Who is Gao Biao 高彪?

Gao Biao was a Taoist from the Eastern Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yifang, and he was from Wuxi, Wu Prefecture (now part of Jiangsu Province). He came from a humble family and had literary talent but was slow to speak. Later, he was recommended by his county for filial piety and integrity, ranked first in the imperial examinations on the classics, and was appointed as a Langzhong. 

He worked at the Dongguan Academy, where his writings such as fu, song, and essays were praised by Emperor Ling. He served as the magistrate of Waihuang, and Emperor Ling issued an edict to have Gao Biao's portrait painted at the Dongguan Academy to encourage scholars. Adhering to the Taoist concept of "following nature," Gao Biao contrasted social reality with human natural instincts, believing that societal life interfered with the development of one's natural nature. He advocated following nature and living freely: "Wash away filth and burdens, let go and follow nature" ("Clear Instructions," cited in "Yiwen Leiju" Volume 23). He pursued the realm of "ultimate emptiness within ultimate emptiness," advocating "retreating to cultivate purity and cleanliness, I exist within the ultimate emptiness within ultimate emptiness" (ibid.).

He regarded "the ultimate emptiness within ultimate emptiness" as the highest form of invisible and inconspicuous nothingness, asserting that "within the hazy there is something, in the subtle and invisible are beginnings" (ibid.). He proposed abandoning all thoughts and being free from the constraints of the mundane world in the pure and profound state of nothingness: "Purify the heart and cut off thoughts, be extremely clear and not bound by dust" (ibid.). He hoped even more to live forever without death amidst the void and haze: "When wisdom and thought are exhausted, the spirit of the valley persists endlessly" (ibid.). Upholding Taoist views on health preservation, he saw drinking, thinking, and lust for beauty as opposites to life, declaring that "drinking harms my nature, thinking damages my spirit, beautiful colors undermine my life, and desire confuses my true self" (ibid.), advocating cutting off desires to nurture nature, protect the spirit, extend life, and preserve truth. There is a biography of him in Volume 80 (below) of the "Book of Later Han." Many of his works have been lost. Some of his writings are compiled in Volume 66 of "Complete Texts of the Book of Later Han."