Yang Yi

Life

His grandfather is named as either Yang Wenyi or Yang Shou; his grand-uncle was Yang Huizhi, and his mother was Zhang.

His younger brothers were Yang Wei, Yang Yi (楊倚), Yang Bei, and Yang Zhuo; his cousin was Zhang Dexiang, and his brother-in-law was Li Qiong.

Zhang Mian is also listed as a relative by marriage. Yang Hong appears both as a nephew and as an adopted heir, while Yang Bangbi was his great-great-grandson.

At eleven, in the first year of Yongxi (984), Emperor Taizong summoned him to compose poetry and fu, appointing him Corrector of the Palace Library; Zhang Quhua tested him in the boys’ examination and recommended him to court. In the third year of Chunhua (992), he was granted the jinshi degree and appointed Assistant at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; in the fourth year he served at the Jixian Academy, and in the second year of Zhidao (996) became Literary Secretary.

At the beginning of Emperor Zhenzong’s reign, Yang Yi helped compile the Veritable Records of Taizong. When the work was completed in 998, he requested an appointment outside the capital in order to attend to his family and became prefect of Chuzhou; recalled in 1000, he was appointed Left Remonstrator and in 1001 became Drafter of Edicts.

In 1005 he joined Wang Qinruo in compiling the Cefu Yuangui.

In 1006 he was summoned as an Academician of the Hanlin Academy, helped revise the national history, and later served in the offices overseeing communications with the throne and the Silver Terrace, as well as director of the History Institute.

In the sixth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1013), he was appointed Taichang shaoqing in charge of the western capital; in the seventh year he again became prefect of Chuzhou and, after returning to the capital, served as deputy commissioner for ceremonial regulations, director of the Court of Ceremonial, and superintendent of the Palace Library and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

In the second year of Tianxi (1018), he became Vice Minister of Works. In the third year he served provisionally as joint director of the metropolitan examinations, but was demoted to Supervisor of the Palace Library for errors in grading; in the fourth year he returned as a Hanlin Academician, concurrently serving as a compiler of the History Institute and its director, and died in the twelfth month at the age of forty-seven.

Intellectual and religious life

His character was described as upright, firm, and uncompromising, and he valued friendship. He was friendly with Wang Dan, Liu Jun, and Xie Jiang, and was also a friend of Liu Shi; Liu Jun was initially recognized and promoted by him, later equaled him in reputation, and together they were known as Yang-Liu.

Well versed in institutions and ceremonial precedents, Yang Yi was active in encouraging younger men. He recommended Zhang Dexiang, judging him broad-minded and possessed of the qualities of a chief minister.

When he was young, he once asked Li Zhaogou to compose a fu and praised the finished piece; he also recognized Huang Jian for his literary style and brought him into his circle.

As a lay Buddhist, Yang Yi was regarded as a disciple in the lineage of the Chan master Guanghui Lian (951–1036), the eleventh generation under Dajian. He was repeatedly summoned to compile Buddhist canon catalogues and to collate the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, and he joined Wang Qinruo in directing the Cefu Yuangui.

Literary achievement

Yang Yi wrote with rapid talent, precision, and formal control; he excelled at fu composition, modeled his poetry on Li Shangyin, and was known for ornate diction and the Xikun style.

He exchanged poems with Liu Jun, Qian Weiyan, and others, compiling the two-juan Xikun Chouchang ji; one ci lyric, “Shaonian you,” is also preserved.

Works

His prolific writings included the collections 《括蒼》, 《武夷》, 《潁陰》, 《韓城》, 《退居》, 《汝陽》, 《蓬山》, 《冠鼇》, and 《辭榮》, as well as 《內外制》 and 《刀筆》, together comprising 194 juan. Only the twenty-juan 《武夷新集》 survives, while 《楊文公談苑》 is a one-juan work.