Yang was born in 1935 in Harbin, Manchuria. He left Harbin at the age of 6 and went to Beijing and studied in Yu Ying Secondary School until the age of 12. He then fled to Shanghai with his family because of the Chinese Civil War for 8 months. The family finally sought refuge in Taiwan after their brief stay in Shanghai.
In Taiwan, he studied in a practical Mandarin School for a year in Taipei before again relocating with his family in Hong Kong and studied in the Yin Nan Middle School.
During these years, his family's financial status plummeted significantly. In order to help with his family's situation, Yang took up odd jobs. He was cast in a few films as an extra and did this for several years. He also worked in radio stations and dubbed for Japanese films in Mandarin. He also worked as an auxiliary police officer in Hong Kong.
Yang maintained his multifaceted life until 1960 when he landed a role as a leading actor in "Qin Xiang Lian".
