Yan Xiang (嚴象; 163–200),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Wenze, was an official who lived during the late
Eastern Han dynasty of China. A similarly named Yan Xiang (閻象) also served under the warlord
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
as a registrar. Although it is not clear whether they were the same person, the historian
Rafe de Crespigny mentioned that it could be assumed that Yan Xiang left Yuan Shu and defected to the Han central government, which was then under the leadership of the warlord
Cao Cao.
Yan Xiang (嚴象)
Yan Xiang was from Jingzhao (京兆; around present-day
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
). At a young age, he was already known for being intelligent, knowledgeable and courageous. Through
Xun Yu
Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life
Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around p ...
's recommendation, he joined the civil service and served as a Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk (御史中丞). In 197, he was concurrently appointed as an Army Inspector (督軍) and participated in a
punitive campaign against the warlord
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
, who had declared himself emperor – an act regarded as treason against
Emperor Xian
Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
, the nominal ruler of the Han Empire. After Yuan Shu's death in 199, Yan Xiang served as the Inspector (刺史) of
Yang Province
Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''.
Name
There are four different theories regarding the origin of t ...
.
Acting on the instruction of
Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government, Yan Xiang nominated
Sun Quan as a ''maocai'' (茂才). In 200 CE, Li Shu (李術), the Administrator (太守) of Lujiang Commandery (廬江郡), killed Yan Xiang. Yan Xiang was 38 years old (by
East Asian age reckoning
Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...
) when he died. Zhao Qi (趙岐), a writer who, like Yan Xiang, was also from Jingzhao, wrote a book called ''Sanfu Juelu'' (三輔決錄). Zhao Qi was worried that people might not be receptive to his book so he did not publicly release it and instead showed it to only Yan Xiang.
Yan Xiang (閻象)
A similarly named Yan Xiang also served under
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
as a Registrar (主簿). When Yuan Shu wanted to declare himself emperor in the late 190s, Yan Xiang advised him against it. Yan Xiang quoted a past example of the noble
Ji Chang
King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...
, who controlled two-thirds of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
's territory but still refrained from seizing the throne from
King Zhou
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse cr ...
. Yuan Shu did not heed his advice.
[(主簿閻象進曰：「昔周自后稷至于文王，積德累功，參分天下有其二，猶服事殷。明公雖弈世克昌，未若有周之盛，漢室雖微，未若殷紂之暴也。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 6.]
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
References
*
Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
*
Fan, Ye (5th century). ''
Book of the Later Han'' (''Houhanshu'').
*
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
*
Sima, Guang (1084). ''
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Xiang
Yuan Shu and associates
2nd-century births
2nd-century deaths
Han dynasty politicians