Yang Lien-sheng (July 26, 1914 – November 16, 1990) was a prominent Chinese-American historian and sinologist who specialized in Chinese economic and institutional history. He served as the Harvard-Yenching Professor of Chinese History at Harvard University, where he was a central figure in the development of East Asian studies in the United States during the mid-20th century.
Born in Baoding, Hebei Province, China, Yang graduated from Tsinghua University in 1937. During his undergraduate years, he studied under the renowned historian Chen Yinke, whose philological approach significantly influenced Yang's later scholarship. In 1940, Yang moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies at Harvard University, earning his M.A. in 1942 and his Ph.D. in 1946. He joined the Harvard faculty immediately following his graduation and remained there until his retirement in 1980.
Yang's scholarship is characterized by its multidisciplinary nature, combining rigorous philological analysis with social and economic history. His work often sought to explain the evolution of Chinese institutions through the examination of primary texts and material culture. His most influential publication, Money and Credit in China: A Short History (1952), provided the first comprehensive English-language overview of the Chinese monetary system from antiquity to the Qing dynasty. Other notable works include Studies in Chinese Institutional History (1961) and Excursions in Sinology (1969).
Throughout his career, Yang was noted for his meticulousness and his role as a critic. His book reviews were highly regarded for their erudition and played a significant role in maintaining academic standards within the field of Sinology. He also maintained a long-standing intellectual partnership and correspondence with the philosopher Hu Shih; their letters were posthumously published and serve as an important resource for the study of 20th-century Chinese intellectual history.
As an educator, Yang mentored numerous scholars who became leaders in the field of Chinese history. His contributions to the study of the Tang and Song dynasties, as well as his work on Chinese linguistics and numismatics, established him as one of the most versatile and respected sinologists of his generation. Yang died in 1990 in Arlington, Massachusetts.