Liu Yan 劉焉

Liu Yan, courtesy name Junlang, was a man of Jingling County in Jiangxia Commandery and a descendant of King Gong of Lu of the Han. In the Yuanhe era of Emperor Zhang the fief was moved to Jingling, so a collateral branch of the family settled there. In his youth Liu Yan held office in the province and commandery, and as a member of the imperial clan he was appointed Gentleman of the Household, but he left office to mourn his teacher, Master Zhu. He lived on Mount Yangcheng, accumulating learning and teaching students, was recommended as Worthy and Good, Square and Upright, was summoned to the office of the Minister over the Masses, and then served in turn as Prefect of Luoyang, Inspector of Ji Province, Administrator of Nanyang, Minister of the Imperial Clan and Minister of Ceremonies. Records, Shu 1 §2–3

Seeing that the government of Emperor Ling had declined and the imperial house was beset by troubles, Liu Yan proposed that, since inspectors and administrators obtained their posts by bribery and exploited the people, upright senior ministers of good reputation should be chosen as regional governors. Privately, he hoped to become Governor of Jiaozhi and escape the troubles of the age. While the proposal had not yet been put into effect, the Palace Attendant Dong Fu of Guanghan told him in private, 'The capital is about to fall into disorder, and in the astral field of Yi Province there is the aura of a Son of Heaven,' and Liu Yan turned his sights to Yi Province. Records, Shu 1 §3–4

Just then complaints that the Inspector of Yi Province, Xi Jian, levied taxes oppressively were heard far and wide, and in Bing and Liang Provinces the inspectors had been killed, so Liu Yan's plan could be carried out. He went out as Army Supervisor Envoy concurrently holding the post of Governor of Yi Province and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yangcheng, charged with arresting Xi Jian and bringing him to justice. Dong Fu also asked to become Chief Commandant of the Western Dependent State of Shu Commandery, and the Prefect of the Grand Granary, Zhao Wei of Baxi, likewise gave up his post, and both followed Liu Yan. Records, Shu 1 §5

At this time rebels in Yi Province, Ma Xiang, Zhao Zhi and others, rose at Mianzhu County calling themselves the Yellow Turbans; they killed the Inspector of Yi Province, Xi Jian, and within ten days to a month had overrun three commanderies, and Ma Xiang styled himself Son of Heaven. Jia Long, an Attendant Officer of the province, gathered over a thousand officials and commoners, routed them within a few days, and then selected officials and soldiers to welcome Liu Yan. Liu Yan moved the provincial seat to Mianzhu, soothed and took in those who had fled or rebelled, and strove to govern with leniency and kindness, while secretly harboring other designs. Records, Shu 1 §6–7

Because the mother of Zhang Lu, who practiced the Way of Ghosts, often came and went at Liu Yan's house, Liu Yan made Zhang Lu Major Supervising Righteousness and stationed him in Hanzhong. Zhang Lu cut the plank roads through the valleys and killed the Han envoys, and Liu Yan reported to the throne that the rice bandits had cut the road and it could no longer be passed. The Biography of Zhang Lu records that Liu Yan sent Zhang Lu, together with the Major of a Separate Command Zhang Xiu, to attack the Administrator of Hanzhong, Su Gu. On other pretexts Liu Yan also killed more than ten powerful men of the province, including Wang Xian and Li Quan, to establish his authority and punishments; when, as a result, the Administrator of Qianwei, Ren Qi, and Jia Long turned and attacked him, he struck back and killed them both. Records, Shu 1 §7–8Records, Wei 8 §61

Liu Yan's ambitions grew ever larger, and he had more than a thousand sets of carriages and fittings made of the kind used by the Son of Heaven. Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province, sent up a memorial saying that Liu Yan was the subject of talk like that which made Zixia at Xihe be mistaken for a sage. At this time his sons Liu Fan, General of the Household of the Left, Liu Dan, Secretary Censor, and Liu Zhang, Chief Commandant of Imperial Equipages, were all in Chang'an attending Emperor Xian, and only Liu Mao, Major of a Separate Command, had always stayed with Liu Yan. Emperor Xian sent Liu Zhang to admonish Liu Yan, but Liu Yan kept Liu Zhang with him and did not send him back. Records, Shu 1 §9

When Ma Teng, General Who Conquers the West, rebelled while stationed at Mei County, Liu Yan and Liu Fan conspired with Ma Teng to lead troops in a surprise attack on Chang'an. Liu Fan's plot leaked and he fled to Huaili, and Ma Teng was defeated and withdrew to Liang Province. Liu Fan was soon killed, and Liu Dan too was seized and punished. The Consultant Pang Xi of Henan, whose family had long been close to Liu Yan's, gathered men and took Liu Yan's grandsons into Shu. Records, Shu 1 §10

Records of those who followed Liu Yan into Shu also survive in several biographies. Lü Chang, the father of Lü Yi, escorted Liu Yan into Shu, and with the road to the court blocked he never returned. Meng Guang, who fled to Shu after Emperor Xian moved the capital to Chang'an, was treated by Liu Yan and his son with the courtesy due a guest. Wu Yi's father had long been an acquaintance of Liu Yan, so the whole family followed Liu Yan into Shu. Records, Shu 9 §39Records, Shu 12 §30Records, Shu 4 §9

According to the Biographies of the Consorts and Sons of the Two Rulers, Liu Yan, who harbored other ambitions, heard that a skilled physiognomist had said Wu Yi's younger sister had the features of one destined for great honor, and took her as wife for his son Liu Mao, whom he kept with him. After Liu Mao died she lived as a widow, and after Liu Bei had pacified Yi Province he accepted Fa Zheng's urging and took her as his consort; she was Empress Mu. Records, Shu 4 §9–10

At this time the city where Liu Yan lived was burned by fire from Heaven; the carriages and fittings were all destroyed, and the fire spread to the people's houses. Liu Yan moved his seat to Chengdu, but grieving over the loss of his sons and shaken by the ominous disaster, he died of a malignant ulcer on his back in the 1st year of Xingping (194). Zhao Wei and other senior officials of the province, drawn to Liu Zhang's gentleness and benevolence, jointly submitted a document putting him forward as Inspector of Yi Province, and an edict made Liu Zhang Army Supervisor Envoy concurrently holding the post of Governor of Yi Province. The Biography of Zhang Lu records that when Liu Yan died and Liu Zhang took his place, Zhang Lu would not obey, so Liu Zhang killed Zhang Lu's mother and household. Records, Shu 1 §11Records, Wei 8 §62

In his assessment Chen Shou cited how Wei Bao took Lady Bo into his house after hearing Xu Fu's words, and how Liu Xin changed his name after seeing the prophetic texts, yet neither could save himself, to show that the Mandate of Heaven cannot be wantonly hoped for. He then wrote that Liu Yan set his heart on the land of Yi after hearing Dong Fu's words, sought a marriage with the Wu family after listening to a physiognomist, and hastily had the carriages and robes of the Son of Heaven made in an attempt to steal the sacred vessel of rule, so that his delusion was great. Records, Shu 1 §21