Yang Lian () (died 940), formally Prince Jing of Hongnong (), was a

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 ...

of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

state Wu. He died not long after his father, Wu's last ruler

Yang Pu Yang Pu ( zh, 楊溥; 900 – January 21, 939), formally Emperor Rui of Wu (), was the last ruler of Wu, and the only one that claimed the title of emperor. During his reign, the state was in effective control of the regents Xu Wen and Xu Wen' ...

(Emperor Rui), was forced to yield the throne to the powerful regent Xu Gao (

Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...

's Emperor Liezu), and it was commonly thought that the death was at the order of the new emperor.

During Wu

It is not known when Yang Lian was born. He was the oldest son of

(Emperor Rui), but historical records did not indicate who his mother was.''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

''
vol. 4
In 928, shortly after Yang Pu had claimed the title of Emperor of Wu at the behest of the late

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 ...

Xu Wen Xu Wen () (862''New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 61. – November 20, 927''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Dunmei (), formally Prince Zhongwu of Qi (), later further ...

, he created his brothers, his sons, and one of his nephews imperial princes, and Yang Lian was created the Prince of Jiangdu.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276. In 930, he created Yang Lian

.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 277. In spring 937, when Xu Wen's adoptive son and successor Xu Zhigao was deep in the process of taking over the throne from Yang Pu (having, by that point, received the title of Prince of Qi and a number of other honorifics in that process), Xu Zhigao gave a daughter in marriage to Yang Lian to be his crown princess.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 281.

During Southern Tang

In winter 937, Yang Pu passed the throne to Xu Gao (Xu Zhigao's having changed his name to Xu Gao earlier in the year), ending Wu and starting a new

state with Xu Gao as its Emperor Liezu. Emperor Liezu continued to honor Yang Pu with an imperial title, while creating Yang Lian the Duke of Hongnong and giving him the honorary titles of military governor (''

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", ...

'') of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern

Weifang Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the L ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

) and ''Zhongshu Ling'' (). When the new Southern Tang's emperor's former chief strategist

Song Qiqiu Song Qiqiu (887–959), courtesy name Zisong, formally Duke Chouliao of Chu (), was the chief strategist of Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang (Xu Zhigao/Li Bian), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state South ...

, wanting to show himself faithful to the new regime, suggested that Yang Pu be moved away from the former Wu capital Jiangdu (江都, in modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

), that the marriage between Yang Lian and his wife, now carrying both the titles of duchess and Princess Yongxing, be terminated, and that Yang Lian be exiled, the new Southern Tang emperor did not accept any of those suggestions. Indeed, the former crown princess was distressed whenever people referred to her by her title of Princess Yongxing. This caused her brothers to be displeased with her, but Emperor Liezu stated: Yang Pu died around the new year 939 — a death for which the Southern Tang emperor was much suspected of.''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''
vol. 3
Shortly after, in summer 939, Emperor Liezu had the Yang clan members confined to Yongning Palace () in Tai Prefecture (泰州, in modern Taizhou,

), including Yang Lian's cousin Yang Gong () the military governor of Kanghua Circuit (康化, headquartered in modern

Chizhou Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui province, China. It borders Anqing to the northwest, Tongling and Wuhu to the northeast, Xuancheng to the east, Huangshan to the southeast, and the province of Jiangxi to the southwest. ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

). Yang Lian, however, did not appear to be confined, and shortly after was offered the position of military governor of Kanghua. He declined at that time, asking to serve out the three-year mourning period for Yang Pu, and the Southern Tang emperor agreed.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. However, it appeared that Yang Lian did accept the posting to Kanghua eventually, for he was referred to as the military governor of Kanghua in 940. (Corroborating this was the fact that in the biography of his wife Princess Yongxing, she was mentioned to have accompanied Yang Lian to Kanghua's capital Chi Prefecture (). In spring 940, Yang Lian went to pay respects to his father's tomb, Pingling (). As he was returning from Pingling, one night, when he was very drunk, he died in the boat. (The circumstances caused suspicions that the Southern Tang emperor ordered his death.) Emperor Liezu posthumously created him the Prince of Hongnong and gave him the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of ''Jing'' (靖, "comforting"). Princess Yongxing returned to the Southern Tang palace at Jinling, wore mourning clothes, and refused to remarry for the rest of her life, which did not last long.

Notes and references

* ''

''
vol. 4
* ''

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 ...

'', vols.

276 __NOTOC__ Year 276 ( CCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tacitus and Aemilianus (or, less frequently, year 1029 ...

277 __NOTOC__ Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...

, 281,

282 Year 282 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 1 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Lian 10th-century births 940 deaths Year of birth unknown Politicians from Yangzhou Yang Wu imperial princes Pinglu jiedushi Southern Tang jiedushi Generals from Jiangsu