| Occupation | RNGeneral | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R200 Unverified | Place of death | RNBaima County |
| Cause of death | RKilled in battle NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R15 |
Yan Liang was a general of Yuan Shao. He has no biography of his own in the Records; his name appears in the Biography of Yuan Shao, the Annals of Emperor Wu, the Biography of Guan Yu, the Biography of Xun Yu and elsewhere. Yuan Shao made him a commander together with Wen Chou, and Kong Rong said that the valour of the two men was the foremost in all the armies. Records, Wei 6 §49Records, Wei 10 §29
In the 5th year of Jian'an (200), on Yuan Shao's orders, he attacked Liu Yan, Grand Administrator of Dong Commandery, at Baima. When Cao Cao followed Xun You's plan and hurried to Baima, Yan Liang was greatly alarmed and came out to meet him in battle, and Guan Yu, who had gone in the vanguard, stabbed him in the midst of a host of soldiers and cut off his head. Records, Wei 1 §58 · 60–61Records, Shu 6 §4
Yan Liang does not appear in Chen Shou's assessment. In the Romance his name first appears in Chapter 5 in the words of Yuan Shao, and he appears in 14 of its 120 chapters; his name is in no chapter title. In Chapter 25 he cuts down Song Xian and Wei Xu and drives off Xu Huang, but is stabbed by Lord Guan's blade and falls from his horse. Records, Wei 6 §96–97Romance, Ch. 5 §33Romance, Ch. 25 §41–42 · 47
According to the Biography of Yuan Shao, after Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan at Yijing and absorbed his followers, he put Shen Pei and Feng Ji in overall charge of military affairs, made Tian Feng, Xun Chen and Xu You his chief strategists, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou his commanders. He then picked out 100,000 elite troops and 10,000 horse and prepared to attack Xu. Records, Wei 6 §49
According to the Biography of Xun Yu, Kong Rong said to Xun Yu that Yuan Shao's territory was broad and his army strong, and that with Yan Liang and Wen Chou, whose valour was the foremost in all the armies, leading his troops, he would surely be hard to defeat. Xun Yu replied that Yan Liang and Wen Chou had no more than the valour of a common fellow and could be captured in a single battle. Records, Wei 10 §29–30
In the 2nd month of the 5th year of Jian'an (200), Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang to attack Liu Yan, Grand Administrator of Dong Commandery, at Baima, while he himself led his troops to Liyang, intending to cross the Yellow River. Ju Shou remonstrated that 'Yan Liang is narrow-minded by nature; though brave and valiant, he cannot be given sole command', but Yuan Shao did not listen. According to the Biography of Dong Zhao, when Yuan Shao sent Yan Liang to attack Dong Commandery, the Grand Progenitor (Cao Cao) transferred Dong Zhao to be Grand Administrator of Wei Commandery and had him join the campaign against Yan Liang. Records, Wei 1 §58 · 60Records, Wei 6 §51Records, Wei 14 §57
In summer, in the 4th month, Cao Cao set out northward to relieve Liu Yan. Xun You said that their troops were too few to match the enemy; if Cao Cao went to Yanjin and made as if to cross the river toward the enemy's rear, Yuan Shao would surely respond to the west, and if they then raided Baima with light troops and struck while it was unprepared, Yan Liang could be captured. When Yuan Shao did indeed divide his forces and send them west, Cao Cao hurried by forced march to Baima. Only when Cao Cao was little more than ten li short of Baima was Yan Liang greatly alarmed and came out to meet him in battle; Cao Cao put Zhang Liao and Guan Yu in front, broke the enemy and beheaded Yan Liang. The siege of Baima was thereby lifted. Records, Wei 1 §60–61
The Biography of Guan Yu records this battle as follows. Lord Cao made Zhang Liao and Guan Yu his vanguard; Guan Yu, catching sight of Yan Liang's commander's banner and canopy, whipped his horse forward, stabbed Yan Liang in the midst of a host of soldiers, and returned with his head. None of Yuan Shao's generals could stand against him. Lord Cao at once memorialized to enfeoff Guan Yu as Marquis of Hanshou Precinct. The Biography of Xun You records that Xun You devised the plan by which Yan Liang was beheaded, and the Biography of Xu Huang records that Xu Huang followed in the defeat of Yan Liang and took Baima. Records, Shu 6 §4–5Records, Wei 10 §58Records, Wei 17 §58
