Yang Sigong () (died 945), nicknamed Skinner Yang (楊剝皮, ''Yang Baopi''), was an official 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 va ...

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

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

and Min's branch state

Yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

. He became a trusted official during the reign of Yin's only emperor (later Min's emperor as well)

Wang Yanzheng Wang Yanzheng () (died 951?), known as Tiande Emperor () after his era name of Tiande, formally Prince Gongyi of Fu (), also known during Min as the Prince of Fusha (), was the last ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state ...

and became known for harsh taxes against the people, leading to the people turning against Wang Yanzheng and welcoming an invading

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 ...

army, leading to Min's fall.

Service under Wang Yanzheng

Little is recorded in historical accounts about Yang Sigong's background, including when he was born, other than that he was from Jianyang (建陽, in modern

Nanping Nanping (), historically known as Yanping (), is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to th ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

).''

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 ...

'', vol. 283. At some point, during the time that

carried the titles of Prince of Fusha as a

imperial prince and 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 Zhenwu Circuit (鎮武, headquartered at Jian Prefecture (), in modern Nanping), i.e., in or after 941,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. Yang Sigong served as his circuit surveyor (although it was possible that Yang had served on his staff previously).''

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. 98
In 943, Wang Yanzheng, who had been locked in a civil war against his brother Wang Xi the Emperor of Min (Emperor Jingzong), declared himself the emperor of a new state of

. He initially commissioned Yang as the minister of defense (兵部尚書, ''Bingbu Shangshu''), and then gave him the titles of ''Pushe'' () and ''Lu Junguo Shi'' (), effectively making him a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(albeit with a more provisional designation than his chancellor colleague Pan Chengyou, who received a more formal chancellor designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (). It was said that Yang received Wang Yanzheng's favors by being good at extracting revenues. He not only raised taxes on farmland, hills, and ponds, but also taxed such things as fish, salt, vegetables, and fruits. This led to the people of Yin referring to him as "Skinner Yang." When Pan wrote a list of 10 areas of governance that he felt that Wang should remedy, Yang's oppressive taxes was one of Pan's items. Wang, instead, stripped Pan of his commission and forced him to retire. By 945, Wang was (at least in name) ruler of all of the Min domain and had changed his title to Emperor of Min. However, he was facing an attack by

from the northwest, commanded by the Southern Tang general Cha Wenhui (). Wang sent Yang Sigong and Chen Wang to resist. Chen initially took a defensive posture and set up his defense on a river, and the Southern Tang army did not dare to attack. However, Yang, stating that it was Wang Yanzheng's order, insisted that Chen attack. Chen was forced to attack the Southern Tang army, and fell into a trap set by the Southern Tang general Zu Quan'en (). Chen was killed, and Yang was forced to flee back to Jian.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 284. It was said that the people of Jian, tired of the warfare among the Wang clan members and the heavy-handed rule imposed by Yang, were welcoming the Southern Tang army and opening roads for them,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285. and Cha then put Jian under siege.

Death

In fall 945, the Southern Tang army breached Jian's defense, and Wang Yanzheng surrendered. Southern Tang's emperor Li Jing gave him a general title. However, to placate the people of Jian, he executed Yang Sigong, apparently at the Southern Tang capital

Jinling Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Notes and references

* ''

''
vol. 98
* ''

'', vols.

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) 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 Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, 284,

285 The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Sigong 945 deaths Year of birth unknown Politicians from Nanping Min Kingdom chancellors Executed people from Fujian Executed Southern Tang people People executed by Southern Tang People executed by a Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms state by decapitation