Yang Xiong (; 53 BCE–18 CE) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

known for his philosophical writings and ''fu'' poetry compositions.

Life and career

Like a number of the other well-known writers of the Han dynasty, Yang was from Shu (modern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

province), specifically the area of Pi (modern

Pi County Pidu District formerly known as Pi County or Pixian is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Southwest China. It was approved from the former Pi County by the State Council on Nov ...

, Sichuan). Yang claimed that his family had moved south from the state of Jin during its civil infighting in the 6th century BCE. As a youth Yang was an admirer and imitator of his elder Shu compatriot

Sima Xiangru Sima Xiangru ( , ; c. 179117BC) was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician who lived during the Western Han dynasty. Sima is a significant figure in the history of Classical Chinese poetry, and is generally regarded as the greatest of all com ...

and the "grand ''fu''" style of the early Han period. His ability and success in ''fu'' composition earned him a summons to the imperial capital at

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

to serve as an "Expectant Official", responsible for composing poems and ''fu'' for the emperor.Ho (1986): 912. Yang's position required him to praise the virtue and glory of

Emperor Cheng of Han Emperor Cheng of Han (51 BC – 17 April 7 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty ruling from 33 until 7 BC. He succeeded his father Emperor Yuan of Han. Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its growing disintegration as the em ...

and the grandeur of imperial outings, but he was disturbed by the wasteful extravagance of the imperial court. Yang attempted to return the ''fu'' genre to a focus of "suasive admonition" (''fèng'' 諷), which he believed was the original purpose of the earliest ''fu''-type writings of

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...

, but his couched admonitions against extravagance went unnoticed and unheeded by Emperor Cheng. Yang's most famous work, ''Exemplary Sayings'' (''Fa yan'' 法言) is a philosophical work modeled on the '' Analects of Confucius (Lunyu)'', in which Yang criticizes ''fu'' writers for focusing on ornate, esoteric language while ignoring more important issues of morality. Yang's other works include '' Great Mystery'' (''Tai xuan'' 太玄), a divination text based on the '' Classic of Changes (Yijing)'', "Justification Against Ridicule" (''Jie chao'' 解嘲), one of the best known of the "''fu'' of frustration" category of ''fu'', and '' Fangyan'', a collection of regional dialectal terms from the various parts of China in his era. Together with

, Yang was one of the most famous and illustrious figures of the entire Han dynasty. The ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

'' devotes a full two-part chapter to both Yang and Sima, an honor surpassing that of even the most famous generals and ministers.Knechtges (1982): 1.

Philosophy

He did not believe human nature was inherently good as

Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confucius' fourth generation of discip ...

(fl. 4th century BCE) had written, nor inherently bad as Xunzi (c. 300–230 BCE) had written, but came into existence as a mixture of both. He was a close associate of the official and philosopher Huan Tan (d. 28 CE), an

Old Texts In Chinese philology, the Old Texts () refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic characters and supposedly produced before the burning of the books. The term became used in contrast with Mod ...

realist who may have heavily influenced the works of

Wang Chong Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Han Dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mechanistic account ...

(27–c. 100 CE). Yang is also known for his protest against the verbosity of the '' fu''. He was hailed by Huan Tan as the "Confucius from the western parts".

References

;Footnotes ;Works Cited * Chen, Keming and Zhang, Shancheng
"Yang Xiong"
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...

'' (Philosophy Edition), 1st ed. * * * * Zhu, Binjie
"Yang Xiong"
''

'' (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.

External links

Yang Xiong
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy biography *
方言: 13卷 (1873 edition)

Full text of Yang Xiong's Fa Yan
(English and Chinese) -

Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

Yang Xiong
''Qin Shi Bu'' (琴史補; "Appended History of the

Guqin The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and Scholar-bureaucrats, literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinemen ...

") article {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Xiong 53 BC births 18 deaths 1st-century BC Chinese philosophers 1st-century BC Chinese poets 1st-century Chinese philosophers 1st-century Chinese poets Han dynasty philosophers Han dynasty poets Han dynasty politicians from Sichuan Poets from Sichuan Politicians from Chengdu Writers from Chengdu