Gao Xianzhi Gao Xianzhi , or Ko Sōnji , ( died January 24 , 756 ) was a Tang general of Korean ( Goguryeo ) descent . He was known as a great commander during his lifetime . He is most well known for taking part in multiple military expeditions to conquer the Xiyu ( modern Xinjiang and former Soviet Central Asia ) region over the infamous Pamir Mountains , all the way to the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea . In 751 , he was the commander of the Tang forces during the Battle of Talas , fighting against forces of the Abbasid Caliphate . The Tang defeat , which exposed the Abbasid forces to such technology as paper and compass , is considered the event that marked both the end of western expansion by Tang and eastern expansion by the Abbasid Caliphate . Around the new year 756 , while Gao and fellow general Feng Changqing were defending Tong Pass against forces of An Lushan , who had rebelled against Tang rule in 755 , both Gao and Feng offended the powerful eunuch Bian Lingcheng ( 邊令誠 ) . Bian then accused Feng of cowardice and Gao of corruption , and both were executed . Early life . Gao Xianzhi was the son of Go Sagye , a general from Goguryeo ( one of the three kingdoms of Korea ) which was vanquished by a Tang - Silla alliance in 668 AD . Go Sagye was captured by Tang forces and later surrendered , and there , he was given a post in their army . Gao Xianzhi was born during his duty in Tang ' s western regions . Unlike most soldiers of his day , historical records say Gao Xianzhi was not muscular or extraordinarily strong like other army officers ; his father always worried about his son ' s poor health . However , he demonstrated great courage from an early age ; he possessed skills in cavalry and archery . Gao Xianzhi ' s loyalty and bravery , allowed him to be promoted to the position of general in the Tang army in his 20s , serving in Central Asia near Kashgar , in the Taklamakan Desert along with his father , under the Tang military command for Anxi Circuit ( 安西 , headquartered in modern Aksu Prefecture , Xinjiang ) . He successively served under the military governors ( " jiedushi " ) Tian Renwan ( 田仁琬 ) and Gai Jiayun ( 蓋嘉運 ) , but was not promoted by them . However , Gai ' s successor Fumeng Lingcha ( 夫蒙靈詧 ) was impressed by him , and so repeatedly recommended him for promotions . By the end of Emperor Xuanzong ' s " Kaiyuan " era ( 727 - 741 ) , he was serving as Fumeng ' s deputy . First western campaign . At that time , Lesser Bolü ( 小勃律 , a city state centering modern Gilgit , Pakistan ) was allied with Tufan , leading to some 20 city states around it to also become Tufan vassals . A Tufan princess became the wife and queen of Lesser Bolü ' s king . Tian Renwan , Gai Jiayun , and Fumeng Lingcha all had tried to attack Lesser Bolü before , but was unable to defeat it . In 747 , Gao Xianzhi led a three - pronged attack of 10 , 000 cavalry soldiers , surprising both Lesser Bolü and Tufan forces stationed in Lesser Bolü . He captured Lesser Bolü ' s king and queen and returned to Tang territory with them . However , Fumeng was angry that Gao directly reported the news of the victory to Emperor Xuanzong without first reporting to him , cursing him with obscenities and threatening to kill him . The eunuch Bian Lingcheng , whom Emperor Xuanzong had sent to monitor Gao ' s forces , interceded on Gao ' s behalf and reported Fumeng ' s threats to Emperor Xuanzong . Emperor Xuanzong , in response , around the new year 748 , summoned Fumeng back to the capital Chang ' an and promoted Gao to take over his position . Despite this , Gao never lost his respect for Fumeng , although he arrested several of Fumeng ' s subordinates who attacked him — fellow deputy military governor Cheng Qianli ( 程千里 ) , and the army officers Bi Sichen ( 畢思琛 ) and Wang Tao ( 王滔 ) , but then released him , stating that he was venting his anger , and that now that he had , he believed that they could still serve under him . He entrusted Feng Changqing as his assistant , often having Feng lead troops or , when he himself led troops in campaigns , had Feng be in charge of the headquarters . Li Siye also first distinguished himself as an army officer under Gao . As a result of Gao ' s first campaign , Tang began to contend for influence with the Abbasid Caliphate and Tufan in the area of modern northern Pakistan and Afghanistan . About 72 local Indian and Sogdian kingdoms became Tang vassals , ending the Tufan dominion of the Pamir Mountains . While he served as the military governor of Anxi , placing such places as Tokmak , Kucha , and Kashmir , under the jurisdiction of his headquarters . Second campaign and Battle of Talas . In late 749 , Shilidaqieluo ( 失里怛伽羅 ) , a prince of the Tuhuoluo ( 吐火羅 , believed by some to be the Tocharians ) , reported to Tang that the king of Qieshi ( 朅師 , believed to be in modern northern India ) , had been aligned with Tufan to pin down Chinese forces stationed at Lesser Bolü , and suggested that Emperor Xuanzong send forces the region . In spring 750 , Emperor Xuanzong sent Gao