High sumo wrestler - Kourikishi

A eunuch from the prosperous Tang Dynasty in China. Originally from Lingnan (Guangdong, Guangxi region), he was sent to the Chang'an palace as a castration at the age of 15, where he was adopted by the eunuch Gao Yanfu and took the name Gao. When Xuanzong ascended to the throne, he was instrumental in killing Princess Taiping and her gang, earning the emperor's deep trust, and petitions from all quarters were sent to the emperor after being read by him. He was an unrivaled force in the inner court throughout the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods (713-755), and was also influential in helping to promote the ranks of prime ministers and generals such as Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, and An Lushan. He married a woman named Lu and adopted a son, but after the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, he was slandered by the eunuch Li Fuguo and exiled to Wuzhou (Hunan Province). On his way back after being pardoned, he learned of the deaths of Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong, and died in Langzhou (Guizhou Province). A monument to him was erected in 777, and Guo Pan wrote Gao Lishi Gaiden (The Legend of Gao Lishi).

[Atsushi Ikeda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、盛唐の宦官(かんがん)。嶺南(れいなん)（広東(カントン)、広西地方）の出身で、15歳のころ去勢者として長安の宮中に送られ、宦官高延福の養子となり高氏を名のる。玄宗即位に際し太平公主一党を誅(ちゅう)するのに功をたてて深く帝の信任を得、四方からの上奏は彼が目を通してから帝に進められた。開元・天宝時代（713～755）を通じて内廷で並ぶ者のない勢威を誇り、李林甫(りりんぽ)、楊(よう)国忠、安禄山(あんろくざん)ら、宰相、将軍の栄進にもあずかって力あった。呂(ろ)氏を夫人とし養子を迎えたが、安史の乱が起こってのち、宦官李輔国(りほこく)の讒言(ざんげん)にあい巫(ふ)州（湖南省）に流された。許されて帰る途中、玄宗、粛宗の死を知り朗州（貴州省）で没したという。777年彼の碑が建てられ、また郭湜(かくしょく)は『高力士外伝』をつくった。

［池田　温］

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