Background
General Yang Shen was born at Kuang-an Hsien, Sichuan province in 1887. He was a Licentiate under the Ching regime.
General Yang Shen was born at Kuang-an Hsien, Sichuan province in 1887. He was a Licentiate under the Ching regime.
Mr. Yang received his education first in the High Primary School at Kuangan and later in the Yung-nan Military Academy of Szechuan Province.
After graduation from the military school Mr. Yang joined the army and soon made a good record as a disciplinarian. During the second revolution he served in Sichuan as chief of staff of the Third Army. Soon after this he joined the movement to drive the Yunnanese troops from his native province and in this campaign became conmmander of the Second Army. His popularity in his native province was due to his fairness to his soldiers and to the fact that he has interested himself in local development.
Mr. Yang encouraged the development of physical education in the schools and organized the first Boy Scouts brigade in the Provinces In 1922 he organized a military and students field day in Luchow which was well attended. He organized a number of modern industries including machine shops, spinning and weaving mills. In the city of Luchow he reorganized the city, widened and straightened the streets and enforced sanitary measures. Other cities such as Long Chang, Jung Chang, Yu Chang and Kia Ting were similarly reorganized.
Mr. Yang's chief ambition was to construct a modern road from Tzeliutsing to Luchow and from Chungking to Chengtu and in addition he was actively interested in the construction of a railroad connecting Sichuan province with the railway system of East and North China. He was appointed by the Peking government in May 1924 the Director General of the Military Reorganization of Sichuan.