Xianzhi to attack Qieshi , capturing its king Botemo ( 勃特沒 ) and making Botemo ' s son Sujia ( 素迦 ) king instead . He then made a peace treaty with Shi ( 石國 , modern Tashkent , Uzbekistan ) and then , once Shi stood down its defenses , attacked it without warning . He captured the Shi king Chebishi ( 車鼻施 ) and sent Chebishi to Chang ' an to be executed , drawing great anger from the nearby states , particularly after Gao slaughtered the old and weak captives . Gao also personally took much treasure in the battle — a large supply of diamonds , several camel - loads of gold , prized horses , and other treasures . In spring 751 , Gao personally visited Chang ' an , and , for his contributions , Emperor Xuanzong gave him the honorific title " Kaifu Yitong Sansi " ( 開府儀同三司 ) and was poised to move him to Hexi Circuit ( 河西 , headquartered in modern Wuwei , Gansu ) , when the military governor of that circuit , An Sishun , resisted the move . Emperor Xuanzong allowed An to remain at Hexi and Gao to remain at Anxi . Meanwhile , though , a Shi prince had fled , and he reported to the various states around the region how Gao had turned on Shi and destroyed it . The states , in anger , aligned with the Abbasid Caliphate . When Gao heard this , he made a preemptory attack with 30 , 000 soldiers against Abbasid Caliphate , reaching Talas ( in modern Khazakhstan ) and meeting Abbasid forces there . The armies fought bitterly for five days , before Qarluq forces turned against Gao . Tang forces were crushed , with only several thousand surviving out of the 30 , 000 , and that remnant was only saved due to the valiant efforts of Li Siye . Another subordinate of Gao who distinguished himself at the battle was Duan Xiushi , whom Gao recommended for promotion after the battle . The battle marked the end of Chinese advances to the west , and the heavy losses by Abbasid forces despite the victory appeared to end Abbasid designs in the east as well . Gao was then made a commanding general of the imperial guards . In 755 , Gao was created the Duke of Miyun . Death . Also in 755 , An Lushan , the military governor of Fanyang Circuit ( 范陽 , headquartered in modern Beijing ) , rebelled against Emperor Xuanzong ' s rule . Emperor Xuanzong nominally commissioned his son Li Wan ( 李琬 ) the Prince of Rong the commander of the forces defending against An ' s attack , and put Gao Xianzhi in charge as Li Wan ' s deputy . Gao gathered 50 , 000 soldiers from the Chang ' an region and took up position at Shang Commandery ( 陝郡 , roughly modern Sanmenxia , Henan ) . Bian Lingcheng was made Gao ' s monitor . Meanwhile , Feng Changqing was sent to the eastern capital Luoyang to defend against An ' s attack on Luoyang , but once Feng got to Luoyang , he was given inadequate weapon supplies , and An ' s forces defeated his . Feng retreated to Shan , and suggested to Gao that Shan was not easily defendable and that they should retreat to Tong Pass , which was a much better defensive position . Gao agreed , and the two of them took up position at Tong Pass . When An ' s forces subsequently attacked Tong Pass , they could not capture it , and historians credited Gao with the improved defenses . However , during the campaign , Gao had caused much offence against Bian , as Bian was making demands of him that he was not meeting . When Bian returned to Chang ' an , he accused Feng of exaggerating An ' s strength , and accused Gao of improperly abandoning Shan as well as corruptly withholding food supplies and imperial rewards to soldiers for personal benefit . Emperor Xuanzong , believing Bian , issued edicts for Feng ' s and Gao ' s executions . After Bian returned to Tong Pass , he first read the edict for Feng ' s execution . Feng was beheaded , and upon the completion of that execution , Bian then read the second edict ordering Gao ' s execution . Gao cried out : The soldiers cried out for Gao as well , but Bian still beheaded Gao . As Gao was to be killed , he looked at Feng ' s body and stated : Legacy . His tactics , which helped him to defeat many enemy troops with superior power . Gao is also considered historically important by many Chinese since he led the Tang army in the Battle of Talas even though his Tang army was outnumbered . Despite being the commander of the losing side , the battle helped spread paper and compass to the rest of the world . With the help of paper , which was introduced to Europe around the 14th century , made much foreign knowledge available to more Europeans , and ultimately bringing the Renaissance in Europe . The compass , which spread to Europe through the Muslim World , became an important tool in navigation and led the way to the Age of Exploration . Gao ' s defeat , which marked the end of Tang ' s expansion to the west , was partially fictionalized by the modern Chinese historian Bo Yang in the short story " The Tashkent Massacre — the Chinese Were Cursed Here ! " ( 塔什干屠城 — 就在這裡 , 中國人受到詛咒 ! ) , in which he gave a fictional curse by the queen of Shi , cursing Tang and the Chinese for eternity for Gao ' s treachery .