The Greatest of the Three Great Scholars of the Ming Dynasty — Yang Shen
During July and August, I used my time commuting on buses, riding elevators, and even sitting on the toilet to finish all seven volumes of Those Things About the Ming Dynasty. One day, while browsing a forum, I saw that people were still visiting Zhang Juzheng’s tomb, and another user had posted a list of surviving tombs of high-ranking Ming officials. A quick check revealed that Yang Shen’s tomb was right here in Xindu District — barely ten kilometers away. I decided on the spot to go visit.
Among the many notable ministers of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Shen’s historical weight is relatively light. If I had to choose a few Ming ministers’ tombs to visit, I’d pick Zhu Di, Qi Jiguang, and Yang Lian.
Zhu Di was a tyrant, but his greatness lies in overruling all opposition to move the capital to Beijing — right on the frontier. This fortified Beijing’s surrounding defenses, a decision whose impact endures to this day. Otherwise, given the social conditions at the time, the Mongols and Jurchens would surely have eyed China’s heartland, raiding the interior every so often. With enough luck, the Yuan Dynasty might even have been restored — and the Ming’s fate would have been uncertain. As for why Chairman Mao later chose Beijing as the capital, I really don’t understand — maybe he wanted to emulate Zhu Di. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain why their methods of purging political rivals were so eerily similar.
Qi Jiguang, the anti-wokou (Japanese pirate) hero, needs no introduction — a warrior whose combat aura never dimmed, with a full health bar his entire life. Through his efforts alone, he restored decades of peace to the Jiangnan region.
When Wei Zhongxian seized power, the entire court fawned over him. The Donglin faction member Yang Lian listed 24 charges against Wei Zhongxian, which drew Wei’s retaliation. In Wei’s private prison, Yang Lian endured torture, refusing to yield, until Wei’s henchman Xu Xianchun drove a large iron nail into Yang Lian’s head, killing him. Yang Lian may not have changed the course of history or brought prosperity to a region, but his unyielding integrity and righteous courage are revered by later generations. It is precisely because of such national backbones that Chinese civilization survived millennia without being wiped out.
Yang Shen can’t compare to these titans. But over the Ming Dynasty’s 200-plus years, Sichuan produced only one zhuangyuan (top scholar in the imperial examination). He was the son of Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe. Even as a youth, his literary talent was unmatched and his fame widespread (Tang Yin was equally gifted, but Yang Shen’s father was Grand Secretary — so while Tang Yin could only paint erotic comics, Yang Shen became zhuangyuan). Later, when the Jiajing Emperor ascended the throne, he was required to adopt a deceased prince as his ceremonial father per ministerial protocol. Jiajing refused — an event known as the Great Rites Controversy. Yang Shen was consequently exiled to Yunnan, and Jiajing hated him to his dying day. Yang Shen never got to turn his fortunes around.
Since ancient times, those frustrated in their ambitions either became bandits or became literary giants. Yang Shen belonged to the latter. Banished to a remote corner with nothing to do, he wrote an enormous body of work, widely recognized as the greatest of the Ming Dynasty’s Three Great Scholars.
Yang Shen left behind roughly 2,300 poems, covering an extremely wide range of subjects. Having lived in Yunnan for over 30 years, poems of “homesickness” and “longing to return” make up a large proportion. When he was exiled to Yunnan, his wife Huang E accompanied him to Jiangling to bid farewell. His poem Farewell to My Wife at Jiangling expresses the pain of parting — deep, sincere, and sorrowfully beautiful. Night at the Jinsha River describes his reflections traveling between Sichuan and Yunnan, contrasting past journeys with present sorrow, highlighting the agony of separation.
Night at the Jinsha River
Who would have thought I’d drift to the edge of a miasmic sea? Looking back toward the Jialing, it all fades away. The sound of the river, the moonlight — how can I bear to speak of it? Heartbroken at the Jinsha Tower, ten thousand miles from home.
Another of Yang Shen’s works is widely known — the opening verse of the third section, On Qin and Han, from his Ballads of the Twenty-One Histories:
Immortal at the River
The rolling Yangtze flows east, its waves washing heroes away. Right and wrong, success and failure — all turn to emptiness in a glance. White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the river’s shore, Accustomed to watching autumn moons and spring breezes. A pot of unfiltered wine brings joy to reunion — How many affairs of past and present, all reduced to laughter and idle talk.
He also wrote poems showing deep concern for the people’s suffering. Song of the Harbor and Song of the Harbor (Part II) exposed how wealthy landlords colluded with local officials to claim reclaimed land for personal profit. He wrote in his poetry: “A hundred thousand taels of silver to dredge the harbor — the appointed officials rejoice while the laborers resent”; and appealed: “How I wish a benevolent ruler would end this feast, so the masses could sing and dance as if reborn.” In Watching the Rice Harvest (Colloquial Style), speaking through an old farmer’s voice: “Even in a peaceful land there is song, even in a bountiful year there is a tune. But I fear only the urgency of military provisions — Songmao is already at war.” This depicted farmers who, despite a good harvest, still couldn’t afford enough to eat due to heavy military taxation. Other works like The Precious Well Piece and Lake Dian Dried Up fall into the same category.
