Yuan Can

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Yuan Can belonged to the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery and was a great-great-grandson of Yuan Dan, Administrator of Liyang under Eastern Jin. Yuan Dan's son Yuan Zhi served Jin as Intendant of Langye, and the family was counted alongside the Wang clan of Langye, the Xie clan of Chen Commandery, and the Xiao clan of Lanling among the great émigré aristocratic lineages. Yuan Can's father Yuan Zhuo had been selected by the province as a xiucai but died before taking office. Yuan Can lost his father as a child, and his grandmother, pitying his orphaned state, named him “Minsun.” His uncle Yuan Xun and younger paternal uncle Yuan Shu were both prominent officials, yet Yuan Can's immediate household suffered hunger and cold. His mother, Lady Wang, came from the Wang clan of Langye and was the daughter of Wang Dan, Chief Clerk to the Grand Commandant of Eastern Jin; she supported the household by personally spinning and weaving.

As a child Yuan Can accompanied his uncle Yuan Xun to Wu Commandery. Wearing worn clothes, he rarely went outside and stayed home to study. His elder cousin Yuan Yi invited him on outings, but he declined on the pretext of illness. Yuan Shu greatly admired him and told the family's younger generation that the clan lacked no worthy men and that Minsun would surely again rise to the Three Excellencies. Yuan Can became known early for integrity and resolve. He began his career as an Assistant Officer of Yangzhou. During the middle and later Yuanjia era of Emperor Wen of Song, he served on the staff of Liu Jun, Prince of Wuling, first as a traveling staff officer under the General Who Pacifies the North and later in Liu Jun's army commands. In 453, the thirtieth year of Yuanjia, when Liu Jun became General of the South-Central Army, Yuan Can served as his Chief Clerk.

Under Emperor Xiaowu

In the third lunar month of 453, the thirtieth year of Yuanjia, Crown Prince Liu Shao murdered his father and usurped the throne. Liu Jun, Prince of Wuling, raised troops to punish him and appointed Yuan Can Recorder. In the fourth lunar month, Liu Jun ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song and appointed Yuan Can Gentleman of the Ministry of Personnel in the Department of State Affairs, Right Guard Commander of the Crown Prince, and Palace Attendant. In 454, the first year of Xiaojian, Emperor Xiaowu led his ministers in a fast at Zhongxing Monastery. After the midday meal Yuan Can and Yellow Gate Gentleman Zhang Yan privately ate fish and meat. He Shangzhi, Prefect of the Masters of Writing and a devout Buddhist, secretly informed the emperor; Censor-in-Chief Wang Qianzhi impeached the two men, and Yuan Can was dismissed.

In 455, the second year of Xiaojian, Yuan Can was restored as Commandant of Justice and Palace Attendant to the Crown Prince, concurrently General of the Right Army. He was later sent out as General Who Assists the State, Chief Clerk of Liu Zishang, Prince of Xiyang and General of the North-Central Army, Administrator of Guangling, and acting administrator of Yanzhou. In 457, the first year of Daming, he became Palace Attendant concurrently commanding the Archery Guards and, in recognition of earlier service, was enfeoffed Founding Viscount of Xingping County with five hundred households. In the eleventh lunar month of 458, his mother Lady Wang was invested as Grand Lady of the State of Xingping. In 459, the third year of Daming, Yuan Can was dismissed for accepting a bribe and recommending Ding Wenjuan of Kuaiji as an exemplary candidate. He was soon restored as Chief Clerk of the Army-Pacifying command under Liu Zishang, Prince of Xiyang, and again served as Palace Attendant to the Crown Prince concurrently General of the Left Army. In 460 he became Administrator of Yuzhang with a salary rank of two thousand shi; in 461 he returned as Palace Attendant concurrently Commandant of Changshui, and later became General of the Left Guard with the additional title Gentleman in Attendance.

