Yang Biao

Historical Record

Yang Biao, styled Wenxian, came from a great clan that had produced the Three Excellencies for generations. In the turbulent late Han period, he held high offices such as Grand Commandant. However, when the house of Han declined and the Cao Wei regime gradually rose, Yang Biao displayed his loyalty and integrity toward the house of Han. According to the Book of Wei, after Cao Pi proclaimed himself Emperor, he wished to treat Yang Biao with the courtesy due a guest, bestowing on him a staff of longevity and an armrest, allowing him to enter audience leaning on his staff, and even to wear a deerskin cap. Yet Yang Biao declined and would not accept, insisting on entering in a plain cloth single robe and a leather cap, to make clear his stance of refusing to be a minister of Wei ^c:5756.

The Continued Book of Han further records that Yang Biao, deeply feeling that the fortune of Han was about to end and ashamed to be a minister of Wei, claimed that his legs were crippled and no longer walked. This conduct lasted more than ten years. Even after Cao Pi ascended the royal throne and wished to make him Grand Commandant, Yang Biao firmly declined, stating that he had been one of the Three Excellencies of the Han, had failed to rescue the state, and that to become a minister of Wei would be no honor for either the state or himself ^c:5756. Cao Pi did not force his will, but in the fourth year of Huangchu (223) he still decreed that Yang Biao be appointed Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, with a salary rank of fully two thousand piculs, his place at audience ranking next to the Three Excellencies, enjoying honors like those of Kong Guang. Yang Biao again submitted a memorial firmly declining, but Cao Pi would not heed it, and even provided him with horses and assigned him officials and runners to show special esteem. Yang Biao finally died at the advanced age of eighty-four. His son Yang Xiu is also recorded in the histories, his deeds being found in the Biography of the Prince of Chensi ^c:5756. Yang Biao's life was an epitome of the loyal integrity of the gentlemen of the late Han; by his own actions he upheld the dignity of the house of Han and left posterity a model of lofty and noble principle.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yang Biao's image is further given literary form, and he is shaped into a loyal old minister of the house of Han who dared to remonstrate frankly, his appearances often closely linked to the perils of the house of Han. He first appears during Dong Zhuo's misrule, when, together with Minister over the Masses Wang Yun and others, he welcomed the wandering Emperor Xian and the Prince of Chenliu back to the capital ^c:2524. When Dong Zhuo wished to move the capital to Chang'an, Yang Biao, together with Huang Wan, Xun Shuang, and other ministers, strongly remonstrated, pointing out the harm of moving the capital and holding that such a move would throw the people into turmoil and unsettle the realm. However, Dong Zhuo paid no heed to their counsel and even angrily rebuked Yang Biao and the others for obstructing the great affairs of state, finally reducing them to commoners ^c:5757. This episode highlights Yang Biao's loyal courage and Dong Zhuo's brutality, and lays the groundwork for his later experiences.

During the period when Li Jue and Guo Si held power, Yang Biao again stepped forward and, together with the Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhu Jun, secretly memorialized Emperor Xian, proposing to use Cao Cao's strength to eliminate the treacherous clique. He even offered a stratagem of using the jealousy of Guo Si's wife to set a scheme of estrangement so that the two villains would destroy each other, and then decree Cao Cao to lead troops to kill them and so secure the court ^c:2525. When Emperor Xian was abducted by Li Jue to Meiwu and food and drink ran short, Yang Biao consoled the Emperor, urging him to endure and not provoke Li Jue ^c:2526. When Li Jue and Guo Si fought before their lines, Yang Biao rode out and loudly called for reconciliation, trying to quell the strife ^c:2527. Yet his efforts did not fully succeed, and Guo Si even imprisoned the officials, Yang Biao among them, and wished to kill Yang Biao, who was spared only thanks to the strong remonstrance of Yang Mi ^c:2528. These episodes all display the image of Yang Biao striving and crying out for the house of Han, devoting his utmost effort in times of peril. In the novel, Yang Biao's son Yang Xiu served as Registrar under Cao Cao and had a brilliant exchange with Zhang Song, displaying his erudite eloquence ^c:2513, which is not recorded in detail in the histories.

Key Relationships

* Cao Wei (serves): In the historical record, although Yang Biao refused to serve Cao Wei, Cao Pi still granted him the treatment of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, ranking next to the Three Excellencies, reflecting Cao Wei's courting and respect for the old ministers of the house of Han ^c:5756.
* Liu Bian (serves): In the novel, after Dong Zhuo's misrule, Yang Biao, together with Wang Yun and others, welcomed the wandering Liu Bian (the Young Emperor) and the Prince of Chenliu (Emperor Xian) back to the capital, as a representative loyal minister of the house of Han ^c:2524 (novel only).
* Dong Zhuo's Faction (defected_from): Yang Biao once strongly remonstrated against Dong Zhuo's moving of the capital and opposed his tyranny, and was therefore dismissed by Dong Zhuo, being an opponent of Dong Zhuo's faction ^c:5757.
* Liu Xie (advises_in): Whether in the historical record or in the novel, Yang Biao repeatedly offered counsel to Emperor Xian of Han, especially during the misrule of Li Jue and Guo Si, when he actively schemed for the Emperor, trying to rescue the house of Han from its peril ^c:2525.

Iconic Scenes

* Declining to serve Wei, with lofty and noble principle: After Cao Pi proclaimed himself Emperor and wished to treat Yang Biao with the courtesy due a guest and bestow special honors on him, Yang Biao firmly declined, claiming his legs were crippled and he could no longer walk, to show he would not be a minister of Wei. This conduct is recorded in both the Book of Wei and the Continued Book of Han, and is a concentrated embodiment of his loyal integrity ^c:5756.
* Strongly remonstrating against Dong Zhuo's moving of the capital: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Dong Zhuo wished to move the capital to Chang'an, Yang Biao, together with Huang Wan, Xun Shuang, and other ministers, strongly remonstrated, pointing out the harm of moving the capital, and was finally dismissed by Dong Zhuo. This scene displays Yang Biao's loyal courage and his readiness to speak frankly ^c:5757 (novel only).
* Offering the stratagem of estranging Li Jue and Guo Si: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yang Biao, together with Zhu Jun, secretly memorialized Emperor Xian, offering the stratagem of using the jealousy of Guo Si's wife to set a scheme of estrangement so that Li Jue and Guo Si would destroy each other, and then decree Cao Cao to lead troops to eliminate the two villains and secure the court. This episode displays Yang Biao's stratagem and his loyalty to the house of Han ^c:2525 (novel only).
* Brokering peace in the strife of Li Jue and Guo Si: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Li Jue and Guo Si fought before their lines, Yang Biao rode out and loudly called for reconciliation, trying to quell the strife. This scene highlights Yang Biao's anxiety and exertion for state and people ^c:2527 (novel only).