Yang Jun (prince)
Yang Jun (楊俊) (571
Family
Parents
- Father: Emperor Wen of Sui (隋文帝; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604)
- Mother: Empress Wenxian, of the Henan Dugu clan (文獻皇后 河南獨孤氏; 544–602)
Consort and their respective issue(s):
- Princess Consort Xiao of Qin, of the Cui clan of Boling (秦孝妃 博陵崔氏; d. 600)
- Concubine Chen, of the Yingchuan chen clan (妾潁川陳氏), known as Princess Lingcheng (临成公主)[4]
- Unknown:
- Princess Yongfeng (永丰公主), first daughter
- Lady Yang, second daughter
Early life
Yang Jun was born in 571. He was the third son of Yang Jian and Dugu Qieluo, after
Military and political career
In 586, Yang Jun became the regional executive of the provinces south of the
Fall from grace
While at Bing Province, however, Yang Jun began to live luxuriously, including building palaces beyond what was proper for an imperial prince. He also began to have many
I am the father of just five sons, not the father of all people over the land. If I agreed with you, does that mean I have to draft a Penal Code for the Emperor's Sons? Even a man as kind as the Duke of Zhou executed his brothers, the lords of Guan and Cai, for their crimes. I am nowhere as capable as the Duke of Zhou, so I can break my own laws?
Emperor Wen therefore did not permit Yang Jun to return to service. Thereafter, Yang Jun's illness appeared to never get well, and by 600, he was extremely ill, and he sent messengers to deliver a petition to Emperor Wen, requesting forgiveness, but Emperor Wen refused. Only when Yang Jun was near death did Emperor Wen confer on him the honorific post of Shang Zhuguo (上柱國), an office that, in Sui's nine-rank system, was first rank, second class, but carried no authorities of its own.
Death and legacy
Yang Jun died in summer 600, and it was said that Emperor Wen only cried slightly before stopping. He ordered the overly luxurious items that Yang Jun made to be all destroyed. When Yang Jun's staff requested that a stone monument be erected for Yang Jun, Emperor Wen responded:[6]
For a person to have a good name, only several pages in a history book would be sufficient. Why would he need a monument? If his descendants could not glorify him, the monument will only be broken into pieces to become paperweight.
Yang Jun was survived by two sons—Yang Hao, the son of Princess Cui, and Yang Zhan (楊湛), born of a concubine. The imperial officials, anticipating that Emperor Wen would not favor having either of them inherit Yang Jun's title, recommended that neither be allowed—on the basis that Yang Hao had been tainted by Princess Cui's crimes, and that Yang Zhan, as the son of a concubine, should not inherit. Emperor Wen agreed, and had Yang Jun's staff serve as his mourners. Yang Jun's oldest daughter Princess Yongfeng was 11 at this time, and she mourned Yang Jun in a particularly devout manner that she was praised by historians. It was not until Yang Guang became emperor in 604 that Yang Hao was allowed to inherit the title of Prince of Qin and Yang Zhan was created the Marquess of Jibei.
References
- ^ According to Yang Jun's biography in Book of Sui, he was 12 (by East Asian reckoning) in the 2nd year of the Kaihuang era of Yang Jian's reign. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 571. (开皇元年立为秦王。二年春,拜上柱国、河南道行台尚书令、洛州刺史,时年十二。) Sui Shu, vol.45
- ^ According to Yang Jian's biography in Book of Sui, Yang Jun died on the dingchou day of the 6th month of the 20th year of the Kaihuang era of his reign. This corresponds to 4 Aug 600 in the Julian calendar. ([开皇二十年]六月丁丑,秦王俊薨。 ) Sui Shu, vol.02
- ^ later emperor of Sui Dynasty,
- ^ Lady Chen is the fifth daughter of Chen Shubao.
- ^ (上曰:“我是五儿之父,若如公意,何不别制天子儿律?以周公之为人,尚诛管、蔡,我诚不及周公远矣,安能亏法乎?”) Sui Shu, vol.45
- ^ (上曰:“欲求名,一卷史书足矣,何用碑为?若子孙不能保家,徒与人作镇石耳。”) Sui Shu, vol.45
- Book of Sui, vol. 45.
- History of the Northern Dynasties, vol. 71.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 175, 176, 177, 178, 179.