Yuan Shao then crossed the Yellow River and pursued as far as south of Yanjin, and Wen Chou and Liu Bei arrived one after another at the head of five or six thousand horsemen, but Cao Cao routed them and beheaded Wen Chou. The Annals of Emperor Wu wrote that 'Wen Chou and Yan Liang were both famous generals of Yuan Shao; in two battles both were taken, and Yuan Shao's army was greatly shaken'. The Biography of Xun Yu cites the beheading of Yan Liang and Wen Chou on the battlefield, together with Xu You's defection and Tian Feng's death, and records that all happened just as Xun Yu had reckoned. Records, Wei 1 §61–63Records, Wei 10 §32
In his assessment in the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao, Chen Shou said that Yuan Shao had men of talent but could not use them and heard good counsel but could not accept it, and that his killing of Tian Feng was far worse than Xiang Yu's rejection of Fan Zeng's counsel. Yan Liang does not appear in this assessment. Records, Wei 6 §96–97
In Chapter 5 of the Romance, when Hua Xiong cuts down the allied generals one after another, Yuan Shao laments, 'What a pity that my senior generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou have not yet arrived! If only one of them were here, why should I fear Hua Xiong!' In Chapter 6, when Yuan Shao and Sun Jian draw their swords over the imperial seal, Yan Liang and Wen Chou draw their swords behind Yuan Shao, and Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and Han Dang take up their blades behind Sun Jian. Romance, Ch. 5 §33Romance, Ch. 6 §30–31
In Chapter 7, when Yuan Shao arrives in Ji Province, Geng Wu and Guan Chun come out with drawn swords intending to stab him, but Yan Liang cuts down Geng Wu on the spot and Wen Chou kills Guan Chun. In the battle of the Pan River, the archers and crossbowmen led by Yan Liang and Wen Chou hold back Gongsun Zan's left and right wings. In Chapter 13, following Shen Pei's advice, Yuan Shao gives Yan Liang 50,000 troops and sends him to aid Cao Cao, who is locked in a standoff with Lü Bu. Romance, Ch. 7 §7 · 17Romance, Ch. 13 §2
In Chapter 22, to attack Cao Cao, Yuan Shao makes Yan Liang and Wen Chou his generals and raises 300,000 elite troops to advance on Liyang. In Chapter 25, Yuan Shao makes his senior general Yan Liang the vanguard to attack Baima, and when Ju Shou remonstrates that 'Yan Liang is narrow by nature; though brave and valiant, he cannot be given sole command', Yuan Shao rebuffs him, saying, 'My senior general is not for the likes of you to judge.' Romance, Ch. 22 §9Romance, Ch. 25 §39
When Cao Cao, at the head of 50,000 troops, encamps against an earthen hill at Baima, Yan Liang's vanguard of 100,000 elite troops is drawn up in battle array on the plain. Waiting beneath his gate banner with his blade held level, Yan Liang cuts down Song Xian, a former general of Lü Bu, in fewer than three bouts, and then cuts down Wei Xu, who has come out to avenge him, in a single bout. Xu Huang too fights him for twenty bouts and returns defeated, and Cao Cao's generals tremble. Romance, Ch. 25 §40–42
On Cheng Yu's recommendation, Cao Cao summons Lord Guan and shows him Yan Liang's formation from the top of the earthen hill, pointing out that the man beneath the commander's banner and canopy, in an embroidered robe and golden armour and holding a blade, is Yan Liang. Lord Guan says that Yan Liang looks like 'a man who has stuck up a sign to sell his own head', and spurs Red Hare into the enemy lines. Yan Liang is about to ask the charging Lord Guan who he is, but before he can make a move he is stabbed by the blade and falls from his horse. Lord Guan cuts off his head, ties it to his horse's neck and rides out of the enemy lines. Romance, Ch. 25 §43–47
When Yan Liang's defeated soldiers report that a general with a red face and a long beard has cut down Yan Liang, Yuan Shao, hearing from Ju Shou that it must be Guan Yunchang, sets out to kill Liu Bei. In Chapter 26, after hearing Liu Bei's defence, Yuan Shao discusses avenging Yan Liang, and Wen Chou steps forward, saying, 'Yan Liang and I were like brothers.' Later, at Huarong Road in Chapter 50, Lord Guan tells Cao Cao that he has already repaid his kindness by beheading Yan Liang, killing Wen Chou and lifting the siege of Baima. Romance, Ch. 25 §50Romance, Ch. 26 §1–2Romance, Ch. 50 §28
