Yang Rong

Life

Yang Rong first held the status of a shengyuan. He passed the Fujian provincial examination in the first year of the Jianwen reign and, in the following year, earned the jinshi degree, ranking third in the second class. He was appointed a Hanlin compiler; after the accession of the Yongle Emperor, he entered the inner cabinet and the Wenyuange, and his name was changed from Zirong to Rong.

In the early Yongle period he served successively as Revising Editor, Reader-in-Waiting, Vice Remonstrator of the Right Spring坊, Right Vice Director, and Hanlin Academician, took charge of the Hanlin Academy, and became a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuange. After the accession of the Hongxi Emperor, he successively became President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent, Grand Secretary of the Palace of Caution, and Minister of Works; during the Xuande reign he was additionally made Junior Guardian, and in the third year of Zhengtong he was promoted to Junior Grand Preceptor. He served four emperors—Chengzu, Renzong, Xuanzong, and Yingzong—and shared the conduct of government with Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu; the three were known as the “Three Yangs,” while Yang Rong was the Eastern Yang.

Under the Chengzu Emperor, Yang Rong repeatedly accompanied the emperor on northern tours and expeditions beyond the frontier, and handled frontier affairs. Imperial edicts, orders, banners, tallies, and credentials could be issued only after his memorial had been received. In the fifth year of Yongle (1408), he was sent to Gansu to administer military affairs, inspecting the terrain, troops, inhabitants, and castle defenses on the way; after returning to court he was promoted to Right Vice Director. The following year he returned home for his father's funeral, and the year after that his request to return for his mother's funeral was refused because of the imminent northern tour, so he continued to accompany the army.

Yang Rong later accompanied He Fu in receiving a surrender in Gansu, went on to Ningxia to plan frontier affairs with Chen Mao, and submitted ten proposals on his return, all of which Chengzu adopted. During the eighth year of Yongle (1411), he handled provisions on a northern expedition; the following year he was escorted home to observe mourning and, after returning to the capital, was ordered to attend the imperial grandsons' studies at Wenhua Hall. In the tenth year of Yongle, he was sent to Shaanxi to discuss a Mongol disturbance; he argued that winter was no time for an expedition and that the trouble involved only a few offenders, and the rebels subsequently surrendered.

On a later northern expedition, Yang Rong was ordered to teach the imperial grandson Zhu Zhanji the classics and histories, while also taking charge of the Directorate of Seals. He oversaw the memorial process for imperial proclamations, military orders, banners, tallies, and credentials. After Hu Guang died in the sixteenth year of Yongle (1419), Yang Rong took charge of the Hanlin Academy; two years later he became a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuange while retaining his Hanlin post, and the following year moved with Chengzu to Beijing.

After the army returned from the northern expedition of the twentieth year of Yongle, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi received the highest banquet seats and rewards. When the court considered mobilizing militia assembled in Jiangxi during the Jianwen reign for a renewed campaign against Arutai, Yang Rong objected that the people had only recently been allowed to resume their livelihoods and that a new levy would destroy imperial credibility. In the twenty-second year of Yongle, the army reached the Lannamu'er River, also rendered Dalan Namu'er River, without finding the enemy; with soldiers suffering from hunger and cold and supplies failing, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi urged a withdrawal, which Chengzu accepted. When the emperor died at Yumu River on the return march, the two men concealed the death because the army was far from the capital, and Yang Rong hurried ahead to inform the heir apparent, Zhu Gaochi.

During the disorders in Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Sichuan at the end of the Yongle reign, Yang Rong urged sending envoys to pacify the people rather than dispatching another army, and the disturbances were brought under control. Although forceful in debate, he could often turn Chengzu's anger aside with a few words, helping to save Xia Yuanji and Li Shixun from execution and Liu Guan from exile to the frontier.

After Renzong's accession, Yang Rong became President of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and then Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent, Grand Secretary of the Palace of Caution, and Minister of Works. He drew three concurrent salaries from the Court, the Grand Secretariat, and the Ministry of Works, repeatedly declining them without success. In the first year of Xuande (1426), when the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, rebelled, Yang Rong was the first to urge Xuanzong to lead a personal expedition; Zhu Gaoxu surrendered at Le'an, and Yang Rong received the highest reward and five silver badges for the decision.

In the third year of Xuande, Yang Rong accompanied Xuanzong on a northern inspection, and when the Wuliangha threatened the frontier he alone remained with the emperor, leading light cavalry through Xifeng Pass to defeat them. Two years later he was made Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent and consequently surrendered his Grand Secretariat salary. In the ninth year of Xuande he again accompanied the emperor north and returned from Ximalin. When the unrest in Jiaozhi continued, he and Yang Shiqi urged accepting the request to install a descendant of the Chen house in order to end the war; the Ming court abandoned Jiaozhi and saved more than one hundred million taels in annual military expenditure.

Yang Rong recommended Liu Yong for promotion to prefect of Jingzhou; Gao Xunzhi was his student, and the Three Yangs greatly esteemed Sun Yuegong. His father was Yang Bocheng, his mother and wife were both surnamed Liu, his grandfather was Yang Daqing, and his great-grandfather was Yang Boxun. His sons included Yang Guifang, Yang Gong, Yang Guitong, and Yang Xi; his grandsons included Yang Shilun, Yang Zou, Yang Zong, and Yang Jing, and his great-grandson was Yang Ye.

Works and literary style

Works attributed to Yang Rong include *Later Record of the Northern Expedition*, *Collected Works of Wenmin*, *Collected Works of Yang Wenmin*, *Jade Hall Posthumous Drafts*, *Instructions for the Education of Sons*, *Retirement Reflections*, *Small Drafts from the Cloud Mountain*, *Collected Works of Jingxuan*, and *Collected Works of Mo'an*.

His court compositions were praised for their elevated, harmonious tone, while his other poetry and prose were described as measured and urbane. Together with Yang Shiqi, he helped direct the literary establishment of his age, and his writing displayed the characteristic style of court literature.

Yang Rong was posthumously presented with the title Grand Preceptor and received the posthumous name Wenmin; Wenyi also appears as an alternative posthumous name.