Yang Jian

Yang Jian (, died 1121) was a huanguan (eunuch) and minister under Emperor Huizong of Song, best-known for implementing oppressive tax policies to increase government revenue. In subsequent works of fiction, such as the classic novels Water Margin and Jin Ping Mei, he is almost always portrayed as treacherous and corrupt.

Early career Yang Jian became a eunuch at a young age. During Emperor Huizong's early reign he worked in the imperial garden and often pleased the emperor. In the chongning (1102–1106) era he was promoted and put in charge of various affairs such as the management of the shrines, the casting of ding (tripods), and the construction of the Bureau of the Music of Great Brilliance and the Dragon Virtue Palace (, the emperor's former princely mansion ).

In 1114, Yang Jian was appointed as the jiedushi (military governor) of Zhanghua (, in modern Gansu). There, he initiated the establishment of a guard army for the emperor's travels. Later, Yang Jian successively served as jiedushi in Zhen'an (, in modern Henan), Qinghai (, in modern Guangdong), and Zhendong (, in modern Zhejiang), and was promoted from Junior Inspecting Guardian to the powerful position of Grand Mentor . This was later applied in the regions of Jingdong and Huainan, and rent was collected even on nonarable lands like abandoned embankments, abandoned weirs, barren hills, beaches and silted rivers.Even in areas affected by floods or drought, no tax breaks were given. Fishermen in Ji and Yun Prefectures were forced to pay taxes based on the number of boats in their possession. These measures increased a typical county's tax revenues by more than 100,000 strings of cash coins, which pleased the emperor.

When Yang Jian died in 1121, he was honored as the Grand Preceptor and the Duke of Wu . He was replaced in his position by Li Yan , who continued his tax policies even more aggressively, which caused widespread resentment. In 1126, Emperor Qinzong executed Li Yan and stripped Yang Jian of his posthumous titles.

In Xuanhe Yishi, Yang Jian frequently accompanied Emperor Huizong to brothels. In the 14th-century novel Water Margin by Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong, Yang Jian is described as a dishonest official allied with Gao Qiu, Cai Jing, and Tong Guan. He was beaten by Li Kui in one of the earlier chapters. Near the end of the novel, he conspired to falsely accuse the Mount Liang heroes of treason. He was the mastermind behind Lu Junyi's poisoning.

Yang Jian also appears in the short story "The Leather Boot as Evidence against the God Erlang's Impostor" (, also translated as "The Boot that Reveals the Culprit") in Feng Menglong's 1627 collection Stories to Awaken the World.

In the 17th-century erotic novel Jin Ping Mei, the depraved protagonist Ximen Qing became an official for being a follower of Yang Jian and an associate of Cai Jing.

Guan Hanqing's 14th-century play The Riverside Pavilion tells the story of the beautiful and intelligent Tan Ji'er, whom a powerful Yang Yanei (, Yang Junior) tried to forcibly marry. In the Peking opera version of this story, Yang Yanei is Yang Jian's adopted son.

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