Yang Rudai, male, Han nationality, was born in 1926 in Renshou, Sichuan Province. He joined the CPC in 1952 and held numerous Party positions in Sichuan over a period of 30 years until being named vice-governor in 1978 and secretary of the CPC provincial committee there in 1982.
He was elected a Politburo member of the 13th CPC Central Committee in 1987, and he was a member of the 4th NPC and 8th NPC. He was elected and reelected vice-chairman of the 8th and 9th CPPCC National Committees.