In 463, the seventh year of Daming, Yuan Can became Minister of Personnel while retaining the post General of the Left Guard. At the coming-of-age ceremony for Crown Prince Liu Ziye, Emperor Xiaowu feasted his ministers. Yuan Can urged Yan Shibo to drink; when Yan refused, Yuan Can humiliated him publicly, saying that he could not socialize with a flatterer. Emperor Xiaowu was furious, declaring that without imperial favor “Yuan Zhuo's son” would not even have obtained a minor gentleman's post and yet dared to treat others as lowborn. He ordered attendants to drag Yuan Can from his seat and intended to execute him. Yuan Can remained composed and unchanged in expression. Shen Qingzhi and Liu Yuanjing personally rose to plead for him, and only after a long time did the emperor's anger subside. Yuan Can was ultimately demoted to Administrator of Hailing.

In 464, the eighth year of Daming, Emperor Xiaowu died and Crown Prince Liu Ziye ascended the throne. Yuan Can was summoned as Censor-in-Chief but did not take the post and instead resumed service as Minister of Personnel. Liu Song at the time maintained two Ministers of Personnel, the other being Cai Xingzong. Because Yuan Can and Cai disagreed with Yan Shibo, Grand Steward Liu Yigong and Prefect of the Masters of Writing Liu Yuanjing petitioned to remove them; the Former Deposed Emperor instead ordered Yuan Can to continue acting in office under his viscount title. In 465, the first year of Yongguang, Yuan Can became General of the Right Guard with the additional title Gentleman in Attendance. In the eighth lunar month the era name changed to Jinghe and Yuan Can became Palace Attendant concurrently General of the Valiant Cavalry. The Former Deposed Emperor Liu Ziye once ordered him to walk naked through the palace to humiliate him. Yuan Can remained calm and walked with his usual dignified bearing, then turned and quoted, “The wind and rain are dark, yet the cock continues to crow.”

Under Emperor Ming

In the eleventh lunar month of 465, the first year of Jinghe, the Former Deposed Emperor Liu Ziye was killed. Liu Yu, Prince of Xiangdong, ascended as Emperor Ming of Song. Yuan Can became Left Chief Clerk to the Minister of Education, Champion General, and Administrator of Southern Donghai. From youth Yuan Can had admired the personality of the Cao Wei scholar Xun Can, whose courtesy name was Fengqian, and had once asked Emperor Xiaowu to permit him to change his name to Yuan Can, without success. He now petitioned Emperor Ming again and received approval; he therefore changed his name to Yuan Can and adopted the courtesy name Jingqian.

In the first lunar month of 466, the second year of Taishi, Yuan Can became General of the Guards with thirty armed attendants authorized to enter the six palace gates. He soon became Secretariat Director while concurrently serving as Supervisor of the Crown Prince's Household. In the fifth lunar month of 467, the third year of Taishi, Yuan Can replaced Cai Xingzong as Director of the Department of State Affairs and concurrently took charge of the Ministry of Personnel. In 469 he was additionally appointed Secretariat Director and Intendant of Danyang. In 470 Emperor Ming lectured on the Book of Changes in the Thatched Hall of Hualin Garden and ordered Yuan Can to hold the classic text; Yuan Can was also placed in charge of Eastern Palace affairs. In the sixth lunar month he became Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In 471 he again supervised the Crown Prince's household, and in the fifth lunar month he was appointed Prefect of the Masters of Writing while continuing as Intendant of Danyang. Because Yuan Can had nominated General of the Martial Guards Jiang Liu as Inspector of Jiangzhou and Jiang Liu later committed an offense, Yuan Can was demoted to acting Prefect. In a handwritten edict to Wang Jingwen, Emperor Ming remarked that when Yuan Can served as Vice Director and controlled appointments, people often hardly knew he was there, and that when promoted to Prefect he occupied the post without misgiving.

