Which dynasty did Yang Ye live in?

Yang Ye’s original name was Yang Chonggui, and his year of birth is not recorded. "History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Yang Ye" says that Yang Ye was in his weak years when he entered the Northern Han Dynasty. The "Book of Rites" explains that when a man reaches the age of twenty, a crowning ceremony is held to indicate that he has reached adulthood. A weak person is under twenty years old. Yang Ye entered the Northern Han Dynasty in the fourth year of Qianyou (951). Pushing forward twenty years, it was the third year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (932) in the Five Dynasties. This year was approximately Yang Ye's birth year. The year of his death was the third year of Yongxi's reign (986) in the Northern Song Dynasty. Therefore, Yang Ye lived approximately fifty-five years. A descendant of Yang Ye in Dai County, Shanxi Province, said that he was fifty-nine years old. According to this theory, Yang Ye was born in the third year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (928).

Historical records vary as to where Yang Ye was from, and they can be roughly summarized into three places: Linzhou Xinqin (now the north of Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province), Bingzhou Taiyuan (now Shanxi Taiyuan) and Baode Volcano (now south of Hequ, Shanxi). How can a person have three places of origin? Where is Yang Ye's hometown? The "Baodezhou Chronicles" written during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty records: "Yang Ye, the old records (referring to the previously compiled "Baodezhou Chronicles") said that he was a native of this state." Although the old "Baodezhou Chronicles" was not compiled by Yang Yeshi, When Baode people record celebrities from this state, they cannot write about people who are not from this state as if they were from Baode. Moreover, according to folklore, Yang Ye's father, Yang Xin, was the "King of Volcanoes", "Provincial Governor of Volcanoes", and "Envoy of Volcanoes". Huoshan is a place name that belongs to Yifang County, Lanzhou, in the Tang Dynasty, close to the east bank of the Yellow River. In the Song Dynasty, the Huoshan Army and Huoshan County were established. During the Five Dynasties, when the Khitan invaded Baodou, Yang Xin gathered a crowd to build a fort in his hometown and became the leader of an armed force. "Volcano King" is probably Yang Xin's self-title or what the villagers call him.

In the early Qing Dynasty, Gu Yanwu also talked about Yang Xin's military campaign in the volcanic area in his "Book of Benefits and Diseases of the Prefectures and Countries of the World". He also said that he had personally visited this place and saw the ruins of a castle where Yang Xin stationed troops, which local residents called "Yangjiacheng". To this day, there are still many villages such as "Yangjiacheng" and "Yangjiazhai" dozens of miles east of the old city of Hequ. According to Kang Jitian, a native of Shanxi in the early Qing Dynasty, a tombstone of the Yang family was unearthed in Kelan Prefecture (today's Kelan County, Shanxi Province) near Hequ, which contains the story of Mrs. Yang Ye's defeat of the Taijun. Also, "Xunshuangzhai Diary" written by Li Ciming of the late Qing Dynasty said: "In Zhewo Village, Baodou County, Shanxi Province today, there is a stele of Taijun folded in the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu, that is, Yang Ye's wife." In the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1010) ) was the era of Song Zhenzong's rule. Therefore, to say that Yang Ye was a Baode native is not only documented in writing, but also unearthed as evidence.

The Yang family is said to be from Linzhou, Xinqin. This can be seen in Ouyang Xiu's "Yang Qi's Epitaph". The epitaph says, "Yang Junqi, courtesy name Baochen, is from Linzhou, Xinqin." Yang Qi is Yang Xin's. Great-grandson, Yang Ye’s great-nephew. Therefore, based on this epitaph, later generations said that the Yang family was from Linzhou and Xinqin. In addition, "Longping Collection·Yang Ye Biography" and "Zizhi Tongjian" written by Zeng Gong of the Northern Song Dynasty also said that Yang Ye was from Linzhou. That's because Yang Xin served as the governor of Linzhou in the Later Han Dynasty, and his family moved to Linzhou at that time. Yang Xin later died in Linzhou. Since his eldest son Yang Ye was not around, the post of governor of Linzhou was inherited by his second son Yang Chongxun. Yang Qi is the grandson of Yang Chongxun. Ouyang Xiu called Yang Qi a native of Linzhou Xinqin, which made sense, because Yang Qi's great-grandfather had already moved to Linzhou. Of course, in terms of origin, Yang Qi should be said to be from Baode.

"Song History" says that Yang Ye was from Taiyuan, Bingzhou. In the early years of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Yang Ye was summoned by Emperor Liu Chong of the Northern Han Dynasty to serve in Taiyuan. He served in the Northern Han Dynasty for twenty-nine years and lived in Taiyuan for a long time, so the "History of the Song Dynasty" said that he was from Taiyuan, Bingzhou. In fact, both Yang Ye's ancestral home and his own place of birth are Baode. It is unreasonable to say that he is from Taiyuan, Bingzhou.

