Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199),

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 Theobald ...

Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived 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 ...

. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He declared himself

Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

in 197 under the short-lived Zhong dynasty, two years before his death in 199.

Life

Early life

Yuan Shu was from Ruyang County (),

Runan Commandery Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into th ...

, which is in present-day

Shangshui County Shangshui County () is a county in the east of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Zhoukou Zhoukou (; Postal romanization, postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province of China, province, China. It b ...

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 ...

. His family had for over four generations been a prominent force in the Han civil service, having produced numerous members in high positions since the first century CE. Descended from

Yuan An Yuan An (袁安) (died 9 April 92), courtesy name Shaogong (邵公), was a Chinese politician. At the Han Dynasty courts of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He, Yuan was regarded as the founder of the powerful Yuan clan of Runan, one of the leading ...

, who served during the reign of Emperor Zhang, Yuan Shu was a son of the Minister of Works Yuan Feng () and his principal wife. Yuan Shu is sometimes described to be a younger cousin(绍之从弟也) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 6. of 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 ...

, but was actually Yuan Shao's younger half-brother. As a young man he gained a reputation for gallantry and liked to go hunting with dogs and falcons. Nominated as Filial and Incorrupt, he later became Intendant of Henan () and then General of the Household Rapid as a Tiger ().

Campaign against Dong Zhuo (189–191)

After the death of General-in-Chief

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He, the emp ...

(22 September 189), Yuan Shu, as the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guards, led his men to kill the eunuch faction. When

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

seized control of the Han central government, he wanted to appoint Yuan Shu as General of the Rear, but, fearing Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu fled to

Nanyang Commandery Nanyang Commandery ( zh, 南陽郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was centered in present-day Nanyang, Henan. History Nanyang Commandery was established by Qin in the 35th year of King Z ...

, which he took control over after

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 ...

killed its grand administrator, Zhang Zi. Yuan Shu participated in the

Campaign against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the ...

led by Yuan Shao. He was joined by Sun Jian, whom he appointed to Inspector of Yu Province.de Crespigny (2006), 769. Sun Jian succeeded in defeating and killing Dong's general

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 ...

(191), but Yuan Shu grew wary that Sun would become too successful and no longer submit to his command, and temporarily secretly cut off Sun's food supplies, thereby hindering his advance. By the time Sun Jian reached Luoyang, it had been largely destroyed by fires set by Dong Zhuo, whose forces fled westwards to Chang'an, abducting the emperor. However, his soldiers found the Imperial Seal, which Sun Jian passed to his superior Yuan Shu.

Rule in Nanyang and Chenliu (190–193)

Yuan Shu's rule in Nanyang was despotic. After the dissension of the alliance against Dong Zhuo in 191, he vied with Yuan Shao over control of northern China, each establishing opposing alliances. Yuan Shu allied with Yuan Shao's northern rival

Gongsun Zan Gongsun Zan () (before 161 - April or May 199), courtesy name Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and Liu Bei stu ...

, and Yuan Shao in turn allied with Yuan Shu's southern rival

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

. Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao, but his general was killed in the

Battle of Xiangyang (191) The Battle of Xiangyang was fought between the warlords Sun Jian and Liu Biao in 191 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Liu Biao emerged victorious against Sun Jian's forces. Shortly after their coalition had ousted Dong Zhuo from the capital ...

. Sun Jian's nephew

Sun Ben Sun Ben ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Boyang, was a cousin of Sun Quan, a Chinese warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and later became the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. He was the el ...

succeeded him as Yuan Shu's general and Inspector of Yu Province. After this defeat and his unpopularity due to his extravagant regime in Nanyang, Yuan Shu moved his residence to Chenliu, and extended his influence into

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 ...

in 192.de Crespigny (2006), 1012.

Warlord in Shouchun (193–197)

In early 193, Yuan Shu suffered repeated defeats, such as the Battle of Fengqiu, by the combined armies of

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 ...

and Yuan Shao. He fled to Shouchun in

Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...

on the southern bank of the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

. From his new headquarters, he built up a powerful warlord state. He deposed Inspector Chen Wen of Yang Province and took the title for himself, also claiming to be Lord of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

. From 194 to early 197, Sun Jian's son

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...

and brother-in-law Wu Jing conquered many territories in Jiangdong on Yuan Shu's behalf. He was less successful in expanding his rule in Xu Province, where he fought against

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 ...

and

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 ...

; the latter briefly allied himself to Yuan Shu in 196, but betrayed him again and drove him back to Shouchun.

Emperor of Zhongshi Dynasty (197–199)

Yuan Shu declared himself emperor under the short-lived Zhongshi () dynasty in early 197, citing superstition as his justification, including the

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

for his given name ''Shu'' and

''Gonglu'', and his possession of the Imperial Seal. This audacious action made him a target of the other warlords. His extravagant lifestyle and arrogance caused many of his followers to desert him. Most devastating of the departures and defections – both to Yuan Shu personally and to the strength of his forces – was that by

, who had conquered most of the Jiangdong territories under Yuan Shu's banner. Following crushing defeats by the armies of Cao Cao,

, and

, Yuan Shu attempted to flee north to join Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao sent his eldest son,

Yuan Tan Yuan Tan (died 205), courtesy name Xiansi, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who was the eldest son of Yuan Shao, a warlord who occupied much of northern China during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Yuan Shao's death, Y ...

, to try to aid Yuan Shu; however, an alliance between the Yuan brothers who had long hated each other would not arise, as Yuan Tan arrived too late, and Yuan Shu's forces were blocked and forced to retreat back to Shouchun by Liu Bei. He died shortly thereafter of starvation, being unable to swallow the coarse food that his soldiers ate. His final request was for a glass of honey water, which his soldiers had none.(将归帝号於绍，欲至青州从袁谭，发病道死。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 6.

Family

* Grandfather: Yuan Tang () * Father: Yuan Feng () * Siblings: **

, elde