In the fourth lunar month of 472, the first year of Taiyu, Emperor Ming became critically ill. He summoned Yuan Can together with General Who Guards the Army Chu Yuan, General of the Central Guards Liu Mian, General Who Conquers the West Cai Xingzong, General Who Pacifies the Army Shen Youzhi, and others to receive a testamentary command; General of the Right Guard Xiao Daocheng also shared in the charge. Yuan Can received twenty honor guards with swords and a ceremonial music unit. After Crown Prince Liu Yu ascended the throne, Yuan Can and Chu Yuan jointly assisted the government and were granted five hundred troops each.

The Later Deposed Emperor and the “Four Nobles”

In the eleventh lunar month of 473, the first year of Yuanhui, Yuan Can resigned to observe mourning after his mother Lady Wang died. His grief was extreme and his appearance became emaciated. The Later Deposed Emperor Liu Yu repeatedly ordered him to return to office with the additional title General of the Guards, sending palace messengers one after another, but Yuan Can firmly refused each time.

In the fifth lunar month of 474, the second year of Yuanhui, Liu Xiufan, Prince of Guiyang and Grand Commandant, rebelled and his troops approached Jiankang. The court authorized Yuan Can to open an office and appoint staff, and ordered him and Chu Yuan to lead troops into the palace to defend the imperial precincts. As the rebels neared the Southern Side Gate and the situation became critical, Yuan Can encouraged the officers and soldiers in impassioned terms, saying that as an orphan entrusted by the late emperor he was bound to repay that trust with death and would die together with General Who Guards the Army Chu Yuan for the state. The troops under Chen Xianda and others were stirred to great determination, charged forward, and defeated the rebels. After Liu Xiufan's revolt was suppressed in the eighth lunar month, the Later Deposed Emperor appointed Yuan Can Director of the Secretariat, General of the Guards, Commander Unequalled in Honor, and concurrently Minister of Education. Yuan Can firmly declined. In the eighth lunar month of 475 he was instead appointed Prefect of the Masters of Writing and General of the Guards while retaining the privilege of an independent office. He again refused for several days and did not accept until the full three-year mourning period for his mother had ended. At this time Yuan Can, General of the Central Army Chu Yuan, General Who Pacifies the Army Liu Bing, and General of the Guards Xiao Daocheng jointly controlled the government and decided major affairs; they were known as the “Four Nobles.”

Yuan Can was habitually quiet, withdrawn, and reluctant to take charge of affairs. When subordinate officials asked for his decisions, he would often answer by chanting verse and then form an opinion according to his mood, which the officials could not alter. His residence was austere; he enjoyed wine and poetic recitation and took pleasure in drinking alone in his garden. Living near the southern outskirts of Jiankang, he often wandered alone among hills and streams, rarely associated with others, and admitted few miscellaneous guests. Even after receiving the late emperor's charge and becoming a regent, when people from every direction gathered in the capital, Yuan Can continued to live quietly and recline at home; only one or two conversationalists and literary men might see him. He liked walking alone among the white poplars in the countryside. On one occasion he met a gentleman on the road and invited him to drink. When the man called at his residence the next day, Yuan Can said that he had merely lacked a drinking companion the previous day and therefore invited him, and he refused to receive him. Yuan Can also wrote a verse expressing his disposition: “Though my lodging is within the central realm, following my inclination is to dwell by the blue waters.”

As the Later Deposed Emperor Liu Yu grew increasingly cruel and violent, Xiao Daocheng, Chu Yuan, and Yuan Can once discussed affairs of state. Xiao Daocheng was the first to propose deposing the ruler and installing another. Yuan Can argued that the emperor was young and minor faults could still be corrected; the precedents of Yi Yin and Huo Guang were not practicable in their age, and even if such a plan succeeded, those involved would ultimately not meet a good end. Chu Yuan remained silent but inwardly sided with Xiao Daocheng.

