Yang Sen (; 20 February 1884 – 15 May 1977) was a warlord and general of the

Sichuan clique The Sichuan clique was a group of warlords in the warlord era in China. During the period from 1927 to 1938, Sichuan was in the hands of five warlords: Liu Xiang, Yang Sen, Liu Wenhui, Deng Xihou, He Zhaode, and Tian Songyao, with minor forc ...

who had a long military career in China. Although he was a provincial warlord, he loyally served

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

and his

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

(KMT) government, especially during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. He also served as governor of Sichuan and

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

provinces. After the Communists defeated the KMT in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, he retreated with the KMT government to Taiwan. He was also known as a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

master and had numerous wives, concubines and children. He published a book about the supercentenarian

Li Ching-yuen Li Ching-Yuen or Li Ching-Yun (), (died May 6, 1933) was a Chinese herbalism, herbalist, martial arts, martial artist and tactical advisor, known for his supposed extreme longevity. His true date of birth has never been determined. Gerontology, ...

, who supposedly lived 197 or 256 years.

Biography

* 1924–24 Governor of Sichuan Province * 1924–25—Military-Governor of Sichuan Province * 1926 - Wanhsien Incident, combat with British patrol vessels on the river Yangtse * 1933–38—General Officer Commanding XX Corps * 1938–44—Commander in Chief 27th Army Group * 1939–40—Deputy Commander in Chief 6th War Area * 1940–45—Deputy Commander in Chief 9th War Area * 1945–48—Chairman of the Government of

Province * 1949—moved to Taiwan during the Nationalist exodus from the mainland * 1950s—An avid sports person, he was the Republic of China's Olympic Committee Chairman and at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Mexico carried the national flag of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Republic of China in the opening ceremony. He was a well-known mountaineer and the Chairman of the Taiwan Mountain Climbing Association as well. He had 12 wives and 43 children at least.

Meeting Master Li Ching Yuen

General Yang knew the

Master

personally and became his disciple, practicing his teaching until the end of his life. In 1927 he invited him to his residence in

Wanxian Wanzhou District () is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest ...

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 ...

. After his master's death, General Yang wrote the report "A Factual Account of the 250 Year-Old Good-Luck Man.", where he described Li Ching Yuen's appearance: ''"He has good eyesight and a brisk stride; Li stands seven feet tall, has very long fingernails, and a ruddy complexion."'' The Tai Chi Chuan Master T. T. Liang (Liang Tung Tsai) learned from General Yang the practice of the "Eight Brocade Qigong". His student Stuart Alve Olson wrote in 2002 the book "Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-Yun", taking General Yang's report as reference.

References

* Daniel Reid, ''"Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity."'', Fireside, New York, 1989, pp. 345–349. * Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, ''"History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)."'' 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. * OLSON, Stuart Alve. ''"Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-yun."'' Healing Arts Press, 2002. * Yang Sen. ''"A Factual Account of the 250 Year-Old Good-Luck Man."'' (一个250岁长寿老人的真实记载). Published by the Chinese and Foreign Literature Storehouse, Taipei, Taiwan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Sen 1884 births 1977 deaths Republic of China warlords from Sichuan Governors of Sichuan Politicians from Guang'an Politicians of Taiwan Republic of China Taoists Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Sichuan

Biography

Meeting Master Li Ching Yuen

See also

References