The Generals of the Yang Family is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable bravery of the Yangs as they sacrificed themselves to defend their country from foreign military powers, namely the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty (907–1125) and Tangut-ruled Western Xia (1038–1227).
Spanning the century from 950 to 1050, the mostly fictional saga was based on the lives of historical characters Yang Ye (died 986), Yang Ye's son Yang Yanzhao ( 958–1014) and Yang Yanzhao's grandson Yang Wenguang (died 1074). As Yang Yanzhao was nicknamed "sixth son" (六郎) in history, the stories made him Yang Ye's sixth eldest son. Also, as Yang Wenguang was close to two generations younger than his father, the stories made him Yang Yanzhao's grandson instead.
Historical basis
Historical background
In 907, when the Tang dynasty officially ended, imperial China entered the chaotic and fragmented phase known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The decades that followed were marked by regional warlords, many legitimizing themselves as emperors, fighting amongst one another for power and territories. The year 907 also marked the beginning of such a militaristic state – officially called the Liao after 947 – established by Khitan people in roughly today's Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. The Khitans were largely nomadic people and frequently engaged in raids of the more affluent agricultural Han Chinese and Korean people in the south for wealth.
The southern area known as the Central Plain, or the Chinese heartland, defended against the Khitan incursions with strategical points or passes established roughly along the line of the old Great Wall. However, the area including these passes, known as the Sixteen Prefectures, were given to the Liao dynasty in 936 by general Shi Jingtang, in exchange for military aid in Shi's personal war against the Later Tang. With no more passes impeding their army, the Khitans gained unlimited access to the Central Plain: just a decade later, they easily took their army south to extinguish the same Later Jin they helped Shi establish.
Even though the Khitans did not occupy the Central Plain, partially because their constant looting had caused unmanageable unrest, the sad fate of Later Jin already illustrated the danger looming in the north for any succeeding Chinese dynasty. When the Song dynasty was established in the Central Plain in 960, it first tried to appease the Liao dynasty to focus on campaigns against the states in southern China, but the goal of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures had always been there.
The Yang family
Yang Ye, a general of the Northern Han Kingdom, was nicknamed "Invincible" (無敵) due to his tactical prowess and unmatched gallantry in battle. He served the Song dynasty after Liu Jiyuan, ruler of Northern Han, surrendered. Emperor Taizong of Song had great faith in Yang Ye and commissioned him to defend Song's northern border from the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty. Yang Ye proved himself by defeating the Liao in the Battle of Yanmen Pass, instilling fear in the enemy but also incurring the jealousy of some Song officials.
In 986, during a northern campaign against Liao forces, the Song force commanded by General Pan Mei was attacked by the main enemy force. Pan Mei and others forced Yang Ye to lead an army to resist a much larger enemy despite Yang Ye's opposition. Yang Ye engaged Liao forces in a bloody battle at Chenjiagu (陳家谷), but reinforcements did not arrive as promised. Surrounded by the much larger army, Yang Ye was captured by Liao forces and starved himself to death. One of Yang Ye's seven sons was also killed. Pan Mei was later demoted by Emperor Taizong for Yang Ye's death.
The most outstanding of Yang Ye's seven sons was Yang Yanzhao, who continued defending Song's northern border from Liao forces for more than two decades. The Khitans feared him. Yang Yanzhao's son Yang Wenguang also became an important general and followed Di Qing on a southern campaign against Nong Zhigao. He also defended Song's western borders from Western Xia.
Literary development
Early development: 11th to 13th century Legends on the Yang family began very early. In 1051, even before Yang Wenguang distinguished himself in the military, scholar Ouyang Xiu had inscribed the following on the tombstone of a Yang family relative. He was clearly referring to Yang Ye and Yang Yanzhao:
The earliest reference to the saga were from the so-called Southern Song (1127–1279), when the Song dynasty had to relocate its capital to Southern China in Lin'an (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang), for its northern territory had been conquered by the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty. Among a recorded list of stories told by Lin'an storytellers, two titles clearly involved the Yang family: "Commander Lord Yang" (楊令公) "The fifth son becomes a monk" (五郎為僧)
Yuan/Ming dynasty plays: 14th to 15th century In a list of plays from Southern Song dynasty's northern neighbor Jin dynasty (1115–1234), one title probably refers to an episode in the Yang saga: Da Wang Shumi Cuan (打王樞密爨; "The Skit of Beating Military Affairs Commissioner Wang")
By the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), plays in the form of zaju on the Yang saga appeared. Many scripts survived in its entirety, almost all compiled the Ming dynasty so their authenticity have
Haotian ta Meng Liang dao gu (昊天塔孟良盜骨; "At Haotian Pagoda Meng Liang Steals the Bones") Ba dawang kaizhao jiu zhongchen (八大王開詔救忠臣; "The Eighth Great Prince Opens a Proclamation and Saves a Loyal Vassal") Xie Jinwu zha chai Qingfeng fu (謝金吾詐拆清風府; "Xie Jinwu Underhandedly Tears Down Clear Breeze Mansion") Yang Liulang diaobing po tianzhen (楊六郎調兵破天陣; "Yang's sixth son lines up his troops and defeats the Heavenly Battle Array") Jiao Guangzan huona Xiao Tianyou (焦光贊活拿蕭天佑; "Jiao Guangzan catches Xiao Tianyou alive") Huang Meiweng cifu shangshou (黃眉翁賜福上壽; "The Yellow-Eyebrows Greybeard offers blessing and extends longevity")
Ming/Qing dynasty novels: 16th to 19th century In Ming dynasty (1368–1644), a number of novels on the Yang family began to appear. The two that have survived to this day both appeared during Wanli Emperor's reign (1572–1620):
The earliest extant version was from 1593, but it was probably written during Jiajing Emperor's reign (1521–1567). The author was almost certainly Xiong Damu (熊大木), a bookstore owner. The earliest extant edition was from 1606, but it was likely a slightly revised edition of text from the early 16th century. The author was Qinhuai Moke (秦淮墨客; "The Qinhuai Ink Guest"), believed to be the pen name of Ji Zhenlun (紀振倫), probably a bookstore scribe in Jinling (金陵; modern Nanjing, Jiangsu).