Resistance to Xiao Daocheng and Death for Loyalty

On the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in 477, the fifth year of Yuanhui, the Later Deposed Emperor Liu Yu was killed. The next morning Xiao Daocheng, dressed for war, summoned Liu Bing, Chu Yuan, and Yuan Can to the palace to deliberate. Xiao Daocheng first nominated Liu Bing to take charge, but Liu declined; he then proposed Yuan Can and Chu Yuan, who likewise refused to decide affairs. Xiao Daocheng ultimately resolved to place Liu Zhun, Prince of Ancheng, on the throne. Imperial guards stood with long swords and intimidated Yuan Can and Liu Bing, who were forced to agree and hurriedly withdrew. From that point Xiao Daocheng had complete control of the government.

After Emperor Shun Liu Zhun ascended and adopted the era name Shengming, Yuan Can was appointed Director of the Secretariat and Minister of Education, each office accompanied by fifty armed guards authorized to enter the palace. The court arranged for Xiao Daocheng to be stationed at the Eastern Headquarters and Yuan Can at Stone City. In the past Yuan Can had rarely accepted an appointment immediately and usually did so only after repeated and urgent edicts. This time, however, he accepted the order to move to Stone City without refusal. Believing that Xiao Daocheng intended to usurp the throne and unwilling to serve a second ruling house, Yuan Can secretly joined Liu Bing, Huang Hui, Sun Tanguan, Wang Yixing, Ren Houbo, Bu Boxing, and other veteran officials and generals in a plan to remove him.

When Inspector Shen Youzhi of Jingzhou raised troops and issued a proclamation to Jiankang denouncing Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Daocheng went personally to Stone City to discuss the response with Yuan Can, but Yuan Can claimed illness and refused to meet him. A clansman, Yuan Da, thought it unwise to create an open breach with Xiao Daocheng. Yuan Can, however, feared that Xiao might use the military crisis to summon him into the palace city, where he would be unable to refuse and, once caught in the net, would have no chance to escape. Xiao Daocheng therefore used the pretext of reinforcing Stone City to send his own commanders Xue Yuan, Su Lie, and Wang Tiansheng with troops to assist in its defense.

In the twelfth lunar month, Yuan Can secretly planned to hold Stone City and coordinate with Shen Youzhi. He linked up with Liu Bing, Huang Hui, and several commanders and claimed to act under an empress dowager's edict ordering Xiao Daocheng's removal. The plan called for forces to assemble at Stone City at midnight, for General of the Central Guards Liu Yun and others to rise before dawn and attack Xiao Daocheng, and for General Who Pacifies the West Huang Hui to lead a large external force from Xinting. Liu Bing, however, hurriedly brought his household and several hundred retainers from the Danyang government compound to Stone City just after the midday meal. The movement raised conspicuous dust and attracted attention. Wang Xun, Assistant Administrator of Danyang, reported the matter to Xiao Daocheng and the plot was exposed. Yuan Can reproached Liu Bing, who had arrived too early, asking why he had come at such a time and declaring the great affair ruined. Liu Bing answered emotionally that having now seen Yuan Can, he would have no regrets even if he died ten thousand deaths.

Xiao Daocheng sent General of the Valiant Cavalry Wang Jingze to eliminate General of the Central Guards Liu Yun inside the government complex and dispatched Su Lie, Xue Yuan, and Dai Sengjing to attack Stone City. Sun Tanguan and Ren Houbo, subordinates of Huang Hui, rushed to support Yuan Can. Yuan Can and Liu Bing climbed the eastern gate and issued military orders by torchlight at night. Sun Tanguan fought Wang Tiansheng's government forces at the eastern gate through several fierce engagements, killing or wounding more than one hundred. Suddenly a red meteor-like light illuminated the ground and fell inside the city; Dai Sengjing and Xue Yuan took advantage of the moment to break through the granary gate and press toward the western gate of the government compound. Yuan Can and Liu Bing descended from the wall and attempted to return to the compound. Yuan Can stopped before the candlelight, looked at himself, and sighed that he had always known a single timber could not prop up a collapsing great hall, but the obligation of principle required him to act.

