Yang Jun (楊駿) (died 23 April 291
[According to Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Yang Jun died on the ''xinmao'' day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the ''Yongping'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 23 Apr 291 on the Julian calendar. 永平元年)三月辛卯,诛太傅杨骏...''Jin Shu'', vol.04]),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Wenzhang (文長), was a
Jin Dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...
official during the reign of
Emperor Wu and
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for
Emperor Hui.
Life
Yang Jun was from
Huayin
Huayin is a county-level city in Weinan, Shaanxi province, China. Prior to 1990, Huayin was regarded as a county. Huayin literally means 'to the north of Mount Hua
Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Pro ...
in
Hongnong Commandery
Hongnong Commandery ( zh, 弘農郡), also known as Hengnong Commandery ( zh, 恒農郡), was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern western Henan and southeastern Shaanxi.
Hongnong was established in 113 BC. Th ...
(弘農, roughly modern
Sanmenxia
Sanmenxia (; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and Sh ...
,
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 ...
). His niece
Yang Yan was Emperor Wu's first wife and empress. As she neared death in 274, she feared that whoever would be empress next would endanger the
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
status of her
developmentally disabled
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...
son, Sima Zhong. She therefore asked Emperor Wu to marry her cousin, Yang Jun's daughter
Yang Zhi. Emperor Wu agreed, and after her death later during the year, he married Yang Zhi in 276 and created her
empress
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
. Yang Jun, as the empress' father, became an increasingly important official in government, and became exceedingly arrogant. In Emperor Wu's later years, when he became obsessed with feasting and women, Yang Jun and his brothers Yang Yao (楊珧) and Yang Ji (楊濟) became effectively in power.
As Emperor Wu grew ill in 289, he considered whom to make regent. He considered both Yang Jun and his uncle
Sima Liang
Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227- 25 July 291), courtesy name Ziyi (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during Jin Dynasty (266–420). He was the first of the ei ...
the Prince of Ru'nan, the most respected of the imperial princes. As a result, Yang Jun became fearful of Sima Liang and had him posted to the key city of
Xuchang
Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...
. Several other imperial princes were also posted to other key cities in the empire. By 290, Emperor Wu resolved to let Yang and Sima Liang both be regents, but after he wrote his will, the will was seized by Yang Jun, who instead had another will promulgated in which Yang alone was named regent. Emperor Wu died soon thereafter. Crown Prince Zhong succeeded to the throne as Emperor Hui.
Yang Jun became Emperor Hui's regent, and became much criticized for spending his energy on making himself secure—including not attending Emperor Wu's burial. Fearful of Emperor Hui's ambitious wife
Empress Jia Nanfeng
Jia Nanfeng (257 – 13 May 300), nicknamed Shi (峕), was a Chinese empress consort. She was the daughter of Jia Chong and first wife of Emperor Hui of the Jin dynasty and also the granddaughter of Jia Kui. She is commonly seen as a villaino ...
, he ordered that imperial edicts be cosigned by his daughter, Empress Dowager Yang. Yang knew that he had made a lot of enemies, and tried to pacify them by giving widespread promotions, but those promotions only served to show his weakness. His associates, including his brother Yang Ji, tried to persuade him to alleviate the tension by inviting Sima Liang back to the capital
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
to serve as coregent, a move that Yang Jun repeatedly rebuffed.
Empress Jia, who wanted her hand in governance, was dissatisfied with the situation, and conspired with the
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 ...
Dong Meng (董猛) and the generals Meng Guan (孟觀) and Li Zhao (李肇) against the Yangs. She tried to include Sima Liang into the conspiracy, but Sima Liang declined; instead, she persuaded Emperor Hui's brother,
Sima Wei
Sima Wei (司馬瑋) (271 – 26 July 291), courtesy name Yandu (彥度), formally Prince Yin of Chu (楚隱王), was an imperial prince during Jin Dynasty (266–420) and was the second of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of th ...
the Prince of Chu, to join her plan. In 291, after Sima Wei returned to Luoyang from his defense post (Jing Province (荊州, modern
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
and
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
)) with his troops, a coup went into progress.
Empress Jia, who had her husband easily under her control, had him issue an edict declaring that Yang Jun had committed crimes and should be removed from his posts. It also ordered Sima Wei and Sima Yao (司馬繇) the Duke of Dong'an to attack Yang's forces and defend against counterattacks. Quickly, it became clear that Yang was in trouble, particularly after he declined his strategists' suggestion to burn the palace gate to temporarily halt the advance of the imperial guards. Empress Dowager Yang, trapped in the palace herself, wrote an edict ordering assistance for Yang Jun and put it on arrows, shooting it out of the palace. Empress Jia then made the bold declaration that Empress Dowager Yang was committing treason. Yang Jun was quickly defeated, and his clan was massacred.
References
*
Fang, Xuanling. ''
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...
'' (''Jin Shu''). Vols. 3, 4, 40.
*
Sima, Guang. ''
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Jun
Year of birth unknown
291 deaths
Jin dynasty (266–420) regents
Executed Jin dynasty (266–420) people
People executed by the Jin dynasty (266–420)
3rd-century executions