Yuan Shao

One of the heroes of the late Eastern Han Dynasty in China. His courtesy name was Benchu. He was from Ruyang, Runan (Shangshui County, Henan Province). The Yuan family was a prestigious family that had produced three nobles over four generations, and the country was full of students and former officials who had been under the patronage of the Yuan family. After the death of Emperor Ling, He Jin, a relative of the emperor, tried to eliminate the eunuchs, but was instead assassinated. Together with his cousin Yuan Shu, he killed 2,000 eunuchs. When Dong Zhuo supported Emperor Xian and seized real power, he was shunned by the Governor of Bohai. He organized the powerful clans of Shandong, became the leader of the conquest of Dong Zhuo, and forced Dong Zhuo to flee from the capital, Luoyang, to Chang'an. He tried to make Liu Yu, a member of the imperial family and head of Youzhou Province, emperor, but Liu Yu refused. Yuan Shao expanded his power by destroying Gongsun Zan, who had his base in Hebei, and took control of four provinces in Shandong and Hebei. He also gained elite soldiers from the Wuhuan clan and became a powerful warlord. He opposed Cao Cao, whose power had increased after he welcomed Emperor Xian, but was defeated in the Battle of Guandu, a ferry crossing the Yellow River in Zhongmu County, Henan Province (200). After Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang succeeded him, but the Yuan clan was soon destroyed due to internal conflicts.

[Ueda Sanae]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、後漢(ごかん)末期の群雄の一人。字(あざな)は本初。汝南(じょなん)汝陽（河南省商水県）の人。袁氏は4代にわたり三公を輩出した名門で、国内には袁氏の恩顧を受けた門生や故吏(こり)があふれていた。霊帝(れいてい)の死後、宦官(かんがん)を排除しようとした外戚の何進(かしん)が、逆に謀殺されると、従弟(いとこ)の袁術とともに宦官2000人を皆殺しにした。董卓(とうたく)が献帝を擁して実権を奪うと、渤海(ぼっかい)太守に遠ざけられた。山東の豪族を組織し、董卓征伐の盟主となり、董卓を首都洛陽(らくよう)から長安に逃走させた。帝室の一族で幽州(ゆうしゅう)牧の劉虞(りゅうぐ)を皇帝にしようとしたが、劉虞に拒否された。袁紹は、河北に割拠していた公孫瓚(こうそんさん)を滅ぼして勢力を拡大し、山東、河北の4州を領し、烏丸(うがん)の精兵を収めて有力な軍閥となった。さらに献帝を迎え入れて力を増した曹操(そうそう)と対抗したが、河南省中牟(ちゅうぼう)県にある黄河の渡し場官渡(かんと)の戦いで大敗した（200）。袁紹の死後、袁尚が継いだが、内紛のため袁氏はほどなく滅亡した。

［上田早苗］

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