These novels would become the primary source materials for the legends. In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), more novels appeared. Some are modifications of the previous novels, some retold particular stories, while some are sequels.Zhang, Ch.4 Other novels with similar settings would also feature characters from the Yang family, for example the novels featuring Zhao Kuangyin (927–976) or Di Qing (1008–1057) as their main character.
Other novels in later settings also included characters who were alleged descendants of the Yang family: "Blue Faced Beast" Yang Zhi (楊志), a character in the classical novel Water Margin, is a fictitious descendant of Yang Ye. Yang Zaixing (died 1140), a historical general of the Southern Song dynasty, was said to be a descendant of Yang Ye through Yang Yanzhao in the novel Shuo Yue Quanzhuan (說岳全傳) about Yue Fei. Yang Zaixing had two sons, Yang Zhengyuan (楊正園) and Yang Zhengguo (楊正國).
Qing dynasty opera: 19th century
The Jiaqing Emperor, who reigned from 1796 to 1820, ordered the compilation of a Song Book to Enlighten Generations (昭代箫韶), containing 240 plays in kunqu about the generals of the Yang family. The compilation was published in 1813 and attributed to Wang Tingzhang (王廷章) and Fan Wenxian (范聞賢).
Over the years the opera series was only performed three times due to its length.Zhang, Ch. 5 Later, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered its modification into the Peking opera version, a huge project that lasted from 1898 until 1900 when it was interrupted by the Boxer Rebellion and subsequent foreign invasions.
In addition to the plays shown in the Forbidden City, qinqiang, yuju, pingju and many other local Chinese opera forms have all throughout the centuries developed their own stories about generals of the Yang family. Many of the stories aren't found in novels and have vastly enriched the legends. In the 20th century, the stories were greatly popularized in China through the performing art pingshu (storytelling).
Basic story
During the Song dynasty's invasion of the much weaker Northern Han Kingdom, Emperor Taizu of Song's army was surprised by Northern Han general Yang Ye and suffered a major defeat. Song general Pan Renmei was almost killed by Yang Ye and the Song army had no choice but to retreat. Years later, Emperor Taizu's successor Emperor Taizong initiated another invasion, which was again stopped by forces led by Yang Ye, his wife She Saihua, and their seven sons. Pan Renmei was injured by an arrow fired by She Saihua. Emperor Taizong had to bribe corrupt Northern Han officials to create distrust between Northern Han's ruler Liu Jiyuan and Yang Ye. This eventually led to Liu Jiyuan's defeat and surrender.
After Yang Ye's reluctant surrender, Emperor Taizong awarded his family an impressive mansion in the capital Kaifeng called "Heaven Wave House". Gratified, Yang Ye swore allegiance to the emperor and defeated the Liao dynasty forces at Song's northern borders again and again. The jealous Pan Renmei, also the emperor's father-in-law, suggested the emperor name his son Pan Bao the vanguard, but the other ministers were not convinced since Pan Bao had no experience. Pan Renmei offered to start a martial arts tournament in Kaifeng's Tianqi Temple, but requested the Yang family not participate. The emperor agreed. Yang Ye locked his sons at home, but on the last day the seventh son sneaked out the house, joined the tournament, and killed Pan Bao (who had been using underhand means to defeat his opponents).
After several attempts to kill Yang family members failed, Pan Renmei turned to the Liao army for help and assisted them in luring and besieging the outnumbered Yang Ye, his seven sons and Emperor Taizong in the border city of Youzhou. With no better options available, Yang Ye's first son volunteered to dress as the emperor and meet the Liao prince for a risky peace talk called the "Double-Dragon Meet" in Golden Beach, while the real Emperor Taizong escaped. As feared, the meeting turned out to be a trap, and only his two youngest sons remained when Yang Ye and his men retreated to Twin Wolves Mountain. Yang Ye asked his seventh son to fight his way out to Pan Renmei's camp to request reinforcements. The seventh son managed to reach Pan Renmei, but was drugged, tied up and shot to death by countless arrows.
Severely outnumbered in the trap and with no sign of reinforcements, Yang Ye also learned about the confirmed deaths of his eldest three sons. To avoid being captured, he committed suicide by knocking his head against a stone tablet bearing Li Ling's name. His sixth son managed to fight a way out back to Song territory, but was confronted by generals ordered by Pan Renmei to kill him. Instead, the generals (who all respected Yang Ye) told him about his seventh brother's death and let him go. On the way back to Kaifeng, the sixth son befriended a man named Wang Qin, who unbeknownst to him was a Liao spy.