Background
It is not known when Yang Zaisi was born, but it is known that his family was from Zheng Prefecture (鄭州, roughly modern Zhengzhou, Henan). He passed the imperial examination when he was young, and was made the sheriff of Xuanwu County (玄武, in modern Deyang, Sichuan). On one occasion, when he was in the capital Chang'an on official business and staying at an inn, there was a thief who stole his baggage. As the thief was leaving, Yang happened to encounter him, and the thief begged for forgiveness. He told the thief, "You, sir, must be committing this crime only out of poverty. Please go and not make a sound, as to not alert anyone else. Just leave me my official papers; the money you can have." The thief left, and Yang borrowed money for the remainder of his trip. He was eventually promoted to serve as a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs, and then as imperial censor.
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