When Yang Ye was born, China was in the turbulent years of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The Yellow River Basin was ruled by the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Wu dynasties. Ten separatist regimes, including the former Shu, Wu, Fujian, and Northern Han, were established in various places in the south and Shanxi in the north. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there were many vassal towns and endless fighting. The Khitan minority living in the Liaohe area in the north gradually became stronger. Yelu Abaoji, a Khitan nobleman, established the Khitan Kingdom in the first year of Shence (916). Taking advantage of the turmoil in the Central Plains, the Khitan nobles often sent troops to today's Shanxi and northern Hebei areas to plunder people and livestock. The volcano in Baodian, Yang Ye's hometown, was a place often harassed by the Khitans. He led the local people to form a fort and organized "soldiers" to resist the Khitan. When Abaoji's son Yelv Deguang ruled, Shi Jingtang, a vassal town in the Later Tang Dynasty, wanted to be emperor, so he begged the Khitan to send troops on the condition of ceding territory and becoming a vassal. In the third year of Qingtai (936) after the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty took advantage of the situation and led his army into Shanxi. The next year, he established Shi Jingtang as the "Emperor of the Jin Dynasty" and sent troops to help Shi Jingtang destroy the Later Tang Dynasty. Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Youyun Prefectures (today's Beijing, Hebei, and northern Shanxi) to the Khitan, and also claimed to be the son emperor of Liao Taizong. Yang Xin was very angry at Shi Jingtang's traitorous behavior, so he raised his own flag, raised troops to resist the Liao Dynasty, and moved to the northwest of Shanxi Province. He captured Baode, Lishi and other places from Shi Jingtang. He also formed an alliance with the father and son Zhe Congruan and Zhe Deqi of Fuzhou (today's Fugu) on the west bank of the Yellow River to jointly resist the Khitan. Yang Ye was only about five years old at that time.

After Shi Jingtang died, his nephew Shi Chonggui came to the throne and was no longer so deferential to the Khitan. Yelu Deguang used this as an excuse to send a large number of troops southward to destroy the Later Jin Dynasty in the ninth year of the Khitan Alliance (946). In the second year, Yelu Deguang entered Kaifeng and changed the country's name to Liao. He sent troops to plunder and plunder, and the people of the Central Plains resisted with arms. Yelu Deguang was forced to withdraw from Kaifeng and return north, and died of illness on the way.

Yang Xin led his son Yang Ye, and when Yelu Deguang invaded Kaifeng, he joined forces with the Zhe family and his son from Fuzhou to cross the Yellow River and go north, conquered Linzhou (today's north of Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province), and became the leader of the state. At this time Yang Ye was eighteen or nineteen years old.

Shanxi has produced good generals since ancient times. As the folk proverb goes, "Shandong produces prime ministers, and Shanxi produces generals." Yang Ye was born in such a place, and his father was the leader of the local armed forces. In addition, he grew up in an era of constant war, so he was good at riding, shooting and hunting since he was a child. Every time he goes hunting, he always catches more than others. He often said to his companions: "When I become a general and lead troops in the future, I will be like an eagle or a hound chasing a rabbit." When he was fifteen or sixteen years old, Yang Ye had followed his father on the battlefield.

Yang Ye married Zhe Deqi’s daughter Zhe Taijun, who was the legendary coach of the “Yang Clan Female Generals” She Taijun.

The Zhe family lived in Fugu, Shaanxi today, and were a wealthy local family. The great ancestor of Zhe Taijun was a local military commander in the late Tang Dynasty. My grandfather Zhe followed Ruan and was the governor of Fuzhou when he was in the Later Liang Dynasty. During the Later Jin Dynasty, the Khitan invaded and looted, and he and Yang Xin joined forces to raise troops to resist. Later, the two of them assisted Liu Zhiyuan, the governor of Hedong Jiedu, to become the emperor of the Later Han Dynasty. Zhe Deqing was the eldest son of Zhe Congruan. He was born in the army. He followed his father in the anti-Liao struggle and served as the training envoy of the Fuzhou regiment in the Later Han Dynasty. Zhe Taijun grew up in a military family and often heard the neighing of war horses. After marriage, his father-in-law and husband were also battle-hardened generals. Therefore, she is also "good at riding and shooting" and "accomplishes military exploits through her own experience." Even her maids and servants are all excellent in martial arts. Her marriage to Yang Ye can be said to be a perfectly matched and happy marriage. To this day, people in Linxian and Lishi, Shanxi still circulate the story that Yang Ye married Taijun Zhe at the local Qixing Temple.