Government troops then closed in. Amid the confusion Dai Sengjing advanced with a blade to take Yuan Can's head. Yuan Can's son Yuan Zui noticed and embraced his father, begging to die first. Yuan Can said, “I do not fail to be a loyal minister, and you do not fail to be a filial son.” Before the assembled troops he asked for a brush and drafted a final memorial saying that he had loyally served the Great Song and registered his name in its service to the end, and that he would now return his spirit to the ancestral graves and forever join the hills. Dai Sengjing struck down father and son, killing them immediately. Yuan Can was fifty-eight.

According to the “Annals of Emperor Shun” in the Book of Song, on the ren-shen day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of Shengming, Yuan Can occupied Stone City and rebelled, and unit commanders Su Lie, Wang Tiansheng, Xue Daoyuan, Dai Sengjing, and others captured Stone City and beheaded him inside. The ren-shen day, the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, corresponded to January 12, 478.

In the fourth lunar month of 483, the first year of Yongming, Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, Xiao Ze, issued an edict stating that Yuan Can and Liu Bing had shared responsibility for supporting the Song house under the preceding reign, that although their final conduct did not end well their original loyalty should be recorded, and that with years having passed they deserved special consideration. The court was ordered to make arrangements for the coffins and grave construction at their reburial sites.

Major Activities

Literary Contributions

Yuan Can was known for a pure and dignified character and held himself in high regard. He wrote the Biography of Master Miaode as a continuation of Ji Kang's Biographies of Lofty Scholars and as a self-portrait. The work describes Master Miaode, a man of Chen, as inwardly profound and empty of worldly desire, pure in spirit, filial and compliant, living quietly and simply, with something of the surviving style of Shun. Sickly from youth, indolent by nature, and uninterested in worldly advancement, he nevertheless had broad knowledge of the many schools and arts of discourse without seeking fame from them. Though poor and occasionally compelled to take office, government service was not what he loved. He concealed his inner purposes among ordinary traces, so even close associates could misunderstand him and common observers failed to know him. His gate was usually shut and only narrow paths led to his residence; even Yang Xiong's seclusion and the obscurity of the recluse Yan were said not to surpass him. He cultivated the Way and fulfilled his intent, leaving nothing by which the world could name him.

Yuan Can also wrote the allegory Mad Spring. It tells of a country with a spring whose water drove everyone who drank it mad. Only the ruler, who drew water from a private well, remained sane. Because the entire population was mad, they judged the sane ruler to be insane, seized him, and subjected him to treatments with fire, moxa, needles, and medicines. Unable to endure the suffering, the ruler finally drank from the spring and became mad as well. Once ruler and subjects were all equally mad, everyone rejoiced. The narrator concludes that since he himself was not mad, he found it difficult to stand alone and likewise considered trying the water. The allegory used the mad spring as a metaphor for a disordered age and the ruler's forced drinking as an image of an individual compelled to conform to the current of chaos, giving the work a sharp satirical meaning.

Yuan Can was skilled at recitation and wrote verse to express his disposition, including the line, “Though my lodging is within the central realm, following my inclination is to dwell by the blue waters.” His writing often used humor and satire and held a place in the literary world of Liu Song.

Political Activities

Yuan Can served six Liu Song rulers—Emperor Wen, Emperor Xiaowu, the Former Deposed Emperor, Emperor Ming, the Later Deposed Emperor, and Emperor Shun—and was an important political figure in the dynasty's later years. His principal political activities included the following.

In 453, the thirtieth year of Yuanjia, he followed Liu Jun, Prince of Wuling, in the campaign against the regicide Liu Shao and served as Recorder, contributing to Liu Jun's accession.

