211–214 A.D.) was a Chinese military general and politician who served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

[1] Although there is very little information about Yan Yan in historical records, he is given a much prominent role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a general who initially serves under Liu Zhang before switching allegiance to Liu Bei later.

In 211,[2] Liu Zhang invited the warlord Liu Bei to lead his troops into Yi Province to help him counter the threat posed by his rival, Zhang Lu, in Hanzhong Commandery.

Zhang Fei, a general under Liu Bei, led troops to attack Jiangzhou (江州; around present-day Yuzhong District, Chongqing), which was defended by Yan Yan.

In Chapter 63 of the novel, as in history, he is defeated and captured by Zhang Fei, who initially wants to execute him but changes his mind and spares him after feeling impressed with Yan Yan's strong sense of loyalty.