Yan Yan ( 211–214 A.D.) was a Chinese military general and politician who served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

(covering present-day

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

), during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

of China. Although there is very little information about Yan Yan in historical records, he is given a much prominent role in the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'' as a general who initially serves under Liu Zhang before switching allegiance to

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

later.

Life

Yan Yan was from Linjiang County (臨江縣), Ba Commandery (巴郡), which is around present-day Zhong County,

. He served as a military officer in Ba Commandery under Liu Zhang, the Governor of

(covering present-day

and

); Ba Commandery was one of the commanderies in Yi Province. In 211, Liu Zhang invited the warlord

to lead his troops into Yi Province to help him counter the threat posed by his rival, Zhang Lu, in Hanzhong Commandery. When Yan Yan heard about it, he remarked: "This is equivalent to sitting on an isolated hill and setting a tiger free to protect oneself!" Around 212, conflict broke out between Liu Zhang and Liu Bei when the latter turned against his host and tried to seize control of Yi Province. In 214, Liu Bei summoned reinforcements from his base in

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

to enter Yi Province and assist him in attacking Liu Zhang.

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earlie ...

, a general under Liu Bei, led troops to attack Jiangzhou (江州; around present-day

Yuzhong District Yuzhong District () is the central district and heart of Chongqing municipality. It is the capital of the municipality and is also the political, economical, and entertainment center of the city of Chongqing. Located in the central portion of Yuz ...

), which was defended by Yan Yan. Zhang Fei defeated Yan Yan, captured him alive, and asked him: "When my army showed up, why did you put up resistance instead of surrendering?" Yan Yan replied: "You people launched an unwarranted attack on my home province. There may be generals in my province who will lose their heads, but there are none who will surrender." Zhang Fei was enraged and he ordered Yan Yan's execution. Yan Yan remained expressionless and said: "If you want to chop off my head, then do it! What's with that outburst of anger?" Zhang Fei was so impressed with Yan Yan's courage that he released him and treated him like an honoured guest. Nothing was recorded in history about Yan Yan from this point onwards.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Yan Yan has a greater role as a character in the 14th-century historical novel ''

'', which romanticises the events before and during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period. In Chapter 63 of the novel, as in history, he is defeated and captured by

, who initially wants to execute him but changes his mind and spares him after feeling impressed with Yan Yan's strong sense of loyalty. Zhang Fei also manages to convince Yan Yan to switch his allegiance to

. Yan Yan appears again later in Chapters 70 and 71, when he joins

Huang Zhong Huang Zhong (, ) (died 220), courtesy name Hansheng, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Mount Dingjun in 219, in which ...

to attack

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

's forces at the

Battle of Mount Dingjun The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms stretch of Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marked a major milestone in his Hanzhong Campaign a ...

.''Sanguo Yanyi'' chs. 70–71.

Notes

References

* Chang, Qu ( 4th century). ''

Chronicles of Huayang The ''Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' () is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during the Jin Dynasty. It contains roughly 110,000 characters. Its contents comprise history, geography an ...

'' (''Huayang Guo Zhi''). * Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan Yan Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Han dynasty generals from Chongqing Han dynasty politicians from Chongqing Liu Zhang and associates Political office-holders in Chongqing

Life

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

Notes

References