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heroes of the Yang-chia Chiang, [the Romance of the Generals of the Yang clan), the novel in which elements of fact are linked and held together by chunks of fiction, embellished over the generations by public story tellers and opera. The title by which several of the family are known individually is Yang Fu Ta-shih. This is also the group title in the few temples in which the whole family of the Yangs are revered as protective deities. The family in the novel includes not only the mother, but also a daughter-in-law, two daughters and a serving maid, all of whom served as generals during the Sung dynasty, as did all seven sons.
In one of the numerous episodes in the novel, P'an Jen-mei is said to have planned during the martial promotion jousts to promote his soldier son, P'an Pao, by unfair means. He caused the sons of Yang Yeh to be forbidden to compete and also eliminated other major contestants by having them killed. The Seventh Son of Yang Yeh was furious and despite the ban, entered the jousts and killed P'an Pao. Yang Yeh and two of his sons were sentenced to death but had the sentence commuted to banishment.
At one stage P'an Jen-mei, who hated Yang Yeh, had him beaten for disobeying orders and then ordered him and his sons to attack the Liao forces. Unfortunately for Yang Yeh during the battle he and his sons were cut off on Liang Lang Shan [the Mountain of the Two Wolves]. The Seventh Son managed to escape and on returning to P'an's headquarters to seek help was accused by P'an of desertion and shot to death with arrows. Yang Yeh, surrounded and without hope, killed himself by banging his head against a tombstone whilst the Sixth Son managed to get away and back to the capital at Kaifeng. There he laid charges against P’an Jen-mei who was brought back to the city and put on trial. After various machinations he was finally convicted but attempted an escape to the Liao only to be caught and killed by the Sixth Son and his sisters. As a result the Sixth Son was banished by the Sung Emperor.
On his way to Ho-tung [Taiyuan] and banishment at his old family home, the Sixth Son by chance met his elder brother, the Fifth Son, who had become a Buddhist monk on the holy mountain, Wu T’ai Shan. The Fifth Son listened to the story of the fate suffered by members
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heroes of the Yang-chia Chiang, [the Romance of the Generals of the Yang clan), the novel in which elements of fact are linked and held together by chunks of fiction, embellished over the generations by public story tellers and opera. The title by which several of the family are known individually is Yang Fu Ta-shih ?iff. This is also the group title in the few temples in which the whole family of the Yangs are revered as protective deities. The family in the novel includes not only the mother, but also a daughter-in-law, two daughters and a serving maid, all of whom served as generals2 during the Sung dynasty, as did all seven sons.
In one of the numerous episodes in the novel, P'an Jen-mer' is said to have planned during the martial promotion jousts to promote his soldier son, P'an Pao, by unfair means. He caused the sons of Yang Yeh to be forbidden to compete and also eliminated other major contestants by having them killed. The Seventh Son of Yang Yeh was furious and despite the ban, entered the jousts and killed P'an Pao. Yang Yeh and two of his sons were sentenced to death but had the sentence commuted to banishment.
At one stage P'an Jen-mei, who hated Yang Yeh, had him beaten for disobeying orders and then ordered him and his sons to attack the Liao forces. Unfortunately for Yang Yeh during the battle he and his sons were cut off on Liang Lang Shan [the Mountain of the Two Wolves]. The Seventh Son managed to escape and on returning to P'an's headquarters to seek help was accused by P'an of desertion and shot to death with arrows. Yang Yeh, surrounded and without hope, killed himself by banging his head against a tombstone whilst the Sixth Son managed to get away and back to the capital at Kaifeng. There he laid charges against P’an Jen-mei who was brought back to the city and put on trial. After various machinations he was finally convicted but attempted an escape to the Liao only to be caught and killed by the Sixth Son and his sisters. As a result the Sixth Son was banished by the Sung Emperor.
On his way to Ho-tung [Taiyuan] and banishment at his old family home, the Sixth Son by chance met his elder brother, the Fifth Son, who had become a Buddhist monk on the holy mountain, Wu T’ai Shan. The Fifth Son listened to the story of the fate suffered by members
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