[1] In 1345, needing to find a way to support his widowed mother, he sat and passed the Imperial Examinations and was given a post in Zhejiang (Chouzhou) as a minor district official.
From 1348 to 1351, Gao was involved in suppressing the Red Turban Rebellion, taking military action against the early Han rebel Fang Guozhen.
[2][4] Dissatisfied with the civil service, he retired in 1356 and moved to Ningbo (Yinxian) to write for the theatre, focussing on the nanxi genre.
[5][6] His friend Liu Ji attempted to draw him out of retirement by persuading the Hongwu Emperor to involve Gao in the writing of the official history of the Yuan; Gao, however, declined, citing mental illness.
[7] In 1946 an adaptation of Tale of the Pipa, entitled Lute Song, was produced on Broadway.