Definition of "Yan"

Yan¹

/jæn/

proper noun
1. (historical) An ancient march, duchy, and kingdom of northeastern China during the Zhou dynasty.
  Quotations
  It is Lady Zhao who concocts a devious plan to unite the populace behind the emperor by arranging a bogus assassination attempt that will justify his invasion of the neighboring kingdom of Yan. The climactic showdown with Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi), the fearless professional killer she recruits for the job (and with whom she falls deeply in love) takes place at an ambassadorial ceremony where he appears in disguise and presents Ying Zheng with a box containing the severed head of an enemy general and a map with a concealed sword.
  1999 December 17, Stephen Holden, “FILM REVIEW; A Bloodthirsty Unification of China”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 01 February 2011, Movie Review‎
2. (historical) The realm of this land under later imperial Chinese dynasties.
3. A mountain chain in northeastern China.

Yan²

/jæn/

proper noun
plural Yans
1. A male given name, equivalent to English John.