Yang Shou

Yang Shou (; died April 11, 868 ), courtesy name Cangzhi , formally Baron of Jinyang , was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Yizong. He was known for his literary talent as a young man, but subsequently, as chancellor, was accused of corruption. He was thereafter exiled and forced to commit suicide in exile.

Background and early career It is not known exactly when Yang Shou was born — but he was said to be 25 when he passed the imperial examinations late in Emperor Wenzong's Kaicheng era (836-840), and thus there is some reference to his birth date. His family was originally from Tong Prefecture (同州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), and claimed ancestry from the Sui dynasty general Yang Su. His immediate male-line ancestors were said to be Confucian scholars, and his father Yang Yizhi served as a personnel officer at Hao Prefecture (濠州, in modern Chuzhou, Anhui). At one point, Yang Yizhi became a teaching scholar at Su Prefecture (蘇州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu), and therefore settled there, making it Yang Shou's childhood home. Yang Shou was born of Yang Yizhi's second wife Lady Zhangsun, who, in addition to Yang Shou, bore at least one other son, Yang Shou's younger brother Yang Yan , while Yang Yizhi's first wife Lady Yuan bore two sons, Yang Fa and Yang Jia , both older than Yang Shou. (All four brothers would eventually serve in the imperial government.) Subsequently, after Du was sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan), he invited Yang to serve under him as chief secretary, and later, when Du was transferred to Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), Yang continued to serve under him in the same capacity. Subsequently, Yang Yan served as chief secretary under the former chancellor Zhou Chi at Dongchuan Circuit, but after Zhou died soon thereafter, Du invited Yang Yan to serve on his staff as well, as his assistant in his role as governor (觀察使, Guanchashi), so the brothers served together. Soon thereafter, Yang Jia, who was then serving as assistant to the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang), was recalled to Chang'an to serve as imperial censor with the title of Jiancha Yushi ; Yang Shou was also recalled to Chang'an to serve as Jiancha Yushi; it was unprecedented at the time that two brothers would serve simultaneously as Jiancha Yushi. Subsequently, when Lady Zhangsun died, Yang Shou left governmental service and went back to Su Prefecture to observe a mourning period for her. Once the mourning period was over, the former chancellor Cui Xuan, who was then serving as the military governor of Huainan, invited Yang to serve under him as assistant governor (觀察支使, Guancha Zhishi). Yang was later recalled to Chang'an to serve as an imperial censor with the title of Shi Yushi , but later was sent out to the eastern capital Luoyang to serve as Zhifang Yuanwailang , a low-level official at the ministry of defense (兵部, Bingbu). Yet later, when the chancellor Xiahou Zi also served as the director of finances, he had Yang serve as his assistant in that capacity. Yang later served as Sixun Yuanwailang , a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), as well as the magistrate of Chang'an County, one of the two counties making up the capital. Subsequently, he petitioned for permission for him and his brothers to bury their parents, whose caskets had not been buried, near Luoyang, and he was given permission to do so. About 1,000 people attended the burial. At that time, both Du Cong and Xiahou were at Luoyang, and Du and Xiahou jointly submitted a recommendation of Yang Shou to the chancellors. Then-leading chancellor Linghu Tao thus commissioned Yang as Kubu Langzhong , a supervisory official at the ministry of census, as well as imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi), in charge of drafting edicts. Yang was subsequently made Zhongshu Sheren , a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), and yet later deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, Bingbu Shilang) and chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi).

After Yang Shou became chancellor, it was said that he began to live luxuriously, and members of his household, including the guards and the servants, were openly demanding bribes. His reputation therefore suffered.

In 865, with Tang locked into frequent military confrontations with Dali in the southwest, but with the military supplies often having difficulty reaching the southwest border, Yang suggested that a strong military presence and a supply base be set up at Jiangxi Circuit (江西, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), and that it be transformed from a circuit governed by a governor to one governed by a military governor (to be renamed Zhennan Circuit ). Emperor Yizong approved. Emperor Yizong sent the eunuch Guo Quanmu to track him down and order him to commit suicide. Before Yang did so, he asked Guo for permission to submit one final petition to Emperor Yizong. Guo agreed, and Yang wrote a petition in which he thanked Emperor Yizong, faulted himself, and begged for mercy on behalf of his brother Yang Yan. Emperor Yizong, upon receiving the petition, was touched, and subsequently, when some 11 of Yang's key followers were exiled, Yang Yan was spared. Three years later, he restored Yang's titles. Yang's sons Yang Ju and Yang Lin later served in the imperial government, and his nephew Yang She (Yang Yan's son) later served as a chancellor at the very end of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Ai, as well as of the succeeding Later Liang.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 177. New Book of Tang, vol. 184. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 250, 251.