Yang Jian

Life

Yang was the son of Yang Tingxian (楊庭顯). His elder brother was Yang Chou (楊籌), and his eldest son was Yang Ke (楊恪). He also had a son, Yang Xin (楊忻); Sun Yi (孫誼) was both his nephew and son-in-law, Yang Hou (楊垕) his grandnephew, and Han Xie (韓燮) his granddaughter's husband.

In the fifth year of the Qiandao era under Emperor Xiaozong (1169), he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed assistant magistrate of Fuyang. When Lu Jiuyuan passed through Fuyang, Yang became his student; he later served as judicial assistant in Shaoxing Prefecture and as an aide in western Zhejiang, and governed Sheng County. He subsequently governed Leping County.

As governor of Leping, he established schools and taught students; the county had no nighttime alarms of theft, and lost property on the roads went unclaimed. In 1194, under Emperor Guangzong, he was summoned as a National Academy erudite; after memorializing in defense of Chancellor Zhao Ruyu's removal from office, he was placed in charge of Chongdao Abbey.

In 1204, under Emperor Ningzong, he was appointed acting administrator of Quanzhou and was dismissed after his memorial was not heard; this Quanzhou appointment is also described simply as his later service as prefect of Quanzhou. In 1208, the first year of Jiading, he became mishu lang; he later rose to zhuzuo zuolang, zhuzuo lang, and jiangzuo shaojian, concurrently compiling the National History and examining the Veritable Records. After requesting an assignment outside the capital, he became prefect of Wenzhou. Recalled to court, he served as jia bu and gong bu langguan, then became supervisor of military equipment and of the Directorate of Works, while retaining his historical appointments; illness eventually led him to 奉祠 (fengci).

After Lizong's accession, he rose to Academician of the Bao Mo Pavilion and retired; the title is also given as Direct Academician of the Bao Mo Pavilion. He died in 1226, in the second year of the Baoqing era, aged eighty-six, and received the posthumous name Wenyuan.

Yang called Wang Qi a “straight friend”; he and Shen Wenbiao were friends in learning and became friends across generations. In the first Jiading year, Yang recommended Liu Hounan, a jinshi who had been diligent in office; Liu later rose to National Academy erudite and called for candid counsel during an eclipse.

Intellectual thought

Yang developed learning of the mind, advocating “毋意” and “無念” and stating, “無思無慮是謂道心” (“To be without thought and worry is what is called the mind of the Way”). His students included Yuan Fu (袁甫) and Chen Rong (陳瑢).

Works

His works included 《慈湖詩傳》, 《楊氏易傳》, 《先聖大訓》, 《五誥解》, 《石魚偶記》, and 《春秋傳》. His 《甲稿》 and 《乙稿》 are also found under the combined title 《甲乙稿（楊簡）》. The extant 《慈湖先生遺書》 comprises twenty juan, with one juan each of supplements and additional appendices; the title also appears as 《慈湖遺書》. The titles 《冠記》 and 《昏記》 are also listed, but their authorship is unspecified.