# Yuen Yan — Kai Lung’s Golden Hours character guide

> Yuen Yan in Kai Lung’s Golden Hours by Ernest Bramah.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Yuen, the Yuen Yan, Yan

**First appearance:** 0001-kai-lung-s-golden-hours

## Snapshot

A man so proverbially fortunate that his one rash act became an adage of encouragement, Yuen Yan anchors a tale of wealth, virtue, and sudden disgrace.

## Who they are

Yuen Yan is remembered throughout the Empire as the man who once cast a missile at the Tablets, a saying invoked whenever someone needs hope. In life he possessed every desirable attribute — wealth, family, virtuous esteem — and a humane, consistent disposition. His story, told by Kai Lung to deflect suspicion, becomes a test of the storyteller's art and a meditation on how even the most settled fortune can be undone.

## Relationships

### [Wang Ho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/wang_ho)

_friendship_

Wang Ho and Yuen Yan are close companions, often sharing adventures and mutual support.

### [Tsae - Che](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/tsae_che)

_rivalry_

Tsae-Che and Yuen Yan are adversaries, their conflict rooted in past grievances.

### [Wang Ho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/wang_ho)

_friendship_

Wang Ho and Yuen Yan are close companions, often sharing adventures and mutual support.

### [Tsae - Che](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/tsae_che)

_rivalry_

Tsae-Che and Yuen Yan are adversaries, their conflict rooted in past grievances.

### [Wang Ho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/wang_ho)

_friendship_

Wang Ho and Yuen Yan are close companions, often sharing adventures and mutual support.

## In the story

### [The Propitious Dissension Between Two Whose General Attributes Have Already Been Sufficiently Described](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/ix-the-propitious-dissension-between-two-whose-general-attributes-have-already-been-sufficiently-described)

Central figure of the embedded story; a once-ambitious youth reduced to leading blind beggars, known for his unwavering adherence to The Virtues despite poverty.

### [The Story of Yuen Yan, of the Barber Chou-Hu, and His Wife Tsae-Che](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/chapters/the-story-of-yuen-yan-of-the-barber-chou-hu-and-his-wife-tsae-che)

The protagonist, a once-aspiring scholar reduced to leading blind beggars, later employed by Chou-Hu, whom he kills and impersonates.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters/yuen_yan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kai_lung_s_golden_hours_se/characters