Generals of the Yang Family

Generals of the Yang Family
Yang Ye committing suicide by ramming his head against a stele dedicated for Li Ling. From one 1823 print of the novel Complete Legends of Northern Song's Golden Spears (北宋金鎗全傳).
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Literal meaning	Yang Family Generals
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yáng Jiā Jiàng Wade–Giles Yang2 Chia1 Chiang4 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yeung4 Ga1 Jeung3 Jyutping Joeng4 Gaa1 Zoeng3

Generals of the Yang Family is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable bravery of the Yangs as they sacrificed themselves to defend their country from foreign military powers, namely the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty (907–1125) and Tangut-ruled Western Xia (1038–1227).

Spanning the century from 950 to 1050, the mostly fictional saga was based on the lives of historical characters Yang Ye (died 986), Yang Ye's son Yang Yanzhao (c. 958–1014) and Yang Yanzhao's son Yang Wenguang (died 1074). As Yang Yanzhao was nicknamed "6th son" (六郎) in history, the stories made him Yang Ye's 6th eldest son. Also, as Yang Wenguang was close to 2 generations younger than his father, the stories made him Yang Yanzhao's grandson instead.

In 907, when the once-glorious Tang Dynasty officially ended, imperial China entered the chaotic and fragmented phase known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The decades that followed were marked by regional warlords, many legitimizing themselves as emperors, fighting amongst one another for power and territories. The year 907 also marked the beginning of such a militaristic state — officially called the Liao after 947 — established by Khitan people in roughly today's Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. The Khitans were largely nomadic people and frequently engaged in raids of the more affluent agricultural Han Chinese and Korean people in the south for wealth.