Yang Yanzhao
| Yang Yanzhao | |
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from one 1892 print of the novel Legends of Generals of the Yang Family (楊家將傳)
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 958 likely modern Taiyuan, Shanxi |
| Died | 9 February 1014 (aged 56) modern Baoding, Hebei |
| Children |
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| Father | Yang Ye |
| Full name |
Surname: Liú (), changed to Yáng (), his father's original surname, in 979 with his father Given name: Yánlǎng (), changed to Yánzhāo () in 1012 |
| Nickname(s) | "Yang's 6th son" (楊六郎) |
| Yang Yanzhao | |||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yáng Yánzhāo |
| Wade–Giles | Yang2 Yen2-chao1 |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Yeung4 Yin4-chiu1 |
| Jyutping | Joeng4 Jin4-ciu1 |
Yang Yanzhao (楊延昭) (c. 958 – 9 February 1014), named Yang Yanlang (楊延朗) before 1012 and Liu Yanlang (劉延朗) before 979, was a military general in ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. For over 2 decades he defended Song's northern border against the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty, helping Song thwart Liao's repeated invasion attempts between 999 and 1004.
He was one of Yang Ye's 7 sons. History of Song mentions that he was called Yang Liulang (楊六郎, literally "Yang's 6th son") by the Khitans who feared him. In the largely fictional legends of Generals of the Yang Family, Yang Yanzhao is Yang Ye's 6th eldest son to explain this nickname, even though historians believe he was actually the eldest or 2nd eldest son.
Yang Yanzhao's given name was originally Yanlang (延朗). As a child, he was quiet but enjoyed playing military strategy games. His father Yang Ye (then still called Liu Jiye), a distinguished general, had commented that Yanlang resembled him, and would bring him along on military campaigns.
In 986, the Song Dynasty armies embarked on a large-scale northern campaign to take the Sixteen Prefectures from Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty. Yang was the vanguard general for his father Yang Ye's troops during the attacks on the prefectures Yingzhou and Shuozhou. He fought on despite an arrow piercing his arm in the attacks of Shuozhou. After his father's death, he was named a vice-commissioner of honor ceremony (崇儀副使) and sent to Jingzhou. In the years that followed, he had a stint in Huainan to oversee the recovery from floods in Yangtze River and Huai River, eventually becoming the metro inspection commissioner (都巡檢使) of the Baozhou area on the Song border, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
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