Yang Yin (楊愔) (511 – 4 April 560[1]), courtesy name Zhunyan (遵彦), nickname Qinwang (秦王),[2] was a high-level official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty.

Background

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Yang Yin came from a clan that produced many officials of Northern Wei, including his father Yang Jin.[3]

At the age of 5, Yang Yin studied the histories; by 10, he was studying the Shi Jing, and the I Ching, but particularly favored the Zuo Zhuan version of the Spring and Autumn Annals.[4]

In 526, during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming, Northern Wei was suffering greatly from agrarian rebellions, and Yang Jin was commissioned with an army as the governor of Ding Province, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei). Yang Yin accompanied his father to Ding Province, and on account of his contribution to his father's campaign, was created the Baron of Weichang. However, Yang Yin did not accept this appointment. On 12 February 528, Ding Province fell to the rebel general Du Luozhou, and Yang Jing's household was imprisoned by Du.[5] Soon thereafter, Du was defeated by another rebel general, Ge Rong. Ge wanted to marry one of his daughters to Yang Yin and make him an official, but Yang, not willing to accept Ge's commission, pretended to be ill by holding cow blood in his mouth and then spitting it out. In 529, after Ge Rong had been defeated by the Northern Wei paramount general Erzhu Rong, Yang Yin returned to the Northern Wei capital Luoyang and was made a low level imperial official in the administration of Emperor Xiaozhuang.[6] Later that year, when Yuan Hao the Prince of Beihai claimed imperial title under support from Liang Dynasty and captured Luoyang briefly, forcing Emperor Xiaozhuang to flee, Yang Yin convinced his cousin Yang Kan to remain loyal to Emperor Xiaozhuang. However, after Yuan Hao was subsequently defeated by Erzhu, permitting Emperor Xiaozhuang to return to Luoyang, Yang Yin believed that the empire was not yet at peace and decided to leave governmental service, taking up a hermit's existence with his friend Xing Shao at Mount Song.[7]

Service under Gao Huan and Gao Cheng

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Thereafter, however, Yang Yin's cousin Yang Youqing, while advising Emperor Xiaowu, whom Gao Huan had made emperor, used strong language that offended Emperor Xiaowu and was put to death. Another member of Gao's staff, Guo Xiu, was jealous of Yang's abilities, and he therefore gave Yang false news that Gao was intending to deliver him to Emperor Xiaowu. Yang therefore pretended to have committed suicide by drowning, but changed his name to Liu Shi'an and fled to Guang Province, roughly modern Yantai, Shandong) and hid on an island.[8] In 535, after Northern Wei had divided into Eastern Wei (with Gao in control) and Western Wei (with Yuwen Tai in control), Gao heard that Yang was still alive, and had the governor of Guang Province find him and invite him back to serve on staff. Yang agreed, and Gao married one of his daughters by a concubine to Yang. He subsequently gradually rose in ranks.[9] After Gao Huan's death in 547, Yang continued to serve Gao Huan's heir Gao Cheng, who took over as regent.[10] In 549, Gao Cheng convened a meeting with Yang, Chen Yuankang, and Cui Jishu to discuss the process of seizing the throne from Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei, when Gao Cheng's slave Lan Jing made a surprise attack on Gao Cheng, killing him and Chen. Yang was able to flee from Lan's attack and was not killed.[11] Subsequently, Gao Cheng's younger brother Gao Yang took over the regency, and on 9 June 550 took over the throne, ending Eastern Wei and establishing Northern Qi.[12]

Service under Emperor Wenxuan

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Emperor Wenxuan made Yang Yin his prime minister and created him the Duke of Huashan, and during Emperor Wenxuan's reign, Yang served capably, finding appropriate officials for the key posts.[13] Therefore, although Emperor Wenxuan, particularly late in his reign, turned violent and wasteful, the imperial government nevertheless functioned effectively. Yang was praised for remembering those who had helped him in the past, repaying them greatly, but not bearing grudges against those who had tried to hurt him.[14] With Emperor Wenxuan, in his late years, accustomed to killing people for entertainment while he was drunk, Yang thought of an unusual solution—he sent a supply of condemned prisoners to the palace, to be killed whenever Emperor Wenxuan wanted to kill someone; if the prisoners could survive three months without being killed, they would be freed. Emperor Wenxuan's brother Gao Jun the Prince of Yong'an, once rebuked Yang for not trying to dissuade Emperor Wenxuan from his behavior, and Yang, who knew that Emperor Wenxuan was particularly suspicious whenever governmental officials conversed with imperial princes, reported the conversation to Emperor Wenxuan, eventually leading to Gao Jun's imprisonment and death. By 559, Yang's title was Prince of Kaifeng.[15]

