Yuán Shàng

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Yuán Shàng (袁尚) (177 – 207 AD) was the third son of Yuán Shào.

It is documented that Yuán Shào favoured Yuán Shàng due to his abilities and good looks, and was believed to be his father's preferred choice for succession of his throne and inheritance of the majority of the Yuán Family's resources and territories. However, Yuán Shào was never able to finalise details regarding these matters and, following his death in 202, many within the Yuán camp believed that Shào's eldest son, Yuán Tán, should assume control of the Yuán Family's assets, as tradition dictated. The relationship between Tán and Shàng quickly erroded, with a power struggle forming between the two brothers.

Yuán Shào's former advisors and officers, once colleagues and friends, took their respective sides, and the political conflict escalated into war. However, Tán soon allied himself with his father's rival and enemy, Cáo Cāo, who had withdrawn his armies from Yuán territory after correctly predicting that the Yuán brothers would destroy each other if no other enemy was present. Shàng was subsequently defeated by the combined strength of Tán and Cāo, and forced to seek refuge alongside his second brother, Yuán Xī, who at that time was the protector of Youzhou. The two brothers were then forced to flee to Liaodong, where they were betrayed by Liaodong's governor, Gongsun Kang, who executed them to appease Cáo Cāo.