[citation needed] Yang returned to China in 1988 and that year taught at Fudan University, he was promoted to professor in 1993, becoming its vice-President in 1999.
[citation needed] He was appointed as a Chang Jiang Scholar by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in 1999.
[citation needed] He was elected a fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003.
[citation needed] On January 14, 2009, he was appointed president of Fudan University, serving until October 24, 2014.
[1][2] Now he is the Dean of the Chinese Ancient Books Protection Research School of Fudan University.