The old Yuan family can verify that the earliest ancestor is Yuan Liang, who served as the prince in the Western Han Dynasty when Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty, and was an official in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty to Chengwu County.

Later, Yuan Liang's son Yuan Chang moved from Yangxia in Chen County to Ruyang County, Runan County, and he was also the ancestor of the Yuan clan in Runan. Since then, the old Yuan family has blossomed and borne fruit in Runan, passed down from generation to generation, and has been prosperous.

Yuan Chang's son Yuan An later brought the first third prince to the old Yuan family, opening the glorious era of the old Yuan family for nearly a century and a half.

Yuan An, the word Shao Gong (one said Zhao Gong). He was raised as filial piety at a young age, and first served as the magistrate of Yinping County and the magistrate of Chengcheng County in the local government, and was extremely strict during his tenure, which made the officials and people both afraid and respectful of him. During the period of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, he was promoted to the Taishou of Chu County and Henan Yin, with a strict political name and a fair prison break. In office for more than ten years, the Beijing master is solemn and respectful. Later, he successively served as a servant, a sikong, and a situ.

There is a well-known allusion to Yuan An's being held up as filial piety, and one winter, Luoyang ordered him to visit him in the snow. At that time, the snow in front of other people's houses was swept away, only the snow in Yuan An's yard was very deep, and some people said that Yuan An might have frozen to death, so Luoyang Ling asked his entourage to sweep out a way to enter Yuan An's house. As a result, Yuan Anzheng was so cold that he curled up on the bed shivering. Luoyang Ling asked: "Why don't you ask your relatives for help?" Yuan An said: "Everyone has not had a good life, how can I disturb others on a snowy day?" "Luoyang Ling admired his virtue and praised him as filial piety. Later, the people of the Yuan clan remembered the virtue of their ancestors, and took Woxue Hall as the hall name, and it is said that Woxue Hall was the first gate of the Yuan family.

Yuan An only served as Sikong for about a year and one month in history (May of the third year of Yuanhe to June of the first year of Zhanghe, 86-87), and was soon transferred to Situ, but the position of Sikong was the first position of the third prince obtained by the old Yuan family, and Yuan An was also the ancestor of the first old Yuan family to become the third prince, the first generation of brilliant creators, Yuan An died in the fourth year of Yongyuan (92).

Yuan An had three sons, the eldest son Yuan Shang, the second son Yuan Jing, and the third son Yuan Chang. Among them, Yuan Shang is the most incompetent, after the fall of the Dou family, and the emperor pro-government, read Yuan An's old love to worship him as a Lang official, his children and grandchildren in the later generations are basically inactive, Yuan Jing has been the Taishou of Shu County, and the youngest son Yuan Chang is twenty-four years after his father's death (three years in the early Yuan Dynasty, 116) again served as a Sikong position, is the second generation of the glorious successor of the old Yuan family.

But only a year later, Yuan Chang (the word Shuping) was dismissed because his son leaked secrets when he was in a relationship with Shangshulang Zhang Jun, and because he offended his relative Deng because of his integrity, he committed suicide.

Yuan Chang's son killed his father, and Yuan Shang's son Yuan Zhi was not very capable like his father, so the glory of the old Yuan family was mainly supported by Yuan Jing's children.

Yuan Jing is recorded to have had two sons, the eldest son Yuan Peng and the second son Yuan Tang.

Yuan Peng, whose name is Bochu, inherited Yuan Jing's family business, successively served as Guanghan, Nanyang Taishou, and later officials to Guangluxun and Yilang, and his historical achievements are not great.

Yuan Tang, the word Zhonghe, after Emperor Heng succeeded to the throne (the first year of Jianhe, 147), he was appointed as Sikong, and later served as Situ and Taiwei, and was the only member of the Yuan clan who held all three positions in the old Yuan family, and was also the glorious successor of the third generation of the old Yuan family.

In the first year of Yongxing (153), the imperial court dismissed Yuan Tang from his post on the grounds of disaster, and Yuan Tang died of illness soon after.

