Yang Zongbao (楊宗保) is a character in the ''

Generals of the Yang Family ''The Generals of the Yang Family'' is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable ...

'' legends. In these largely fictionalized stories, he is the son of general

Yang Yanzhao Yang Yanzhao (楊延昭) ( 958 – 9 February 1014), named Yang Yanlang (楊延朗) before 1012, was a military general in ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. For over 2 decades he defended Song's northern border against the Khitan-ruled Lia ...

and Princess Chai, the husband of Mu Guiying and the father of Yang Wenguang.

Historical Basis

According to '' History of Song'', Yang Wenguang was the son rather than the grandson of

, and no "Yang Zongbao" was found in either this record or the ''Records of Longping'' (隆平集), which mentioned the names of Yang Yanzhao's 2 other sons. However, two surviving

genealogy book A genealogy book or register is used in Asia and Europe to record the family history of ancestors. Greater China It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, e ...

s of the Yangs from

Dai County Dai County, also known by its Chinese name Daixian, is a county in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, China. Its county seat at Shangguan is also known as Daixian. The county has an area of and had a population of 178,870 at the time of the 2020 ce ...

and Yuanping City - both in

Shanxi province Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...

where the legendary Yang Family originally came from - both recorded Yang Zongbao as one of the three sons of Yang Yanzhao. A "soul-resting"

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

discovered in 1985 in

Xin'an County Xin'an County () is a county in the west of Henan Province, bordering Shanxi Province to the north across the Yellow River. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Luoyang, and contains its northernmost point. History In an ...

Henan province 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 ...

suggest that a "Yang Zongbao" was indeed a grandchild of

Yang Ye Yang Ye (楊業) or Yang Jiye (楊繼業)According to he changed his name directly from Liu Jiye to Yang Ye in 979, changing both the surname and the given name. If this is to be believed, the name Yang Jiye is technically incorrect, but shows ...

's - except a granddaughter rather than a grandson. (Chinese historical records and genealogy books don't usually record names of women.)

Legends

In fiction, Yang Zongbao met his eventual wife Mu Guiying when he was ordered to acquire the Dragon-Taming Wood (降龍木) at the Muke Fortress (穆柯寨) where Mu ruled. He was captured by Mu Guiying but married her when she made a

marriage proposal A marriage proposal is an event where one person in a relationship asks for the other's hand in marriage. If accepted, it marks the initiation of engagement, a mutual promise of later marriage. It often has a ritual quality. Traditional prop ...

. He died very young in a battle against

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

, where he was shot to death by arrows. After his death, Mu Guiying led the other widows in a western expedition against Western Xia.

Portrayal in films and TV series

* Tsung Hua in '' The 14 Amazons'' (1972) * Norman Chu in The Great General (1979) * Ha Yu in ''Young's Female Warrior'' (1981) * Su Rongzhou in ''Generals of the Yang Family'' (1984) * Chang Chen-huan in ''A Courageous Clan: Mu Kuei-ying'' (1989) * Xu Chenglin in ''Generals of the Yang Family'' (1991) * Norman Chu in ''

Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family (碧血青天楊家將) is a 30-episode 1994 Hong Kong TV series produced by ATV, based on the legendary '' Generals of the Yang Family''. Plot In a fierce battle against the invading army of its neighboring cou ...

'' & ''

The Great General The Great General (碧血青天珍珠旗) is a 30-episode 1994 Hong Kong TV series produced by ATV. It is the sequel to the series '' Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family'', featuring mostly the same cast. Plot Long existed the legend that one can ...

'' (1994) *

Vincent Chiao Chiao En-chun (born 7 November 1967), also known as Vincent Chiao, is a Taiwanese actor and Mandopop singer. He is best known for portraying heroes in costume television dramas. Filmography Films Television series Discography Albums / E ...

in ''

The Heroine of the Yangs ''The Heroine of the Yangs'' (穆桂英) is a 2-season ATV series aired in Hong Kong in 1998, starring Amy Chan as the titular heroine Muk Gwai-ying of the Yang (Yeung in Cantonese) family. It is an adaptation of the ''Generals of the Yang Fam ...

'' (1998) *

Ken Chang Ken Chang or Chang Tzu-yao () is a Taiwanese actor and Mandopop singer who grew up in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Ame ...

in '' Legendary Fighter: Yang's Heroine'' (2001) * Lu Shiyu in ''The Heroine Mu Guiying'' (2004) *

Richie Jen Richie Jen Hsien-chi (, born 23 June 1966) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department. His hits include "Too Softhearted" (), "Look Over Here, Girl" (), "The Sad Pacific" () ...

in ''

Legendary Amazons ''Legendary Amazons'' is a 2011 Chinese film based on the stories of the Yang Clan Generals. The film was directed by Frankie Chan and starred Richie Jen, Cecilia Cheung, Cheng Pei-pei, Liu Xiaoqing and Kathy Chow. The film is based on the s ...

'' (2011) *

Luo Jin Luo Jin (, born November 30, 1981) is a Chinese actor and singer. He graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 2006. Early life and Career Luo was born on November 30, 1981 in Tonggu County, Yichun, Jiangxi. He made his acting debut in the 2003 ...

in ''Mu Guiying Takes Command'' (2011)

Historical Basis

Legends

Portrayal in films and TV series

References

More readings