Yang Pu (Ming dynasty)

Yang Pu
楊溥
Portrait of Yang Pu as depicted in the Sancai Tuhui
Senior Grand Secretary
In office 1444–1446
Monarch	Yingzong
Preceded by	Yang Shiqi
Succeeded by	Cao Nai
Grand Secretary
In office 1424–1446
Monarchs	Xuande Yingzong
Personal details
Born	1372 Shishou, Hubei
Died	1446 (aged 73–74) Jingshi
Education	jinshi degree (1400)
Courtesy name	Hongji (弘濟)
Art name	Nanyang (南楊)
Posthumous name	Wending (文定)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	楊溥
Simplified Chinese	杨溥
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yáng Pǔ
Civil and honorary titles Junior Guardian and Minister of Rites (少保禮部尚書), and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Hall of Military Glory (武英殿大學士)

Yang Pu (1372–1446), courtesy name Hongji, art name Nanyang, was a prominent Chinese scholar-official during the Ming dynasty. He was appointed as the Grand Secretary in 1424, at the start of the Hongxi Emperor's reign, and held the position until his death. In his final two years, he served as the Senior Grand Secretary. In recognition of his contributions, he was given the posthumous name Wending.

Yang Pu was born in southern China, specifically in present-day Shishou County, Jingzhou, Hubei. He achieved the highest level of success in the official examinations, known as the palace examinations, and was granted the rank of jinshi in 1400.^[1] After this accomplishment, he served at the Hanlin Academy.

Along with Huang Huai, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Rong, he was part of the inner circle of Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi. However, in September 1414, after the Yongle Emperor's return from a campaign in Mongolia, Zhu Gaoxu accused his elder brother, Zhu Gaochi, of neglecting his duties. As a result, the emperor punished the crown prince's advisors, including Grand Secretaries Huang Huai and Yang Shiqi, as well as Yang Pu, who was removed from his position and imprisoned.^[2]

After Zhu Gaochi ascended to the throne as the Hongxi Emperor, Yang Pu was released and appointed as Grand Secretary on 9 September 1424.^[3] He held this position until his death, serving as one of the "Three Yangs" (along with Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong). This trio of highly experienced, capable, and influential officials governed the Ming dynasty from the late 1420s under the leadership of the Hongxi Emperor's eldest son and successor, the Xuande Emperor. After the Xuande Emperor's death in 1435, "Three Yangs" continued to serve alongside Empress Dowager Zhang, the widow of the Hongxi Emperor and mother of the Xuande Emperor, as well as leading eunuchs.^[4][5] In 1444, following the death of Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu assumed his role as Senior Grand Secretary.

The Three Yangs were also renowned poets of their time, writing in the popular style of taige ti (secretariat style). Their poems were simple and monotonous, reflecting the shared values of the official class and praising the able government and monarch for the country's prosperity.^[6]