In 472, the first year of Taiyu, as Emperor Ming lay critically ill, Yuan Can received the testamentary command together with Chu Yuan, Liu Mian, Cai Xingzong, Shen Youzhi, and others to assist Crown Prince Liu Yu and became one of the regent ministers.

In 474, the second year of Yuanhui, Liu Xiufan, Prince of Guiyang, rebelled and advanced on Jiankang. Yuan Can and Chu Yuan led troops into the palace to defend the imperial precincts. When the rebels approached the Southern Side Gate and the situation was critical, Yuan Can rallied the officers and soldiers and helped inspire the counterattack that defeated them.

From 475, the third year of Yuanhui, to 477, the fifth year, Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, Liu Bing, and Xiao Daocheng were known as the “Four Nobles” and jointly controlled the government.

In 477, the first year of Shengming, Yuan Can secretly plotted to hold Stone City and rise against Xiao Daocheng. The attempt failed and he was killed, dying for the Liu Song cause.

Travels and Places of Activity

Yuan Can's activities centered mainly on the capital Jiankang and its surroundings. In youth he accompanied his uncle Yuan Xun to Wu Commandery and later entered service as an Assistant Officer of Yangzhou, spending much of his career in Jiankang. He also served as Administrator of Guangling and Yuzhang and traveled through areas including Yangzhou, Southern Yanzhou, and Yuzhou. In his later years he lived near the southern outskirts of Jiankang and often wandered alone among hills, streams, and the white-poplar countryside, finding personal contentment in landscape.

Relations with Contemporaries

Yuan Can interacted with many important contemporaries. His uncle Yuan Shu admired him greatly and predicted that he would rise to the Three Excellencies. Yuan Can and Chu Yuan both served as testamentary regents, but Chu Yuan later sided with Xiao Daocheng; according to the source, Yuan Can's anti-Xiao plot was exposed when Chu Yuan informed Xiao Daocheng. Yuan Can and Liu Bing were leading participants in the resistance to Xiao Daocheng. Liu Bing's premature movement caused the plot to be discovered, and after Yuan Can rebuked him, Liu Bing replied that having now seen Yuan Can he would have no regrets even if he died ten thousand deaths. Yuan Can once appreciated Wang Jian, Right Chief Clerk to the Minister of Education. Fearing that he might be implicated in political disaster, Wang Jian requested an outside appointment; Yuan Can cited the precedent of Wang Xianzhi and transferred him to be Administrator of Yixing. Wang Zhishen of Langye had received Yuan Can's support and remained grateful; during Southern Qi he wrote an essay defending Yuan Can against He Qiao's mockery of his change of name.

Personal Relations

Family

• Father: Yuan Zhuo, selected as xiucai by Yangzhou; died young
• Mother: Lady Wang of the Wang clan of Langye, daughter of Wang Dan, Chief Clerk to the Grand Commandant under Eastern Jin
• Uncle: Yuan Xun, Administrator of Wu Commandery under Liu Song
• Paternal uncle: Yuan Shu, Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince under Liu Song
• Elder cousin: Yuan Yi, Inspector of Yongzhou under Liu Song
• Son: Yuan Zui, killed together with his father
• Younger son: Yuan Lang, only a few years old and killed at the same time

Teachers and Friends

• Xun Can: admired by Yuan Can; Yuan requested a name change in emulation of him
• Ji Kang: author of Biographies of Lofty Scholars; Yuan Can wrote the Biography of Master Miaode as a continuation
• Wang Zhishen: received Yuan Can's support and later wrote in his defense

Rulers and Ministers

• Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song, Liu Jun: commander under whom Yuan Can fought Liu Shao and later his ruler; at one point wished to execute him
• Emperor Ming of Liu Song, Liu Yu: permitted Yuan Can's name change and entrusted him with assisting the heir
• Later Deposed Emperor of Liu Song, Liu Yu: the ruler whom Yuan Can was charged to assist; described in the source as cruel and violent
• Emperor Shun of Liu Song, Liu Zhun: installed by Xiao Daocheng; Yuan Can served under him
• Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, Xiao Ze: called Yuan Can “a loyal minister of the Song house” and permitted his reburial

