Yan Liang () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...

during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

of China. He was slain by

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

at the

Battle of Boma The Battle of Boma or Battle of Baima was the first of a series of battles that led to the decisive Battle of Guandu between the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in northern China in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although Cao Cao won the ...

Life

Little is known about Yan Liang's life. The only historical records about him could be found in the ''

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– ...

'', in the biographies of Yuan Shao,

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 ...

''Sanguozhi'' vol. 10. and

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

.''Sanguozhi'' vol. 1. By the time he becomes focus of any attention in the records, he had made a name along with

Wen Chou Wen Chou () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of ...

as a figure celebrated for his bravery. In 200, the alliance between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had turned to war with Yuan Shao led a major army against Cao Cao for the campaign of Guandu. Some in Cao Cao's camp where concerned about the war, the scholar and critic Kong Rong listing Yan Liang and Wen Chou's bravery as reasons to worry but Xun Yu dismissed it as bravery of a common sort that could easily be dealt with. As Yuan Shao's forces marched to Liyang, to ensure a safe crossing of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

, he intended to send forces across to the south bank to attack Boma (northeast of present-day

Hua County Hua County or Huaxian () is a county under the administration of Anyang City, in the north of Henan province, China. Its predecessor administrative area Huazhou/Hua prefecture was first established in 596 during the Sui dynasty. In 606 it w ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), under Administrator of Dong Liu Yan, to set a foothold on the southern bank of the river. His adviser

Ju Shou Ju Shou (died 200) was an adviser serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Ju Shou was from Guangping County (), Julu Commandery (), which is in present-day Quzhou County, Hebei. He was allegedly a ...

warned him that Yan Liang was valiant yet too narrow-minded to handle the responsibility alone while more senior commanders

Guo Tu Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was an official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around presen ...

and

Chunyu Qiong Chunyu Qiong (died 200), courtesy name Zhongjian, was a military officer serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He played a significant part in the Battle of Guandu in 200. Life Little is known about C ...

were sent, possibly to supervise Yan Liang's operation Early in the summer, Cao Cao took the advice of Xun You moved his main force westwards along the Yellow River to Yan Crossing, diverting Yuan Shao's army in the same direction. Cao Cao led a light force to Boma in a forced match, catching Yan Liang by surprise. Yan Liang led his forces to meet Cao Cao over 10 li (over 4 km) from Boma and Cao Cao sent

Zhang Liao Zhang Liao () (169–222), courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, in the ...

and Guan Yu as vanguard to fight. During the ensuing battle, Guan Yu identified Yan Liang in the enemy ranks, rode into the midst of Yan Liang's army and killed him then fought his way back out. With Yan Liang dead, the army at Boma collapsed. Cao Cao would withdraw from Boma, taking the resources off the area back to Guandu and would be pursued by the cavalry forces of Wen Chou and

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 H ...

. The ambush and killing of Wen Chou in the resulting battle meant that in the first skirmishes, two of Yuan Shao's famed officers were killed and it was noted to have a demoralizing impact on Yuan army morale.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

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 and ...

'', Yuan Shao praises Yan Liang's prowess in battle when he laments, as coalition forces see many champions killed by

Hua Xiong Hua Xiong () (died 191) was a military general serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Little is recorded about Hua Xiong in history, apart from the fact that he served as a military officer un ...

, that "If I had either Yan Liang or

here, I would have nothing to fear." When Yuan Shao confronts

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...

over taking the imperial seal, Yan Liang and Wen Chou are there. When Han Fu surrenders Ji to Yuan Shao, loyalists Geng Wu and Min Chun attempted to assassinate Yuan Shao before he can arrive but the plot was foiled with Yan Liang and Wen Chou killing the plotters in the aftermath. When

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betray ...

sought Yuan Shao's support after failure to take Yan from Cao Cao, Yan Liang was sent with 50,000 men to attack Lu Bu who then fled to Xu. The Hua Xiong comment (the novel does have Xun Yu's dismissive comment and Ju Shou's concerns) foreshadows Yan Liang's first appearance in Chapter 25, where Yuan Shao deploys him as the commander of a vanguard force of 100,000 to take Boma in a conflict with rival warlord Cao Cao. Cao Cao quickly leads 50,000 and come to Boma's defence. True to his lord's compliments, Yan Liang slays two of Cao Cao's recently acquired warriors from the victory over Lu Bu, Song Xian (宋憲) lasted three and Wei Xu (魏續) is killed in one bout, and defeats Xu Huang after twenty bounts, demoralizing Cao Cao's forces. Following

Cheng Yu Cheng Yu (141 – December 220), originally named Cheng Li, courtesy name Zhongde, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an adviser to Cao Cao, the warlord who became the ''de facto'' head of ...

's advice, Cao Cao then summoned

to the frontline to deal with Yan Liang. The next day, as Yan Liang's troops lined up on the battlefield, Guan Yu sat beside Cao Cao on a hilltop to observe the enemy, Guan Yu was dismissive of what he saw and tells a surprised Cao Cao he can easily take Yan Liang's head. Riding

Red Hare The Red Hare or Chi Tu () was a famous horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In historical records The Red Hare was mentioned in Lü Bu's biographies in the historical texts ''Records of the T ...

, Guan Yu charged right through the enemy ranks towards Yan Liang who was uncertain of who was approaching him, decapitates him in a swift stroke and returned to Cao Cao's camp in triumph with Yan Liang's head. Yan Liang's army collapsed and were slaughtered by Cao Cao's pursuing force. When news reached Yuan Shao, he nearly killed Liu Bei for what Guan Yu had done believing it to be a plot while Wen Chou sought command of the next army to avenge a man he saw as a brother. Guan Yu's killings of Yan Liang and Wen Chou would be mentioned in the novel as others like Zhou Yu looked in awe of the slayer of such champions but after Guan Yu's death, his angry spirit is rebuked by a priest for the manner of the slaying of those two men and the guardian's of the five passes who he had slain when returning to Liu Bei from Cao Cao's service.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

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

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Liang 2nd-century births 200 deaths Generals under Yuan Shao Han dynasty people killed in battle

Life

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References