Gāo Chái 高柴
Style name Zǐgāo 子羔. A disciple of Confucius (孔子 Kǒngzǐ), conventionally dated c. 521–393 BCE (these dates are approximations drawn from the scholiastic tradition; no contemporary record survives). He is listed among the seventy-two disciples (qīshí’èr tú 七十二徒) and appears in the Lúnyǔ 論語 (6.3) where Confucius calls him “thick” (yú 愚), meaning not quick-witted, though loyal and sincere. He served as an official in various states. In the Zǐlù chapter of the Lǚshì Chūnqiū 呂氏春秋 and in Shǐjì 史記 (Zhòngní dìzǐ lièzhuàn, ch. 67), Zǐgāo is described as short in stature. His native state is variously given as Wèi 衛, Qí 齊, or Lǔ 魯.
In the Lúnyǔ (11.25), Confucius expresses concern that Zǐlù 子路 and Gāo Chái serving in Bì 費 might be causing harm through premature officialdom. The Shǐjì biography credits Gāo Chái with serving as a district administrator (zǎi 宰) and magistrate. He appears in the Shanghai Museum bamboo manuscript KR2p0162 as the interlocutor in a dialogue with Confucius on the miraculous births of the sage kings and the principle of abdication. CBDB does not record confident birth and death years for Gāo Chái; the dates -521/-393 follow the conventional reckoning based on his being younger than Confucius’s core disciples and outliving the Confucian circle. CBDB id was not identified in the local database for this entry.