Yang Shen also wrote many landscape poems. He described Yunnan’s scenery and depicted the country’s rivers and mountains with distinctive flair. Song of the Sea Wind describes the wind at Xiaguan: “The Cangshan gorge constricts the Cang River’s mouth, heaven’s bridge broken midstream, thunder roars clear. Within it, an unceasing long wind breaks through, shaking forests, driving sand and stone. A cliff face at arm’s length becomes indistinguishable, traveling horses whinny endlessly, travelers bow their heads.” The momentum is magnificent, with the force of a thunderbolt. And Song of Long Pass: “Twin Erhai’s misty waters recall the five river crossings, fishing lights dot the shimmering surface. Drinking wine beneath the moon, shadows pass from afar; hearing songs through the trees, no one in sight.” This captures Erhai’s nightscape — fishing boats, lamplight, moonlight on water — delicate and fresh. Yang Shen also wrote poems describing and praising historical heroes, loyal officials, and even farmers and woodcutters, many of which are excellent pieces.
At a time when the Former Seven Masters advocated “prose must follow Qin and Han, poetry must follow the High Tang” — a fashionable trend of literary revivalism — Yang Shen carved out his own path. He broadly absorbed the strengths of Six Dynasties and early Tang poetry, forming his own “richly beautiful and gracefully refined” style. His Twelve Songs of Dianhai and Nine Bamboo Branch Songs of the Three Gorges capture mountain-and-river scenery, retaining much of the folk song tradition. His Ode to Weeping Willows deeply embodies early Tang elegance. Returning from Military Service, Passing Banqiao by the River: “A thousand miles of marching, undaunted by distance — tomorrow I’ll unharness my saddle and ask for the homeward boat. Truly like the road to Xuan City through Xie Tiao’s verse, south bank and Xinlin, passing Banqiao.” This expresses the exhaustion of military service, with tender sentiment and a novel mood. Yang Shen also freely drew from the strengths of folk songs of the “mulberry groves and Pu Riverbanks” to enrich his poetry. For instance, Seeing Off Official Yu to His Return to Luojiang uses an entire Mianzhou folk song, followed by four lines of farewell — a fresh, elegant composition.
Yang Shen also engaged with prose, ci poetry, fu rhapsodies, sanqu songs, zaju plays, and tanci ballads. His ci and sanqu are fresh and beautifully ornate. His Lang Tao Sha poem “Spring Dreams Like Poplar Flowers” features delicate description and luxuriant, fluent language. His sanqu Zhu Ma Ting — Ode to Wang Shunqing’s River Voyage — describes a moonlit boat ride, river and sky merging into one, moonlight like water, and imagines sailing into the Milky Way — a beautiful scene, recorded with fine detail. His epic tanci work, Ballads of the Twenty-One Histories, recounts history from the Three Dynasties through Yuan and the late Ming, with fluent prose and smooth diction, widely recited. His prose is archaic and lofty, with bold, unrestrained power. Miscellaneous Affairs of Han features sensuous subjects but elegant language, free of vulgarity. His early memorial The Dingchou Memorial admonished the Zhengde Emperor: “Partial listening breeds confusion, sole reliance creates chaos,” advising that “ancient sages always consulted the many” — sincere and passionate, alternating between gentle and forceful. His Record of the Eight Trigrams Map in Xindu County and Record of the Bixue Study are also excellent narrative prose. He also wrote zaju plays such as Yan Qing Dongtian Xuan Ji, Taihe Ji, and Ge Rou Yi Xijun.
Yang Shen produced a vast number of works examining classics, history, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, as well as research on etymology, literary theory, phonology, and nomenclature. His works are numerous and wide-ranging: Danqian Zonglu, Tanyuan Tihu, Yilin Fashan, Sheng’an Shihua, Cipin, Shupin, Huapin, Dashu Suoyin, Jinshi Guwen, Fengya Yipian, Gujin Fengyao, Qizi Yun, Xixing Lu, Shiguwen Yinshi, and more — plus local chronicles and historical materials like Quan Shu Yiwen Zhi, Yunnan Shanchuan Zhi, and Dian Zai Ji. These writings often contain unique insights, fill historical gaps, or provide leads, carrying considerable academic value. However, because he spent so long in Yunnan, finding and verifying books was difficult, and he sometimes wrote from memory alone — so there are occasional misquotations and unfounded conjectures.
Yang Shen’s body of work is extensive. According to the History of Ming, no one in the Ming Dynasty matched his breadth of memorization or the richness of his writings. Beyond poetry and prose, he produced over 100 miscellaneous works. The Sichuan Provincial Library’s compiled Catalog of Yang Sheng’an’s Works lists 298 titles. His major works are collected in the Sheng’an Collection (81 volumes, also known as Sheng’an Complete Works). This collection was compiled and edited by Zhang Shipei, Sichuan’s governor during the Wanli era, drawing from Yang Shen’s Danqian Lu and other books, removing duplicates, classifying and organizing them, and appending them after the poetry. It includes fu and miscellaneous prose in 11 volumes, poetry in 29 volumes, and miscellaneous works in 41 volumes. A separate collection of his miscellaneous works, Sheng’an Waiji (100 volumes), was compiled by Jiao Hong of the Ming Dynasty, and Sheng’an Yiji (26 volumes) by Yang Jinwu. His ci poetry, sanqu, and tanci were separately compiled into Sheng’an Changduanju (3 volumes), Taoqing Yuefu (4 volumes), and Twenty-One Histories Ballads (12 volumes).
Yang Shen eventually died far from home. His friends later moved his remains back to his hometown, where his tomb now lies within the grounds of the Xindu District Sports Center.