Although Yuan Peng inherited Yuan Chang's family business in history, he himself was completely inferior to his younger brother, and his children and grandchildren were the same. Therefore, the glory of the fourth generation of the old Yuan family is mainly supported by Yuan Tang's sons.

Yuan Tang had four sons, namely the eldest son Yuan Ping, the second son Yuan Cheng, the third son Yuan Feng, and the youngest son Yuan Kui.

Among them, the eldest son Yuan Ping did nothing, and the second son Yuan Cheng died early, although he was an official to the left middle general. The other two sons, Yuan Feng and Yuan Kui, both sat on the position of the third prince in the future and became the glorious successors and leaders of the fourth generation of the old Yuan family.

Yuan Feng, whose name is Zhou Yang, is the biological father of the two brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and Yuan Feng later passed Yuan Shao to his dead brother Yuan Cheng, so Yuan Shao can also be said to be his nephew.

Yuan Feng is known for his generosity and sincerity, first served as a servant when he was Emperor Ling, and then moved to the position of Sikong and Zhijinwu.

Yuan Kui is Yuan Feng's younger brother, but he became the third prince earlier than his elder brother. When he was young, he married the daughter of the great Confucian Ma Rong in the late Han Dynasty as his wife, and his career was also smooth sailing, he once served as Situ and Taiwei, and later served as Taifu (the position is still above Taifu, Sikong, and Situ, but it is generally a false position).

In history, after Dong Zhuo expelled Lu Zhi, he sent someone to send the plan to abolish the emperor to Yuan Kui, who was the Taifu at the time, and Yuan Kui agreed to repay it in order to protect himself. Later, Dong Zhuo coerced Empress Dowager He to issue an edict to depose the young emperor Liu Bian, and it was Yuan Kui who removed the seal ribbon worn by the young emperor Liu Biao and presented it to Liu Xie, the king of Chen Liu. Then he helped Liu Wei, the king of agriculture, to go down to the palace and pay tribute to Liu Xie, who was sitting in the north.

After Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu raised troops against Dong, Dong Zhuo on the one hand was angry with the Yuan family, on the other hand, he was afraid that he would act as an internal response, and all the Yuan family under his control were killed, and Yuan Kui and Yuan Shu's brother Yuan Ji did not escape.

The old Yuan family since Yuan Liang, his grandson Yuan Anguan to Sikong, Situ, Yuan An's youngest son Yuan Chang as Sikong, Yuan An's second son Yuan Jing's son Yuan Tang as Sikong, Situ, Taiwei, Yuan Tang's son Yuan Feng also to Sikong, Yuan Feng's brother Yuan Kui also to Situ, Taifu, excluding Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu's generation, there are as many as five people in the position of the third prince in the fourth world, known as "the third prince of the fourth world".

The old Yuan family was undoubtedly one of the two strongest families in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and at that time, in addition to the Runan Yuan family, the only one who could do this was the Hongnong Yang family.

From Yuan An to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, the old Yuan family can be said to be a generation of talents, each of the five generations has a leading figure, to the period of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu brothers, even the position of the three princes is not in the eyes, Yuan Shao disdains the position of Taiwei, Yuan Shu simply stands on his own and is the emperor, it can be said that the accumulation of generations has reached its peak in the Yuan Shao period.

At that time, with the help of the system of inspection and expropriation, the power of the family developed very rapidly in the central and local areas, and the Yuan family of Runan and the Yang family of Hongnong had basically formed a gate valve, and the two families were protégés and noble sons all over the world, and even the emperor and the people in power could only turn a blind eye to them.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu can be said to have been born with a golden key and a silver key, they have a huge family power behind them, and they can use the power of the family at any time, and they often get twice the result with half the effort, and they are born with their own prestige, and the starting point is a cut higher than others, so as long as they have a little ability, it is easy to play a piece of the world.

A high starting point doesn't mean you'll be successful, but it's always a lot less difficult than others.