 As of 567, Gao Yan carried, among his other official titles, the title of Chief Examiner (御史中丞, "Yushi Zhongcheng").As the Chief Examiner had the official responsibility of investigating official misconducts, during Northern Qi's predecessor dynasty Northern Wei, in order to show the authority of the Chief Examiner, he was allowed to take on the same honor as a crown prince while out on the street, and that even officials as honored as princes and duke were required to yield to the Chief Examiner's trains.This ritual, however, had been long abolished, but Emperor Wucheng, in order to give Gao Yan greater honor, revived the ritual.