Ding Yuan was the inspector of Bing province at the end of the Eastern Han.
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history
As inspector of 并州, roughly today's Shanxi, he made 吕布 one of his officers and trusted him closely. In 189, after 董卓 had taken control of the capital 洛阳, Dong Zhuo won Lü Bu over and had him kill Ding Yuan, then took over his troops.
culture
In the novel 《三国演义》 Ding Yuan is Lü Bu's adoptive father, and Dong Zhuo buys Lü Bu with gold and the famous horse 赤兔. That is why 张飞 calls Lü Bu a 三姓家奴, 'slave of three surnames'. The histories do not make Ding Yuan his adoptive father.
