Yang Jun
Encyclopedia
Yang Jun (died 291
AD), courtesy name Wenzhang (文長), was a Jin Dynasty (265-420)
official during the reign of Emperor Wu
and regent
for Emperor Hui
.
, Henan
). His niece Yang Yan
was Emperor Wu's first wife and empress. As she neared death in 274, she feared that whoever would be empress next would endanger the crown prince
status of her developmentally disabled
son, Sima Zhong. She therefore asked Emperor Wu to marry her cousin, Yang Jun's daughter Yang Zhi
. Emperor Wu agreed, and after her death later during the year, he married Yang Zhi in 276 and created her empress. Yang Jun, as the empress' father, became an increasingly important official in government, and became exceedingly arrogant. In Emperor Wu's later years, when he became obsessed with feasting and women, Yang Jun and his brothers Yang Yao (楊珧) and Yang Ji (楊濟) became effectively in power.
As Emperor Wu grew ill in 289, he considered whom to make regent. He considered both Yang Jun and his uncle Sima Liang
the Prince of Ru'nan, the most respected of the imperial princes. As a result, Yang Jun became fearful of Sima Liang and had him posted to the key city of Xuchang
. Several other imperial princes were also posted to other key cities in the empire. By 290, Emperor Wu resolved to let Yang and Sima Liang both be regents, but after he wrote his will, the will was seized by Yang Jun, who instead had another will promulgated in which Yang alone was named regent. Emperor Wu died soon thereafter. Crown Prince Zhong succeeded to the throne as Emperor Hui.
Yang Jun became Emperor Hui's regent, and became much criticized for spending his energy on making himself secure -- including not attending Emperor Wu's burial. Fearful of Emperor Hui's ambitious wife Empress Jia Nanfeng
, he ordered that imperial edicts be cosigned by his daughter, Empress Dowager Yang. Yang knew that he had made a lot of enemies, and tried to pacify them by giving widespread promotions, but those promotions only served to show his weakness. His associates, including his brother Yang Ji, tried to persuade him to alleviate the tension by inviting Sima Liang back to the capital Luoyang
to serve as coregent, a move that Yang Jun repeatedly rebuffed.
Empress Jia, who wanted her hand in governance, was dissatisfied with the situation, and conspired with the eunuch
Dong Meng (董猛) and the generals Meng Guan (孟觀) and Li Zhao (李肇) against the Yangs. She tried to include Sima Liang into the conspiracy, but Sima Liang declined; instead, she persuaded Emperor Hui's brother, Sima Wei
the Prince of Chu, to join her plan. In 291, after Sima Wei returned to Luoyang from his defense post (Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei
and Hunan
)) with his troops, a coup went into progress.
Empress Jia, who had her husband easily under her control, had him issue an edict declaring that Yang Jun had committed crimes and should be removed from his posts. It also ordered Sima Wei and Sima Yao (司馬繇) the Duke of Dong'an to attack Yang's forces and defend against counterattacks. Quickly, it became clear that Yang was in trouble, particularly after he declined his strategists' suggestion to burn the palace gate to temporarily halt the advance of the imperial guards. Empress Dowager Yang, trapped in the palace herself, wrote an edict ordering assistance for Yang Jun and put it on arrows, shooting it out of the palace. Empress Jia then made the bold declaration that Empress Dowager Yang was committing treason. Yang Jun was quickly defeated, and his clan was massacred.
291
Year 291 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberianus and Dio...
AD), courtesy name Wenzhang (文長), was a Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
official during the reign of Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu of Jìn
Emperor Wu of Jin, , personal name Sima Yan , style name Anshi , was the grandson of Sima Yi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin Dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, last ruler of the state of Cao Wei, to abdicate to him. He reigned from 265 to 290, and after conquering the...
and regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for Emperor Hui
Emperor Hui of Jin
Emperor Hui of Jin, sim. ch. 晋惠帝, trad. ch. 晉惠帝, py. jìn huì dì, wg. Chin Hui-ti , personal name Sima Zhong , courtesy name Zhengdu , was the second emperor of the Jin Dynasty...
.
Biography
Yang Jun was from Hongnong Commandery (弘農, roughly modern SanmenxiaSanmenxia
-Administration:The prefecture-level city of Sanmenxia administers one district, two county-level cities and three counties.*Hubin District*Lingbao City*Yima City*Lushi County*Shan County*Mianchi County*Sanmenxia Development Zone...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
). His niece Yang Yan
Empress Yang Yan
Empress Yang Yan , courtesy name Qiongzhi , formally Empress Wuyuan was an empress of Jin Dynasty . She was the first wife of Emperor Wu....
was Emperor Wu's first wife and empress. As she neared death in 274, she feared that whoever would be empress next would endanger the crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
status of her developmentally disabled
Developmental disability
Developmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...
son, Sima Zhong. She therefore asked Emperor Wu to marry her cousin, Yang Jun's daughter Yang Zhi
Empress Yang Zhi
Empress Yang Zhi , courtesy name Jilan , nickname Nanyin , formally Empress Wudao was an empress of Jin Dynasty...
