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Yang Kan 羊侃 (496-549), courtesy name Zuxin 祖忻, from Liangfu 梁父 in the commandery of Taishan 泰山, was a general of the Liang dynasty 梁 (502-557), one of the Southern Dynasties 南朝 (420-589).
In his youth, he was know for his physical strength as well as for his interest in literature. He first served, like his father Yang Zhi 羊祉 (458-516), the Northern Wei dynasty 北魏 (386-534) and was for his military achievements in the Guanlong region 關隴 made General-in-chief Conquering the East (zhengdong da jiangjun 征東大將軍), Commissioned with Extraordinary Powers (shichijie 使持節), and invested as Marquis of Juping 鉅平侯.
But in 529, he decided to submit his whole division to the Liang empire, where he was made Cavalier Attendant-in-ordinary (sanji changshi 散騎常侍), General Pacifying the North (anbei jiangjun 安北將軍) with special warrant, and regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Xuzhou 徐州. In 532, he accompanied the Defender-in-chief 太尉, Yuan Faseng 元法僧 (454-536), during a northern campaign. A year later, he was invested as Marquis of the District of Gaochang 高昌縣侯. In 534, he was made governor (taishou 太守) of Jinan 晉安, and given the title of General of Cloud-like Flags (yunwei jiangjun 雲麾將軍), suppressing disturbances among the native people in the regions of Min 閩 and Yue 越 (southern Zhejiang and Fujian). Later on, he rose to the position of palace attendant (shizhong 侍中) and Commander of the Left Guard of the Heir Apparent (taizi zuo weijun 太子左衛軍). In 542, he was appointed Director of the Justice Department of the Imperial Secretariat (duguan shangshu 都官尚書), and a year later General of Strong Authority (zhuangwu jiangjun 壯武將軍) with special warrant, and regional inspector of Hengzhou 衡州. Thereafter, he returned to the capital Jiankang 建康 (Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu) for service in the palace.
In 548, when Hou Jing 侯景 (503-552) rebelled and threatened the existence of the dynasty, Prince Xiao Zhengde 蕭正德 (d. 549) decided to open the city gate to let the rebel army in. In that situation, Yang Kan stubbornly defended the palace with his cavalry brigade, but in the end, he could not prevent the occupation of the imperial city Taicheng 臺城 by the besiegers, and perished in the battle.