Yang Dongqian

Yang Dongqian (楊洞潛) (d. 935), courtesy name Zhaoxuan (昭玄), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Southern Han, serving as a chancellor.

It is not known when Yang Dongqian was born. His ancestors had been Tang officials, with his great-great-grandfather Yang Hui (楊回) serving as the governor of Suining Commandery (遂寧, in modern Suining, Sichuan) — and thus being datable to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, during whose reign, for some time, Tang prefectures were known as commanderies (from 742 to 757). Yang Dongqian's great-grandfather (Yang Hui's son) Yang Mian (楊勉) moved from there south of the Nanling Mountains, to Shixing, and made his home there. Neither Yang Dongqian's grandfather Yang Chui (楊垂) and father Yang Zhen (楊軫) were recorded to be in official service, but both were said to be honest and virtuous.

Yang Dongqian himself was said to be studious in his youth, open-minded, and understanding of principles of governance. At one point, he became a surveillance officer for Yong District (邕管, headquartered in modern Nanning, Guangxi), then still under Tang Dynasty rule. After the end of his term of service, he went to live in Guang Prefecture (廣州, in modern Guangzhou, Guangdong).

At one point, Yang Dongqian was retained to serve on the staff of the warlord Liu Yin, who then controlled the region as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Qinghai Circuit (清海, headquartered at Guang Prefecture). Liu Yin honored Yang Dongqian as a teacher for himself, and also had Yang serve as his secretary in his role as military governor of Qinghai and Jianwu (建武, converted from Yong District) Circuits. He was said to be Liu Yin's chief strategist in planning the seizure of Ningyuan Circuit (寧遠, headquartered in modern Yulin, Guangxi), which eventually happened in 911 (after Liu Yin's death), from Liu Yin's northern neighbor, Ma Yin the Prince of Chu. (Tang's having fallen by that point, both Liu Yin and Ma were nominal vassals of Later Liang.)

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