刘延 / Liu Yan (Dong Commandery)

Overview

刘延 / Liu Yan (Dong Commandery) is the East Commandery administrator defended by 曹操 during the White Horse relief before 官渡之战. This page is deliberately disambiguated from 刘焉 / Liu Yan (late Han), the Yi Province powerholder.

Current Profile

The bounded evidence gives Liu Yan a narrow but important campaign role. 袁绍 sends 颜良 to attack him at White Horse, making Liu Yan’s position a forward pressure point on Cao Cao’s side. Cao Cao’s April northward move to rescue him then creates the setting for the feigned Yellow River crossing, Yuan Shao’s westward division of force, and Guan Yu’s killing of Yan Liang.

Key Characteristics

• Dong Commandery administrator rather than the Yi Province Liu Yan.
• Source-bounded defensive target at White Horse in Jian’an 5 / 200 CE.
• His exposure forces Cao Cao to solve a relief problem under numerical disadvantage.
• Functions mainly as a campaign-position node, not as a fully developed biography.

Evidence

• Identity and office: Hanji 1043 names Liu Yan as the Dong Commandery administrator attacked by Yan Liang at White Horse.
• White Horse target: Hanji 1043 makes Yuan Shao’s dispatch of Yan Liang against Liu Yan the immediate cause of Cao Cao’s relief move.
• Relief context: Hanji 1043 says Cao Cao personally leads troops north in April to rescue Liu Yan before the diversionary White Horse attack.

Qualifications

The current source does not provide Liu Yan’s family background, later career, or independent policy record. Because the wiki already has a separate 刘焉 / Liu Yan (late Han) page, this page should keep the Dong Commandery disambiguator unless later evidence proves a different stable naming convention.

What Changed

• Created this disambiguated entity page to avoid merging the White Horse Liu Yan with the Yi Province Liu Yan.

Relationships

• 东郡 - office field attached to Liu Yan in the source.
• 白马之围 - event in which Liu Yan is the defended official at White Horse.
• 颜良 - attacking Yuan-side general sent against Liu Yan.
• 袁绍 - commander who dispatches Yan Liang toward Liu Yan’s position.
• 曹操 - commander who leads the relief force north to rescue Liu Yan.
• 官渡之战 - larger campaign context for Liu Yan’s source-bounded role.