Service under Emperor Fei

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Emperor Fei's uncle Gao Yan the Prince of Changshan, while respected by the people, was not given great power, and while his (and Emperor Wenxuan's) mother Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun had some desire to have Gao Yan made emperor instead, there was insufficient support at the time, and Yang, in fear that Gao Yan and another brother of Emperor Wenxuan, Gao Zhan the Prince of Changguang, would try to take power, took steps to curb their authorities.[16] Emperor Fei honored his grandmother Empress Dowager Lou as grand empress dowager and mother Empress Li Zu'e as empress dowager. Pursuant to his edicts, the palace construction projects that Emperor Wenxuan started, which caused much misery for his people in the latter years of his reign, were halted.

Once the imperial train arrived at Yecheng, the situation became even more tense, as an associate of Yang's, Kezhuhun Tianhe, was convinced that Emperor Fei would not be safe in his reign unless his two uncles were killed, and alternatively, Yan Zixian considered putting Grand Empress Dowager Lou, who still wielded much power as the clan matriarch, under house arrest, and forcing her to turn her authorities to Empress Dowager Li.[17] Meanwhile, the ambitious Yang was carrying out a governmental reorganization scheme to trim unnecessary offices and titles and to remove incompetent officials. The officials who were hurt by Yang's actions became disaffected and largely hoped that Gao Yan and Gao Zhan would take action and began to encourage them to do so. Yang considered sending Gao Yan and Gao Zhan outside the capital to be provincial governors, but Emperor Fei initially disagreed. Yang wrote a submission to Empress Dowager Li to ask her to consider, and she consulted her lady in waiting Li Changyi, who leaked the news to Grand Empress Dowager Lou.[18] She informed the two princes, and they set up an ambush, with Gao Guiyan and the generals Heba Ren and Hulü Jin, at a ceremony where Gao Yan was to be named to a ceremonial post. Yang, Kezhuhun, Yan, Zheng Yi (郑颐), and Song Qindao were all severely battered and captured.[19]

Gao Yan and Gao Zhan subsequently entered the palace and accused Yang and his associates of crimes. They were all executed on 4 April 560,[20] although Grand Empress Dowager Lou, who was otherwise supportive of her son Gao Yan's actions, personally attended Yang's wake and made the comment, "Lord Yang was faithful and suffered for his faithfulness."[21]

