Yang Guangxian was an assistant guard commander () of the
Xinanwei (
新安卫) in
Southern Zhili during the late
Ming period. In 1637, he went to
Beijing and then tried to advance himself by charging other people with criminal acts, or blackmailing them. When he tried this against
Grand Secretary Wen Tiren (
溫體仁), he was exiled to
Liaoxi (
遼西), where he stayed until the end of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. In Liaoxi, he learned
astrology and
fortunetelling. Schall suffered a stroke during the investigations and had to be supported by the
Flemish Jesuit
Ferdinand Verbiest. In April 1665, Schall and seven of his Chinese assistants were found guilty and
sentenced to death. Eventually, only five Christian Chinese were executed: all Christian
missionaries were exiled to
Macau instead, with only the four Jesuits remaining in Beijing. Adam Schall, who died in 1666, would not live long enough to see the ban lifted in 1671. In 1668, however, he was removed from the post and replaced again by the
Flemish Jesuit
Ferdinand Verbiest, because he could not produce a valid calendar during a competition with the Jesuit astronomers. The previous case against the Jesuits was reinvestigated and all findings were reversed. Yang was sentenced to death, only to be exiled to his native village due to his old age. He died the next year during his journey home. ==Notes==