Ding Yuan

Dīng Yuán ( Chinese  丁原 , W.-G. Ting Yuan ; † 189 ), majority name Jiànyáng ( 建 陽 ), was a provincial governor of the late Han dynasty . In 189 he and General Dong Zhuo were called to the capital, Luoyang , where fighting between the eunuch faction and Empress He's family had broken out.

Life

According to Minister Wang Can's Heroes Report (英雄 記), Ding Yuan was from a poor background. He is said to have been a good rider and archer. His first office as civil servant in Bing Province (并 州, today's Shanxi ) he exercised with great conscientiousness and did not lose his calm even in difficult situations. Whenever he fought against bandits in his province, he always fought on the front lines. Later he met the officer Lü Bu , whom he hired and made his closest confidante. Ding Yuan was later appointed governor of Bing Province.

After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, Colonel General He Jin called Ding Yuan and his troops to the capital Luoyang to fight the eunuchs for supremacy. But before Ding Yuan's arrival, the eunuchs murdered He Jin. Another general, whom He Jin had called, the famous Dong Zhuo , had Liang Province (涼州, today's western from the Gansu ) opened and pursued the eunuchs, with the young emperor Liu Bian and his brother Liu Xie from the Capital fled south. Dong Zhuo caught up with them on the Yangtze River, where they plunged into the floods and collectively committed suicide. Dong Zhuo then moved to the capital, where he arrived before Ding Yuan. Dong Zhuo pulled Lu Bu over to his side and persuaded him to murder Ding Yuan.

Adaptation

In the Story of the Three Realms , a classic Chinese novel from the 14th century, the events that led to the formation of the Three Realms are depicted in a literary way. Ding Yuan appears in Chapter 3 and rebels against Dong Zhuo's plan to depose the emperor in favor of his younger brother. Dong Zhuo, who is portrayed as extremely cruel and unscrupulous in the novel, does not dare to kill Ding Yuan while his officer Lü Bu is there.

Dong Zhuo's general Li Su , who comes from the same district as Lü Bu, tries to win his compatriot to Dong Zhuo's side with sumptuous gifts. The plan works, and that same night Lü Bu sneaks into the tent of Ding Yuan with a sword, who is reading by candlelight. With one stroke he chops off Ding Yuan's head, which he offers to his new Mr. Dong Zhuo.