The Yang’s:a Family of Generals in Song Dynasty

In the Song army，there was a family of generals named Yang，who fought hard and victoriously in many a battle against the invading enemy-the Barbarian Qidans.However，they were either sabotaged by the capitulation wing of the Song Court or distrusted by the Song Emperor whose only concern was to keep himself from harm’s way at whatever cost.At that time，the court had become corruptive and the emperor was a weak and stupid man followed by a group of flatterers who were actually thieves of the country.With no exception，he had a beautiful concubine whose father took the most important position in the court.He and his relatives persecuted the loyal men.This phenomenon seems to be the fate of all dynasties in China.

Eventually，the Yang army was defeated by the Liao with tremendous losses:all but three of the eight brother generals perished.One of the survived quited fighting and became a monk in the temple on the Wutaishan Mountain in Shanxi Province.That was the fifth son .Another，the fourth son was captured by the enemy.He hid his real name and became the Liao’s first son-in-law.He came home secretly to visit his mother.A famous Peking Opera tells the moving love story.A man has to make choice between two different loves:the love of his mother and love of his wife-the enemy’s daughter.It was a”to be or not to be”dilemma.

Yang Yanzhao ，the sixth son，was the only male of his generation to lead the Yang Family army and therefore he was made Commander-in-Chief.Heavy fightings continued between the Yang’s army and the Liao’s.Except for a couple of very young sons，the positions of the generals missing in action were finally filled by all the women of the family:Yanzhao’s mother，his wife，his two sisters，and three of his brothers’widows.Together，they are known to the Chinese as the“Women Generals of the Yang Family”.

Yang Zongbao，the son of Yanzhao，married Mu Guiying by chance.The pretty girl was a great heroine who was most skillful of the marshal art，for she was the daughter of a bandit leader.Bandits as they were they were patriotic who were willing to fight for the country.Yang Zongbao killed the Bandit Leader，Mu Tianwang but he was arrested by the daughter who was the number one in marshal art at that time.The girl was reluctant to take revenge because she，for the first time in her life，met with a handsome young man.She forced Zomgbao to marry her or she will kill him.Zongbao wasn’t afraid of death but he also fell in love with the wonderful girl.They were married.The old father came to rescue his son and he was bitten and arrested by his daughter-in-law.At the mountain camp of the bandits，the girl vowed to fight for her country instead of her dead father.Another story full of hatred and love.

Mu Guiying took the position of the vanguard of the army and she fought bravely at the front.So her name is the synonym of‘heroine”in Chinese.

hancheng

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