Yang Bangsheng

Yang Bangsheng, courtesy name Mutang, was born in 1862. His father was Yang Jiaju, courtesy name Yueqian, originally from Fengyang Prefecture in Anhui; he had served as the magistrate of Taihu County during the Qing Dynasty, and later settled in Hefei County in 1877. Yang Bangsheng grew up in poverty, his father’s official salary being meager; among five sons, only two were educated, the others largely turning to commerce. In 1880, Yang Bangsheng passed the xiucai examination, and for a long time supported himself by running a private school (mengguan) and teaching.

Yang Bangsheng married Mrs. Wang, who suffered from a chronic lung disease and was often bedridden. In 1896, their eldest son Yang Kechun was born, who later changed his name to Yang Wuzhi; in 1898, their second son Yang Keqi was born. In 1904, Yang Bangsheng served under the then Dao Tai of the Jinnan Patrol, Duan Zhigui, as a clerk responsible for documents and related affairs. Duan Zhigui belonged to the cadre and retainer system; his clerical work was on a contracted basis. After Yang Bangsheng took this post, his family’s circumstances improved. His younger brother Yang Bangrui was entrusted to purchase property on Xida Street, Si Gu Lane in Hefei; the current address is 315 Anqing Road, Hefei.

In 1908, Duan Zhigui was transferred from Tianjin to become the Viceroy of Heilongjiang, and Yang Bangsheng followed him to his new post. On the journey to Shenyang, he contracted plague in a hotel and died far from home. Around the time of this transfer, the family situation and the education of his children underwent changes.

Yang Bangsheng had six children: eldest son Yang Kechun (later renamed Yang Wuzhi, 1896–1973), a Chinese modern mathematician and mathematics educator, originally named Yang Ketong, style name Wu Zhi; second son Yang Keqi (1898–1979, courtesy name Lisha); a third son who died young and unnamed; the fourth son Bangqing; the youngest son Bangdian; eldest daughter Bangfeng; youngest daughter Bangzhen. Regarding Yang Wuzhi’s life, in 1923 he received a public scholarship from Anhui Province to study abroad, first at Stanford University, then in 1924 transferring to the University of Chicago, where under L. E. Dickson he studied algebra and number theory, becoming one of the early Chinese algebra researchers. He taught at Xiamen University, Tsinghua University, Southwestern Associated University (Lianda), and Fudan University, and died in Shanghai in 1973. Yang Keqi’s descendants include eldest son Zhen Sheng, second son Zhen Huai, third son Zhen Dong, fourth son Zhen Yu, fifth son Zhen Bin, youngest son Zhen He, as well as eldest daughter Zhen Hua, second daughter Zhen Yuan, third daughter Zhen Ying, and fourth daughter Zhen Fang.