Yang Jian (, died 1121) was a ''

huanguan A eunuch ( ) is a castration, castrated man. Castration has had a social function in history. In China, castration included the Penis removal, removal of the penis and the testicles (emasculation). A knife removed both organs at the same time. Eun ...

'' (eunuch) and minister under

Emperor Huizong of Song Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China. He was also a very well-known calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the ...

, best-known for implementing oppressive tax policies to increase government revenue. In subsequent works of fiction, such as the classic novels ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'' and ''

Jin Ping Mei ''Jin Ping Mei'' () — translated into English as ''The Plum in the Golden Vase'' or ''The Golden Lotus'' — is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty ...

'', he is almost always portrayed as treacherous and corrupt.

Early career

Yang Jian became a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

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 Ding may refer to: Bronze and ceramics * Ding (vessel), a bronze or ceramic cauldron used in ancient and early imperial China * Ding ware, ceramics produced in Dingzhou in medieval China People * Ding (surname) (丁), a Chinese surname and lis ...

'' (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 The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'' (military governor) of Zhanghua (, in modern

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

). 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 Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), Qinghai (, in modern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

), and Zhendong (, in modern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

), and was promoted from Junior Inspecting Guardian () to the powerful position of Grand Mentor ().

Tax policies

While he was in Ru Prefecture, one of his subordinates named Du Gongcai () came up with a plan to acquire land deeds from commoners and increase tax revenues. In 1116, Yang Jian created a Public Lands Bureau () in

Jingxi Circuit Jingxi Circuit or Jingxi Province was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty. In 1072 it was divided into 2 circuits: Jingxi North Circuit and Jingxi South Circuit. Its administrative area corresponds to roughly the modern provinces ...

to manage wastelands and tax-exempt lands. Commoners were forced to become tenant farmers and pay rent, and those who opposed the policy were

cangue A cangue () or tcha is a device that was used for public humiliation and corporal punishment in East AsiaJamyang NorbuFrom Darkness to Dawn, site ''Phayul.com'', May 19, 2009. and some other parts of Southeast Asia until the early years of the t ...

d and imprisoned. This was later applied in the regions of Jingdong and

Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu'an ...

, and rent was collected even on nonarable lands like abandoned embankments, abandoned

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s, 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.

Later life

In 1119, Emperor Huizong began a palace project known as Genyue () which would greatly expand his palace complex. The prime minister

Cai Jing Cai Jing (1047–1126), courtesy name Yuanchang (), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the Northern Song dynasty of China. He is also fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four G ...

delegated this to the five leading eunuchs, Yang Jian,

Tong Guan Tong Guan (1054–1126), courtesy name Daofu (), was a Chinese court eunuch, military general, political adviser, and state councillor to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', Tong Guan is fictionalise ...

, Jia Xiang (賈祥), Lan Congxi (藍從熙), and He Xin (何訢), with each eunuch supervising the construction of a part of the complex. The eunuchs were said to have competed against one other to make the most luxurious buildings. When Yang Jian died in 1121, he was honored as the

Grand Preceptor Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the senior-most of the top three civil positions of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The other two were Grand Tutor (太傅) and Grand Protector (太保), respectively. These three p ...

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 Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and heir apparent of Empe ...

executed Li Yan and stripped Yang Jian of his posthumous titles.

In fiction

Yang Jian appears in a number of fictional works. In many later stories he is known as Yang Taiwei or "

Grand Commandant Grand Commandant () is a title referring to the supreme military commander in ancient China, Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. The earliest recording is on the Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals in 205 BC. During the Western Han, the position ...

Yang" even though the historical figure never assumed that title. The 12th-century story collection ''

Yijian Zhi ''Yijian Zhi'' () is a Chinese ''zhiguai'' story collection by Hong Mai of the Southern Song dynasty. It originally comprised 420 chapters, but today less than a half has survived. The first chapter was completed in 1161, and some surviving chap ...

'' by

Hong Mai Hong Mai (, 1123 Poyang County, Poyang-1202 Hangzhou), courtesy name Jinglu (), art name Yechu () and Rongzhai (), was a Chinese statesman, Confucianism, Confucian scholar and writer during the Southern Song dynasty. He was the author of ''Yijianzh ...

contains a number of stories that feature him. The story "Yang Jian's Retainer" () claims that he kept several dozens of concubines despite his impotence, and that he locked the gates to their quarters to prevent adultery. Once, while he was away in Zheng Prefecture, one of his retainers climbed over the wall with a ladder and began an affair first with one of his concubines, and soon with Yang's entire harem of sexually-frustrated women. When Yang Jian returned, he saw the retainer getting stuck atop the wall; he later used a trick to castrate and enslave him. Several centuries later, this story was modified and expanded into the erotic story "Ren Junyong Gave Reins to His Sexual Induigence in the Harem; Grand Commandant Yang Found Amusement in Castrating His Retainer" (, translated into English as "The Harem") in

Ling Mengchu Ling Mengchu (; 1580–1644) was a Chinese writer of the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his vernacular short fiction collections ''Slapping the Table in Amazement'' (拍案驚奇), I and II.Yenna Wu, "Ling Meng-ch'u and the 'Two Slappings," i ...

's 1633 collection '' Slapping the Table in Amazement II''. In '' Xuanhe Yishi'', Yang Jian frequently accompanied Emperor Huizong to brothels. In the 14th-century novel ''

'' by

Shi Nai'an Shi Nai'an (, ca. 1296–1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' (''Water Margin''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few re ...

and

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

, Yang Jian is described as a dishonest official allied with

Gao Qiu Gao Qiu (1076?–1126) was a government official who lived during the Song dynasty of China and served in the court of Emperor Huizong. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and a nemesis ...

, 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 Lu Junyi is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels, four great classical novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Jade Qilin", he ranks second among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 S ...

'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 Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Life Fen ...

's 1627 collection ''

Stories to Awaken the World ''Stories to Awaken the World'' (醒世恆言; ''Xingshi Hengyan''), is a Chinese story anthology compiled by Feng Menglong and published in 1627, composed of 40 vernacular stories. It follows '' Stories Old and New'' (1620) and ''Stories to Cautio ...

''.Hu, p. 317. In the 17th-century erotic novel ''

'', the depraved protagonist

Ximen Qing Ximen Qing () is a fictional Chinese Song dynasty merchant, womanizer, and murderer in Yanggu County, Shandong. He is the male protagonist in the novel ''Jin Ping Mei'' and a minor character in the novel ''Water Margin''. In both novels, he is ...

became an official for being a follower of Yang Jian and an associate of Cai Jing.

Guan Hanqing Guan Hanqing ( 1241–1320), sobriquet "the Oldman of the Studio" (齋叟 Zhāisǒu), was a notable Chinese playwright and poet in the Yuan Dynasty. He has been described as among the most prolific and highly regarded dramatists of the Yuan pe ...

'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 Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

version of this story, Yang Yanei is Yang Jian's adopted son.

Notes and references

* * {{Water Margin characters Song dynasty government officials 1121 deaths Song dynasty eunuchs Water Margin characters Jin Ping Mei characters