Staff Legends 99
The Yang Family story cycle evolved around the historical figure of the
Northern Song general Yang Ye (?–986), who was followed by his son and grand-
son in serving the dynasty’s cause. It developed through Southern Song oral lit-
erature and Yuan drama, culminating in the two versions of the Ming novel. It
is noteworthy that the cycle’s monkish protagonist is armed with a staff already
in its earliest versions. Along with Lu Zhishen’s story “The Tattooed Monk,”
“[Yang] the Fifth Becomes a Monk” is classified in a Southern Song list of oral
tales in the category of “staff ” (ganbang) tales.^51
Fig. 18. Huiming brandishing the staff; woodblock illustration
dated 1614.