35 Facts About Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty.

Yuan Shao occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred towards the end of the Han dynasty.

Yuan Shao was an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, though the two were not on good terms with each other.

One of the most powerful warlords of his time, Yuan Shao spearheaded a coalition of warlords against Dong Zhuo, who held Emperor Xian hostage in the imperial capital, Luoyang, but failed due to internal disunity.

Yuan Shao was born in Ruyang County, Runan Commandery, which is in present-day Shangshui County, Henan.

Yuan Shao's 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.

Yuan Shao was a son of Yuan Feng and the eldest sibling, supposedly to the ire of Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao's mother was originally a servant of Yuan Feng.

Since Yuan Feng lacked male heirs, the birth of Yuan Shao elevated his mother to the status of a concubine.

The Records of the Three Kingdoms contend that Yuan Shao was in fact an older cousin of Yuan Shu, and was adopted by the elder brother of Yuan Feng, Yuan Cheng, who lacked male heirs.

Yuan Shao enjoyed more privileges than Yuan Shu, despite the latter being a blood-related member of the clan.

When compared to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao had a more serious appearance and respected men of talent regardless of their background; as such, he was welcomed by many since his childhood, including Cao Cao and Zhang Miao.

One such "partisan" was He Yong, whom Yuan Shao befriended after he escaped to Runan and became close with.

Yuan Shao cautioned He Jin, reminding him that he should order an attack on the eunuchs instead of entering the palace.

Yuan Shao Jin's angered followers set fire to the palace and charged in, slaughtering every person without facial hair; to the extreme that many young men without facial hair had to show their genitals to avoid being mistaken for eunuchs and killed.

Relations between the two deteriorated and Yuan Shao fled from Luoyang to Ji Province.

At the time, Yuan Shao just got out through the city gates of Luoyang, Dong Zhuo thought about sending men after him, but Zhou Bi, Wu Qiong and He Yong secretly helped Yuan Shao by convincing Dong Zhuo to let him go.

Yuan Shao declared himself General of Chariots and Cavalry and camped at Henei, near a fort on the Yellow River just north of Luoyang.

However, members of the coalition listened to Yuan Shao, and had all the emissaries executed instead.

Yuan Shao then began to build a warlord state from Ye, the capital of Ji Province.

Yuan Shao then returned to Ye and started targeting the Heishan bandits, who had been causing trouble in Ji Province.

In subsequent years, Yuan Shao achieved considerable success in consolidating his domain.

However, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong opposed this move under the faulty logic that if Yuan Shao were to do so, he would have to yield to Emperor Xian on key decisions.

Yuan Shao, valuing his autonomy, listened to Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong and let the opportunity pass by.

However, Yuan Shao rejected the appointment because Grand Commandant ranked below General-in-Chief, the position held by Cao Cao.

When Liu Bei defected from Cao Cao in the first month of 200 and planted a foothold in Xu Province, Cao Cao left his northern front exposed to Yuan Shao and turned east to deal with Liu Bei.

Tian Feng urged Yuan Shao to seize the opportunity to attack Cao Cao while he was away, but Yuan Shao refused to launch an all-out offensive.

Shortly after Cao Cao returned to Guandu, Yuan Shao had Chen Lin draft a document condemning Cao Cao in what was essentially a declaration of war.

Yuan Shao was unable to stop the trend and fled north across the Yellow River with only hundreds of loyalists.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shao was able to reorganise his defeated armies to settle the rebellions in his own domain, soon reestablishing order and restored the status quo ante bellum.

Yuan Shao had three sons, and he favoured his third son, Yuan Shang, due to his good looks, and both Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were his choice for succession.

Yuan Shao is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.

Yuan Shao appears in all instalments of Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game series.

Yuan Shao appears as a playable faction leader in the Creative Assembly title Total War: Three Kingdoms.

Yuan Shao plays a major role in the Three Kingdoms as a recurring character.