page_title: End of the Han dynasty
section_title: Fall of the Yuan power bloc (202–207)
hierarchical_section_title: End of the Han dynasty / Gradual reunification under Cao Cao (196–207) / Fall of the Yuan power bloc (202–207)
caption_attribution_description: English: The Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭汉墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu; Wade-Giles: Tahut'ing Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, was excavated in 1960-1961 and contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life. For further information, see the Baidu article (in Chinese): 打虎亭汉墓. Click here for more pictures and a step-by-step walkthrough of the tomb, from the outside, down a stairwell, and through the vaulted burial chambers.
context_page_description: The end of the Han dynasty refers to the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 AD, which roughly coincides with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Meanwhile, the Han Empire's institutions were destroyed by the warlord Dong Zhuo, and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various warlords, some of whom were nobles and officials of the Han imperial court. Eventually, one of those warlords, Cao Cao, was able to gradually reunify the empire, ostensibly under Emperor Xian's rule, but the empire was actually controlled by Cao Cao himself.
  Cao Cao's efforts to completely reunite the Han dynasty were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 / 209, when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 when Cao Cao's son and heir, Cao Pi, pressured Emperor Xian into abdicating in his favour. Cao Pi became the emperor of a new state, Cao Wei.
context_section_description: After Yuan Shao died of illness in 202, a struggle of succession developed between his oldest son Yuan Tan and third son Yuan Shang. Several years before Yuan Shao's death, based on the traditional order of succession, Yuan Tan should have been designated as the heir apparent, but as Yuan Shao's wife Lady Liu favoured Yuan Shang, so Yuan Shao had Yuan Tan posthumously adopted by the latter's uncle, Yuan Cheng (袁成). Yuan Shao then divided his territories between his sons and nephew Gao Gan, ostensibly so that he could determine their abilities. His base of Ji Province was given to Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan controlled Qing Province, while Yuan Xi governed You Province, and Gao Gan ruled Bing Province. On his deathbed, Yuan Shao did not leave any explicit instruction as to who should succeed him. Of Yuan Shao's followers, Pang Ji and Shen Pei supported Yuan Shang, while Xin Ping and Guo Tu favoured Yuan Tan. After Yuan Shao's death, most of his subordinates initially wanted Yuan Tan to be their new lord, since he was the oldest son. However, Shen Pei and Pang Ji forged a will, naming Yuan Shang as the successor. Yuan Tan was furious and mobilized his forces under the pretext of attacking Cao Cao, drawing Cao's attention, and Cao preemptively retaliated. Yuan Shang came to his oldest brother's aid, and they fought inconclusively against Cao Cao in the Battle of Liyang.
  In 203, Cao Cao scored a major victory over the Yuans, who retreated back to Ji Province's capital, Ye (鄴). Cao Cao then planned to besiege Ye, but later withdrew his forces after heeding Guo Jia's advice. Guo Jia reasoned that if Cao Cao pressured the Yuans, they might unite against a common enemy; however, if Cao Cao retreated, the disgruntled Yuan brothers would start fighting among themselves. Guo Jia's prediction came true later when Yuan Tan, still bearing a grudge against Yuan Shang for receiving a larger inheritance, attacked Yuan Shang, but his forces in Qing Province defected to Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan fled to Pingyuan (in present-day Dezhou, Shandong) and was besieged by Yuan Shang there. Yuan Tan sought help from Cao Cao, and Cao advanced north to attack Ye, forcing Yuan Shang to lift the siege on Pingyuan. In early 204, Yuan Shang incorrectly believed that Cao Cao had withdrawn, so he attacked his brother again at Pingyuan. Cao Cao attacked Ye once more and Yuan Shang headed back to defend his base, but was defeated by Cao Cao. Yuan Shang then fled north to Zhongshan (in present-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Ye fell to Cao Cao. Gao Gan also surrendered Bing Province to Cao Cao.
  During Cao Cao's siege on Ye, Yuan Tan did not help attack Ye but sought to take Yuan Shang's territories, defeating Yuan Shang in Zhongshan. Yuan Shang fled further north to join Yuan Xi in You Province. Cao Cao now accused Yuan Tan of breaching the trust in the alliance so he turned east to attack him, capturing Yuan Tan's last stronghold at Nanpi (南皮; in present-day Cangzhou, Hebei) and killing Yuan. Meanwhile, in You Province, Yuan Xi's subordinate Jiao Chu (焦觸) revolted and surrendered to Cao Cao, forcing Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to flee further north to join the Wuhuan tribes under chief Tadun. Around this time, Gao Gan also rebelled against Cao Cao, but was defeated by 206 and killed while attempting to flee south to join Liu Biao.
  In 207, Cao Cao's army headed north to attack the Wuhuan, defeating them at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain. Tadun was killed in battle while Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang sought refuge under Gongsun Kang, a warlord who controlled most of present-day Liaoning. Gongsun Kang feared that the Yuans might turn against him and seize his territory, so he had them executed and sent their heads to Cao Cao. By this time, the Yuan clan had been completely eliminated and much of northern China had been reunified under Cao Cao's control.
caption: Late Eastern Han mural showing chariots and cavalry, from the Dahuting tombs
exif: {}