| Gao Yao | |
|---|---|
| Issue | |
| Bo Yi | |
| Posthumous name | |
| Emperor Deming 德明皇帝[1] |
Gao Yao (simplified Chinese: 皋陶; traditional Chinese: 臯陶; pinyin: Gao Yao; Wade–Giles: Kao Yao, lived in the 21st century BCE) was a political advisor of the Yu the Great in China during the Xia Dynasty. His son was Bo Yi (伯益).
He is cited admonishingly saying to his king: "[The] Heaven can see and hear, and does so through the eyes and ears of the people; Heaven rewards the virtuous and punishes the wicked, and does it through the people."[2] This admonition does not promote a democratic idea; it conforms to the Confucian principle of humane actions .