Colleagues

• Chu Yuan: fellow testamentary regent and member of the “Four Nobles”; later sided with Xiao Daocheng and, according to the source, disclosed Yuan Can's plot
• Liu Bing: fellow member of the “Four Nobles” and participant with Yuan Can in the rising against Xiao Daocheng
• Xiao Daocheng: fellow member of the “Four Nobles,” later the target of Yuan Can's uprising
• Cai Xingzong: fellow Minister of Personnel and later testamentary regent
• Shen Youzhi: fellow testamentary regent; raised troops against Xiao Daocheng, whom Yuan Can planned to support
• Huang Hui, Sun Tanguan, Ren Houbo, Bu Boxing, and Wang Yun: commanders involved in the plan against Xiao Daocheng

Conflicts

• Yan Shibo: publicly insulted by Yuan Can as someone with whom he could not associate because of sycophancy, provoking Emperor Xiaowu's anger
• He Shangzhi: secretly reported Yuan Can for eating fish and meat on a fasting day
• Xiao Daocheng: target of Yuan Can's uprising
• Dai Sengjing: broke into Stone City and killed Yuan Can and his son

Historical Assessment

Southern Dynasties / Contemporary

• Shen Yue, author of the Book of Song, wrote that Yuan Can possessed a pure and distinguished style and was burdened with great responsibility. Although the court and public placed high hopes in him, they had not necessarily credited him with great moral steadfastness until he faced destruction knowingly and chose loyalty over life. Shen compared the later honoring of Yuan Can with the recognition of Wang Jing in Jin.
• Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, Xiao Ze: “Yuan Can was in truth a loyal minister of the Song house.”
• Popular saying: “Pity Stone City: better to die as Yuan Can than to live as Chu Yuan.”
• Pei Ziye wrote that Yuan Jingqian was esteemed by the people and entrusted with the weight of the state, but lacked the intelligence to eliminate treachery and the power to master changing circumstances. When the dynasty was about to change, he nonetheless entered almost certain death without hesitation, observing the integrity of an ordinary man though lacking the capacity of a pillar of state.

Tang Dynasty

• Li Yanshou, in the History of the Southern Dynasties, observed that the Yuan clan repeatedly displayed loyalty and righteousness from Song through Qi. Yuan Can's conduct approached benevolence and courage and resembled the “sturdy grass known in a fierce wind”; his steadfastness was honored by reburial under Qi just as Wang Jing's integrity had been commended under Jin.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Volume 137 of the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Emperor Wu of Southern Qi saying, “Yuan Can was in truth a loyal minister of the Song house.” Sima Guang cited the remark to highlight Yuan Can's loyalty.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, in Du Tongjian Lun, argued that from Emperor Xiaowu through Emperor Ming the Liu Song court had treated subordinates with suspicion for more than forty years. Capable men therefore learned to preserve themselves rather than develop firm political capacity. Yuan Can and Liu Bing, though loyal, stood isolated against the ruthless Xiao Daocheng and lacked the means to stabilize the state even had they succeeded. Wang wrote that Yuan Can was described by historians as simple and detached and as lacking statecraft, but that his deficiency was not absence of ability so much as long habituation to avoiding danger under suspicious rulers, which had weakened his political energy.

Modern Period

• Modern scholars generally affirm Yuan Can's loyalist spirit in dying for Liu Song and regard him as one of the more steadfast ministers of the late Southern Dynasties. At the same time they note his lack of political skill and decisiveness: he possessed loyalty but not the capacity to rescue the state, making his failure in a time of disorder in some sense inevitable. His allegory Mad Spring is also often regarded as a classic expression of the predicament of intellectuals living in a chaotic age.