Yuan Wei

史载（Historical Record）

Yuan Wei, styled Ciyang, is scarcely mentioned in the official histories—indeed, one might say there is almost no independent historical material giving a detailed account of him. This stands in sharp contrast to his importance in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Wei is usually mentioned as a member of the Yuan family, with no special emphasis recorded of his personal achievements or specific words and deeds. Therefore, regarding Yuan Wei's true historical face, we lack direct and detailed historical support. His existence is more as a kinship background for Yuan Shao than as an independent political or military figure.

演中（In the Novel）

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the image of Yuan Wei (styled Ciyang) revolves chiefly around his identity as Yuan Shao's uncle, and he plays an important role in the early period of Dong Zhuo's misrule, though his end is tragic. He first appears in the sixth year of Zhongping (189 CE), when Emperor Ling lay gravely ill ^c:3347. At that time, He Jin sought to exterminate the eunuchs, and Cao Cao advised caution, pointing out that the eunuchs' power was deeply entrenched and hard to root out entirely. At this moment Yuan Shao stepped forward, declaring his willingness to take five thousand crack troops to break through the passes, enter the palace, enthrone a new ruler, and exterminate the eunuchs. The novel clearly states that Yuan Shao was "the son of the Minister over the Masses Yuan Feng and the nephew of Yuan Wei" ^c:3347, thus establishing Yuan Wei's standing as an elder of the Yuan family.

After Dong Zhuo entered the capital and deposed and enthroned emperors, Yuan Shao, because he opposed Dong Zhuo's proposal to depose the emperor, took up his sword, hung up his credentials at the East Gate, and fled to Ji Province. Dong Zhuo wished to kill Yuan Shao but was dissuaded by Li Ru. Dong Zhuo then questioned the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei: "Your nephew is insolent; for your sake I shall pardon him. What of the matter of deposing and enthroning?" Yuan Wei's reply at this time was "What the Grand Commandant sees is correct" ^c:13621, showing submission to Dong Zhuo, which to some degree reflected the helplessness and fear of court officials under Dong Zhuo's tyranny. Although Yuan Wei submitted to Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo still harbored suspicion of him. Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong once advised Dong Zhuo to pardon Yuan Shao and grant him a commandery post to win over hearts, but Dong Zhuo did not fully adopt this.

Yuan Wei's tragic end came when the allied forces campaigned against Dong Zhuo. When Hua Xiong was slain and the allies' momentum grew great, Li Ru advised Dong Zhuo: "Now that we have lost the great general Hua Xiong, the rebels' power is great. Yuan Shao is the alliance leader, and Shao's uncle Yuan Wei is currently the Grand Tutor; should they conspire from within and without, it would be most inconvenient. We may eliminate him first." ^c:3348 Dong Zhuo adopted Li Ru's advice and at once ordered Li Jue and Guo Si to lead five hundred troops to surround the house of the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, killing all without distinction of old or young, and sent Yuan Wei's head to the pass to be displayed ^c:3348. Yuan Wei's death was not only Dong Zhuo's revenge against Yuan Shao but also his means of clearing out rivals and overawing the court, and it laid the groundwork for Yuan Shao's eventual complete break with Dong Zhuo. The novel's depiction of Yuan Wei, though brief, profoundly embodies, through his role as a representative figure of the Yuan family and his ultimately tragic end, the uncertainty of individual fate and the rise and fall of families in a chaotic age.

关键关系

* Yuan Shao (nephew): Yuan Wei's most important identity in the novel is as Yuan Shao's uncle. When He Jin sought to exterminate the eunuchs, Yuan Shao was clearly stated to be "the son of the Minister over the Masses Yuan Feng and the nephew of Yuan Wei" ^c:3347. This relationship not only established Yuan Wei's standing as an elder of the Yuan family but also caused him to be implicated by Yuan Shao's opposition when Dong Zhuo deposed and enthroned emperors. Dong Zhuo once questioned Yuan Wei over Yuan Shao's insolence, and at last, because Yuan Shao was the alliance leader, killed Yuan Wei to remove the threat ^c:3348. This uncle-nephew relationship is the key factor driving Yuan Wei's fate in the novel.
* Dong Zhuo (political opponent / perpetrator): Dong Zhuo was the direct culprit of Yuan Wei's tragic end. Although Yuan Wei showed submission on Dong Zhuo's proposal to depose the emperor ^c:13621, Dong Zhuo never trusted him and at last, because of Yuan Shao's resistance, exterminated Yuan Wei's entire family ^c:3348. Dong Zhuo's treatment of Yuan Wei embodies his brutal methods of rule and his mercilessness toward rivals.

标志性场景

* Questioned during Dong Zhuo's proposal to depose the emperor (unique to the novel): When Dong Zhuo sought to depose the young emperor and enthrone the Prince of Chenliu, Yuan Shao, opposing it, flicked his sleeve and departed. Dong Zhuo then questioned the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei: "Your nephew is insolent; for your sake I shall pardon him. What of the matter of deposing and enthroning?" Yuan Wei at this time submissively replied, "What the Grand Commandant sees is correct" ^c:13621. This scene displays Yuan Wei's helplessness and compromise before overwhelming power, and hints at the difficult situation of his family in a chaotic age.
* His whole family exterminated by Dong Zhuo (unique to the novel): After the allied forces campaigned against Dong Zhuo and Hua Xiong was slain, Li Ru advised Dong Zhuo, pointing out that Yuan Shao was the alliance leader and his uncle Yuan Wei was currently the Grand Tutor, and that fearing they might conspire from within and without, he advised eliminating him first. Dong Zhuo adopted this plan and sent Li Jue and Guo Si to surround Yuan Wei's house, killing all without distinction of old or young, and sent Yuan Wei's head to the pass to be displayed ^c:3348. This is Yuan Wei's most iconic scene in the novel, directly causing his death and profoundly revealing Dong Zhuo's brutality and the cruelty of family political struggle in a chaotic age. This event also further intensified the conflict between Dong Zhuo and the Guandong alliance led by Yuan Shao.