Yang Yi (died March or April 235),

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 Theob ...

Weigong, was an official of the state of Shu Han in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China.

Early life and career

Yang Yi was from Xiangyang

Commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

in Jing Province, which is around present-day

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

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 ...

. He was born sometime in the late Eastern Han dynasty and initially served as a Registrar () under Fu Qun (), the Inspector () of Jing Province. However, later, he defected to

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

, a general under the warlord

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

. Guan Yu appointed Yang Yi as an Officer of Merit () and sent him to

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

– the capital of

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

, which covered present-day

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and Chongqing – to meet Liu Bei. Liu Bei had a discussion with Yang Yi on military strategy and politics and was so pleased with his replies that he appointed Yang Yi as a Senior Clerk () in his administrative office. He promoted Yang Yi to a Master of Writing () in 219 after declaring himself "King of Hanzhong" () following his victory in the

Hanzhong Campaign The Hanzhong Campaign was a military campaign launched by the warlord Liu Bei to seize control of Hanzhong Commandery from his rival, Cao Cao. The campaign took place between 217 and 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Althou ...

. In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and founded the state of Shu Han to challenge

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest ...

's claim to the Han throne. In the following year, when Liu Bei was away on a military campaign against his ally-turned-rival Sun Quan, Yang Yi offended

Liu Ba Liu Ba (died 222), courtesy name Zichu, was an official in the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He originally served under the warlord Liu Zhang before becoming a subordinate of Liu Bei (the founding emperor of Shu) ...

, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing (). Liu Ba reassigned Yang Yi to be the Administrator of

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 ...

(弘農郡; around present-day

Lingbao City Lingbao (; postal: Lingpao) is a county-level city and the westernmost county-level division of Henan province, China, bordering the provinces of Shanxi to the north and Shaanxi to the west. In ancient times, the Hongnong Commandery was located ...

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 ...

); this was only a nominal appointment because Hongnong Commandery was not Shu territory.

Mid career

After

's death in 223, Yang Yi continued serving in Shu under Liu Bei's son and successor,

Liu Shan Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhug ...

, who was assisted by the Imperial Chancellor,

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

. In 225, Zhuge Liang had Yang Yi transferred to the Imperial Chancellor's Office, where Yang Yi served as an Army Adviser (). Later that year, Yang Yi followed Zhuge Liang on a campaign against some rebel forces and restless tribes in the southern parts of Shu. In 227, he accompanied Zhuge Liang to Hanzhong Commandery. In 230, he was promoted to Chief Clerk () and appointed as General Who Pacifies the Army (). Over the following years, when Zhuge Liang led a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dyna ...

, a senior Shu general, and frequently quarrelled with him. Wei Yan often drew his sword and brandished it in front of Yang Yi; Yang Yi sobbed as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Fei Yi Fei Yi (died 16 February 253), courtesy name Wenwei, was a regent and military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Fei Yi started his career as an attendant to Liu Shan, t ...

then stepped in to stop them from fighting and managed to keep them under control until Zhuge Liang's death. Zhuge Liang was upset by the lack of harmony between Yang Yi and Wei Yan, but was unwilling to side with either of them because he appreciated the talents of both men. In 234, Yang Yi followed Zhuge Liang on another campaign against Cao Wei which led to the stalemate at the

Battle of Wuzhang Plains The Battle of Wuzhang Plains was fought between the contending states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 234 AD during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle was the fifth and last of a series of Northern Expeditions led by Shu's chancellor, ...

. Zhuge Liang died of illness during the standoff, after which Yang Yi and the others ordered a retreat back to Shu. Around this time, relations between Yang Yi and Wei Yan deteriorated the point of conflict – they accused each other of treason and nearly started a civil war in Shu. The conflict concluded with the downfall and death of Wei Yan.

Later life and death

After returning to

, Yang Yi thought that he had made great contributions so he strongly believed that he would be chosen to succeed

as the new head of the Shu government. He asked one Zhao Zheng () to use the '' I Ching'' to predict his fortune for him and felt gloomy when the prediction was not to his expectation. When Zhuge Liang was still alive, he had secretly noted that Yang Yi was impulsive and narrow-minded, so he chose Jiang Wan to be his successor. After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wan was appointed as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing () and the Inspector () of Yi Province; Yang Yi, on the other hand, was appointed as a Central Military Adviser () – an appointment with no actual power. Initially, when Yang Yi was serving as a Master of Writing (), Jiang Wan ranked lower than him, but both of them were later appointed as Chief Clerks under Zhuge Liang. Yang Yi viewed himself highly and saw himself as superior to Jiang Wan because he had been serving in Shu longer than Jiang Wan. He openly expressed his dissatisfaction by grumbling and complaining. The others ignored him due to his poor choice of words in conveying his frustration except

, who comforted him. Yang Yi once told Fei Yi, "When the Imperial Chancellor (Zhuge Liang) died, I should have brought along my men and defected to Wei if I knew I'd end up in this situation today! I deeply regret but there's nothing I can do now." Fei Yi secretly reported Yang Yi's speech to the Shu government. In early 235, Yang Yi was removed from office, demoted to the status of a commoner, and exiled to Hanjia Commandery (漢嘉郡; around present-day

Lushan County, Sichuan Lushan County () is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Ya'an city. Historical Monuments An ancient monument, located in Lushan County and dating to 205 AD of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is the remains of the mausol ...

). While he was in Hanjia Commandery, Yang Yi wrote a memorial to the Shu imperial court and used emotionally charged language to express his frustration and lash out at the imperial court. The imperial court found Yang Yi guilty of contempt of imperial authority and ordered his arrest. Yang Yi committed suicide. His family returned to Chengdu after his death.

Yang Lü

Yang Yi had an elder brother, Yang Lü (), whose

was Weifang (). Yang Lü was already known for his good moral conduct in his youth and was regarded as a learned scholar in the Jing Province region. He received several invitations to serve in the government but declined all of them. He died at the age of 16. His fellow townsfolk referred to him as "Lord Yang of Virtuous Conduct" ().(楚國先賢傳云：儀兄慮，字威方。少有德行，為江南冠冕。州郡禮召，諸公辟請，皆不能屈。年十七，夭，鄉人宗貴號曰德行楊君。) ''Chuguo Xianxian Zhuan'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 40.

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