Page "Yuan (surname)" Paragraph 8

Until the end of the Han Dynasty, the heartland of the Yuan house was still in the area of the ancient state of Chen.

Around the 1st century, three Yuan clans rose to sufficient national importance to be mentioned in the dynastic histories.

All were located in close proximity of each other, on the tributaries of the Huai River.

One maintained its estates at Fuyue ( 扶樂 ), in Chen ( 陳 ); another was based at Ruyang ( 汝陽 ) in Ru ' nan ( 汝南 ); and a third of lesser importance was associated with Yingchuan ( 潁川 ).

All three clans produced members of a land-owning gentry which began to participate increasingly in local and national government, although only the first two are known of in any detail.