Gao Jiong
In 609, Xue Daoheng, the grandfather of Xue Yuanchao, was sentenced to death Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. In response to Emperor Yang's attempt to keep Xue from retiring, Xue wrote an essay praising the previous Emperor Wen. Emperor Yang considered this response as a mockery and found it offensive. The direct cause of Xue's death was his saying in reminiscence of Gao Jiong (高熲), who supported Emperor Yang's competitor and was sentenced to death. However, there is also evidence for that the underlying cause of his death was Emperor Yang's jealousy of his talent on poetry as the author of the famous poem "XiXiYan" (“昔昔盐”) from Sui dynasty. In this case, Xue's death could also be considered as a literary inquisition on poem (诗祸, shihuo).