (尉遲淳). After the major general Wei Xiaokuan defeated Yuchi Jiong and forced Yuchi Jiong to commit suicide, Gao Jiong was created the Duke of Yi'ning. (As Yang soon declared that Yuwen Tai's system of requiring Chinese officials and generals to change their names to Xianbei should be rescinded, Gao after this point did not use the family name Dugu any more.)
During Emperor Wen's reign
In 581, Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen. He reorganized his government into five major bureaus, and Gao served as both the head of the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng) and the co-head of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) -- effectively serving as co-prime minister. He was created the Duke of Bohai, and few officials could rival him in terms of Emperor Wen's trust, shown by Gao's appointment as one of the officials in charge of the hengy legal reforms enacted in the Kaihuang Code. Emperor Wen often referred to him honorifically as simply "Mr. Dugu" (using his old Xianbei name) without mentioning his given name. Gao recommended Su Wei to Emperor Wen, and Emperor Wen trusted Su as well, eventually promoting Su to be co-prime minister. Whenever other officials made accusations against Gao, Emperor Wen deposed those officials. He also gave a daughter of his son and crown prince Yang Yong to Gao's son Gao Biaoren (高表仁) in marriage.