References

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  1. ^ yi'si day of the 2nd month of the 1st year of the Qian'ming era, per Emperor Fei's biography in Bei Qi Shu. Yang Yin's biography in the same work indicate that he was 50 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died.
  2. ^ (字遵彦,小名秦王) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  3. ^ Yang Yin's male ancestors' biographies can be found in vol.41 of Bei Shi.
  4. ^ (六岁学史书,十一受《诗》《易》,好《左氏春秋》) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  5. ^ ([武泰元年春正月]乙丑,定州为杜洛周所陷,执刺史杨津。瀛州刺史元宁以城降于洛周。) Wei Shu, vol.09 (孝昌初,津为定州刺史,愔亦随父之职。以军功除羽林监,赐爵魏昌男,不拜。及中山为杜洛周陷,全家被囚絷。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34. Note that Bei Shi had a different record on Yang Jin's titles at the time (孝昌中,北镇扰乱,侵逼旧京,乃加津安北将军,北道大都督,寻转左卫,加抚军将军。) Bei Shi, vol.41
  6. ^ (未几,洛周灭,又没葛荣。荣欲以女妻之,又逼以伪职。愔乃托疾,密含牛血数合,于众中吐之,仍佯喑不语。荣以为信然,乃止。永安初,还洛,拜通直散骑侍郎,时年十八。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34.
  7. ^ (元颢入洛时,愔从父兄侃为北中郎将,镇河梁。愔適至侃处,便属乘舆失守,夜至河。侃虽奉迎车驾北度,而潜南奔。愔固谏止之,遂相与扈从达建州。除通直散骑常侍。愔以世故未夷,志在潜退,乃谢病。与友人中直侍郎河间邢邵隐於嵩山。) Bei Shi, vol.41
  8. ^ (愔从兄幼卿为岐州刺史,以直言忤旨见诛。愔闻之悲惧,因哀感发疾,后取急就雁门温汤疗疾。郭秀素害其能,因致书恐之曰:“高王欲送卿于帝所。”仍劝其逃亡。愔遂弃衣冠于水滨若自沉者,变易名姓,自称刘士安,入嵩山,与沙门昙谟征等居成削迹。又潜之光州,因东入田横岛,以讲诵为业。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  9. ^ (神武知愔存,遣愔从兄宝猗赍书慰喻,仍遣光州刺史奚思业令搜访,以礼发遣。神武见之悦,除太原公开府司马,转长史,复授大行台右丞,封华阴县侯,迁给事黄门侍郎,妻以庶女。又兼散骑常侍,为聘梁使主。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  10. ^ (武定末,以望实之美,超拜吏部尚书,加侍中、卫将军,侍学典选如故。 ) Bei Qi Shi, vol.34
  11. ^ (属世宗将受魏禅,元康与杨愔、崔季舒并在世宗坐,将大迁除朝士,共品藻之。世宗家苍头奴兰固成先掌厨膳,甚被宠昵。先是,世宗杖之数十,吴人性躁,又恃旧恩,遂大忿恚,与其同事阿改谋害世宗。阿改时事显祖,常执刀随从,云“若闻东斋叫声”,即以加刃于显祖。是日值魏帝初建东宫,群官拜表。事罢,显祖出东止车门,别有所之,未还而难作。固成因进食,置刀于盘下而杀世宗。元康以身捍蔽,被刺伤重,至夜而终,时年四十三。杨愔狼狈走出,季舒逃匿于厕,...) Bei Qi Shu, vol.24. Note that Lan Jing is referred to as "Lan Gucheng" (兰固成) here. This extract is from Chen Yuankang's biography. Chen also died in the attack; Cui Jishu also escaped by hiding in a toilet.
  12. ^ (天保元年夏五月戊午,皇帝即位于南郊...) Bei Shi, vol.07
  13. ^ (天保初,以本官领太子少傅,别封阳夏县男。又诏监太史,迁尚书右仆射。尚太原长公主,即魏孝静后也。会有雉集其舍,又拜开府仪同三司、尚书左仆射,改封华山郡公。...典选二十馀年,奖擢人伦,以为己任,...) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  14. ^ (然取士多以言貌,时致谤言,以为愔之用人,似贫士市瓜,取其大者。愔闻,不以为意。) Bei Shi, vol.41
  15. ^ ([天保]十年,封开封王。) Bei Shi, vol.41
  16. ^ (文宣大渐,以常山、长广二王位地亲逼,深以後事为念。愔与尚书左僕射平秦王归彦、侍中燕子献、黄门侍郎郑子默受遗诏辅政,並以二王威望先重,咸有猜忌之心。初在晋阳,以大行在殡,天子谅訚,议令常山王在东馆,欲奏之事皆先谘决,二旬而止。仍欲以常山王随梓宫之邺,留长广镇晋阳。执政復生疑贰,两王又倶从至於邺。.....高归彦初虽同德,后寻反动,以疏忌之迹尽告两王。可朱浑天和又每云:“若不诛二王,少主无自安之理。”宋钦道面奏帝,称二叔威权既重,宜速去之。) Bei Shi, vol.41. Note that "Zheng Zimo" refers to Zheng Yi (郑颐).
  17. ^ (子献立计,欲处太皇太后于北宫,政归皇太后。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  18. ^ (有宫人李昌仪者,北豫州刺史高仲密之妻,坐仲密事入宫。太后与昌仪宗情,甚相昵爱。太后以启示之,昌仪密白太皇太后。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.34
  19. ^ (于是愔及天和、钦道皆被拳杖乱殴击,头面血流,各十人持之。...二叔率高归彦、贺拔仁、斛律金拥愔等唐突入雲龙门。) Bei Shi, vol.41
  20. ^ ([乾明元年二月]乙巳,太师、常山王演矫诏诛尚书令杨愔、尚书右仆射燕子献、领军大将军可朱浑天和、侍中宋钦道、散骑常侍郑子默。) Bei Qi Shu, vol.5
  21. ^ (太皇太后临愔丧,哭曰:“杨郎忠而获罪。”) Bei Shi, vol.41