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 Theo ...

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

. 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 Heav ...

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, which is in present-day Shangshui County,

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 a ...

. 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, 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 t ...

, 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, 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 ...

killed its grand administrator, Zhang Zi. Yuan Shu participated in the Campaign against Dong Zhuo 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 u ...

(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, 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 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 Chenliu () is a town situated in Kaifeng County, Kaifeng in the province of Henan, China. See also *List of township-level divisions of Henan This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Henan, People's Republic of China ...

, 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 the ...

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 The Battle of Fengqiu () was fought between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu in the spring of 193 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao emerged victorious against Yuan Shu's forces. The battle Cao Cao's army was stationed in Juancheng (鄄城). Liu Bi ...

, 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 of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

and Yuan Shao. He fled to

Shouchun Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its ...

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 cit ...

on the southern bank of the Huai River. 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 (China), Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one ...

. 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 when ...

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 ...

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 betr ...

; 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, 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

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 Yuan may refer to: Currency * Yuan (currency), the basic unit of currency in historic and contemporary mainland China and Taiwan **Renminbi, the current currency used in mainland China, whose basic unit is yuan ** New Taiwan dollar, the current c ...

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

, elder half-brother * Cousins: ** Yuan Yi, elder cousin ** Yuan Yin (), younger cousin * Spouse: Lady Feng (), daughter of Feng Fang () * Children: ** Yuan Yao (), son. After Yuan Shu's death, Yuan Yao and his family fled to Lujiang Commandery to join the minor warlord Liu Xun. After

defeated Liu Xun and conquered Lujiang Commandery, Yuan Yao was captured and eventually worked as a Palace Gentleman () in the state of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

's (Sun Ce's younger brother) state of Eastern Wu. Yuan Yao's daughter married Sun Fen (), the fifth son of Sun Quan. ** Lady Yuan (), daughter, personal name unknown, became one of Sun Quan's concubines after she and her brother were captured. She was known for good character but did not give birth. Sun Quan let her raise children which were born by other concubines, however, all the children that she raised died at early ages. When

Lady Bu Lady Bu (died 238), personal name Bu Lianshi, was a concubine of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. She has posthumously been honoured as an empress by Sun Quan. She is also known as E ...

died in 238, Sun Quan wanted to instate Lady Yuan as the empress. Lady Yuan refused with the reason of having no child. ** Lady Yuan (), daughter, personal name unknown, married Huang Yi () * Relatives: ** Yuan Wei (), uncle ** Yang Biao (), brother-in-law **

He Kui He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

(), distant cousin

Notes

References

* 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''). * * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan, Shu 199 deaths 2nd-century births Han dynasty generals from Henan Han dynasty politicians from Henan Han dynasty warlords Political office-holders in Anhui Politicians from Zhoukou Year of birth unknown *