. Emperor Wu agreed, and after her death later during the year, he married Yang Zhi in 276 and created her empress. Yang Jun, as the empress' father, became an increasingly important official in government, and became exceedingly arrogant. In Emperor Wu's later years, when he became obsessed with feasting and women, Yang Jun and his brothers Yang Yao (楊珧) and Yang Ji (楊濟) became effectively in power.
As Emperor Wu grew ill in 289, he considered whom to make regent. He considered both Yang Jun and his uncle Sima Liang
Sima Liang
Sima Liang , courtesy name Ziyi , formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan , was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during Jin Dynasty . He was the first of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes.-Biography:Sima Liang was the fourth son of Sima Yi, by his...
the Prince of Ru'nan, the most respected of the imperial princes. As a result, Yang Jun became fearful of Sima Liang and had him posted to the key city of Xuchang
Xuchang
Xuchang is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pingdingshan to the southwest....
. Several other imperial princes were also posted to other key cities in the empire. By 290, Emperor Wu resolved to let Yang and Sima Liang both be regents, but after he wrote his will, the will was seized by Yang Jun, who instead had another will promulgated in which Yang alone was named regent. Emperor Wu died soon thereafter. Crown Prince Zhong succeeded to the throne as Emperor Hui.
Yang Jun became Emperor Hui's regent, and became much criticized for spending his energy on making himself secure -- including not attending Emperor Wu's burial. Fearful of Emperor Hui's ambitious wife Empress Jia Nanfeng
Empress Jia Nanfeng
Empress Jia Nanfeng , nickname Shi , of the Jin Dynasty was the daughter of Jia Chong and first wife of Emperor Hui...
, he ordered that imperial edicts be cosigned by his daughter, Empress Dowager Yang. Yang knew that he had made a lot of enemies, and tried to pacify them by giving widespread promotions, but those promotions only served to show his weakness. His associates, including his brother Yang Ji, tried to persuade him to alleviate the tension by inviting Sima Liang back to the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
to serve as coregent, a move that Yang Jun repeatedly rebuffed.
Empress Jia, who wanted her hand in governance, was dissatisfied with the situation, and conspired with the eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
Dong Meng (董猛) and the generals Meng Guan (孟觀) and Li Zhao (李肇) against the Yangs. She tried to include Sima Liang into the conspiracy, but Sima Liang declined; instead, she persuaded Emperor Hui's brother, Sima Wei
Sima Wei
Sima Wei , courtesy name Yandu , formally Prince Yin of Chu , was an imperial prince during Jin Dynasty and was the second of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes.-Biography:...
the Prince of Chu, to join her plan. In 291, after Sima Wei returned to Luoyang from his defense post (Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
and Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
)) with his troops, a coup went into progress.
Empress Jia, who had her husband easily under her control, had him issue an edict declaring that Yang Jun had committed crimes and should be removed from his posts. It also ordered Sima Wei and Sima Yao (司馬繇) the Duke of Dong'an to attack Yang's forces and defend against counterattacks. Quickly, it became clear that Yang was in trouble, particularly after he declined his strategists' suggestion to burn the palace gate to temporarily halt the advance of the imperial guards. Empress Dowager Yang, trapped in the palace herself, wrote an edict ordering assistance for Yang Jun and put it on arrows, shooting it out of the palace. Empress Jia then made the bold declaration that Empress Dowager Yang was committing treason. Yang Jun was quickly defeated, and his clan was massacred.
Sources
- Fang XuanlingFang XuanlingFang Xuanling , formal name Fang Qiao but went by the courtesy name of Xuanling, formally Duke Wenzhao of Liang , was the lead editor of the Book of Jin and one of the most celebrated chancellors of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, and he and his colleague Du Ruhui, both serving during the reign...
, et al., Jin Shu, chapters 3, 4, http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/jin01.htm, 40. http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/jin04.htm - Sima GuangSima GuangSīmǎ Guāng was a Chinese historian, scholar, and high chancellor of the Song Dynasty, jinshi 1038.-Life, profession, and works:...
, Zizhi TongjianZizhi TongjianThe Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
. http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/zztj/zztjml.htm