When he appears: In Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 13 of the Romance, Yan Liang appears as Yuan Shao's general in the coalition against Dong Zhuo, the seizure of Ji Province, the battle of the Pan River and the expedition to aid Cao Cao. In the Records, the only passages in which Yan Liang appears are Yuan Shao's making him a commander after defeating Gongsun Zan at Yijing and the battle of Baima in the 5th year of Jian'an (200). Romance, Ch. 5 §33Romance, Ch. 6 §31Romance, Ch. 7 §7Romance, Ch. 13 §2Records, Wei 6 §49 · 51
Geng Wu: In Chapter 7 of the Romance, Yan Liang cuts down Geng Wu, who has tried to stab Yuan Shao. In the Biography of Yuan Shao in the Records, Geng Wu appears as the Chief Clerk who remonstrated with Han Fu not to hand Ji Province over to Yuan Shao, and there is no record of Yan Liang killing him. Those who remonstrated together with him at that time were the Attendant Officer Min Chun and the Headquarters Officer Li Li. Romance, Ch. 7 §7Records, Wei 6 §42
The generals sent to Baima: In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang together to attack Baima. In Chapter 25 of the Romance, he sends only Yan Liang as the vanguard, and Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong do not appear in this battle. Romance, Ch. 25 §39–40Records, Wei 1 §60
Xun You's plan: In the Records, following Xun You's plan, Cao Cao pretended to cross at Yanjin to draw Yuan Shao's troops to the west and then hurried to Baima, and only when he was little more than ten li away was Yan Liang greatly alarmed and came out to meet him. In Chapter 25 of the Romance, Cao Cao encamps with 50,000 troops on an earthen hill at Baima and confronts him head-on, and this plan does not appear. Romance, Ch. 25 §40Records, Wei 1 §60–61
Song Xian and Wei Xu: In Chapter 25 of the Romance, Yan Liang cuts down Song Xian and Wei Xu and drives off Xu Huang after twenty bouts. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Song Xian and Wei Xu appear only as generals of Lü Bu who seized Chen Gong and surrendered the city, with no record of being killed by Yan Liang, and in the Biography of Xu Huang, Xu Huang is a general who followed in the defeat of Yan Liang. Romance, Ch. 25 §41–42Records, Wei 1 §49Records, Wei 17 §58
Who put Guan Yu forward: In Chapter 25 of the Romance, Cheng Yu recommends Lord Guan to Cao Cao after he has lost two generals. In the Records, Lord Cao made Zhang Liao and Guan Yu his vanguard from the start and sent them against Yan Liang. Romance, Ch. 25 §43–44Records, Shu 6 §4Records, Wei 1 §61
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
RLed the vanguard in the attack on Baima, but was routed after being startled by the Grand Progenitor's surprise attackWei 1 §61Wei 6 §51
NHis vanguard of 100,000 elite troops was drawn up in a strict and imposing array, and he commanded archers at JieqiaoCh. 25 §40Ch. 25 §45Ch. 7 §14
RKong Rong said his valour was the foremost in all the armies, and Ju Shou also called him brave and valiantWei 10 §29Wei 6 §51
NCut down Song Xian in three bouts and Wei Xu in one, and drove off Xu Huang in twentyCh. 25 §41Ch. 7 §7
RJu Shou judged him narrow-minded by natureWei 6 §51
NYuan Shao cherished him as 'my senior general', and Wen Chou said they were like brothersCh. 25 §39Ch. 26 §2
RFooled by the feint toward Yanjin, he was greatly alarmed only when the enemy was ten-odd li awayWei 1 §60
NXun Yu called his valour that of a common fellow, and he failed to recognize Guan Yu's chargeCh. 22 §30Ch. 25 §47
RNo direct record — estimated as below average, as the only assessment calls him narrow-mindedWei 6 §51
NJu Shou judged him narrow by natureCh. 25 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his startled response to the surprise attackWei 1 §61
NAs Guan Yu bore down, he was about to ask who he was and died before he could make a moveCh. 25 §47
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
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Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).