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Xiang Yu

Chu commander who broke the Qin army at Julu, made himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and killed himself at the Wu River after losing the war with Liu Bang

Also known as Ming Ji · Zi Yu · Xichu Bawang

Xiang Yu, personal name Ji, courtesy name Yu, came from Xiaxiang, of a line of Chu generals that included his grandfather Xiang Yan. In 209 BC, aged twenty-four, he rose at Wu with his uncle Xiang Liang. After Liang fell he beheaded the hesitant commander Song Yi, and in 207 BC at Julu he sank his boats, smashed his cooking pots and broke the Qin army in nine engagements, after which the rebel generals accepted his command. Entering the Qin heartland next year, he let Liu Bang leave the Hongmen feast, killed the last Qin ruler Ziying, burned the palaces, set up eighteen kings and made himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu, ruling from Pengcheng. He routed the Han at Pengcheng with thirty thousand men, but in 202 BC was trapped at Gaixia, heard Chu songs from the enemy lines, broke out to the Wu River and cut his own throat. Sima Qian gave him a place in the basic annals but faulted him for blaming Heaven, not his generalship.

Life and times

  1. 232 BCEBornZhouQinHan
  2. 207 BCEBattle of JuluTook partage 25Xiang Yu crossed the river with the Chu army and defeated Qin forces under Zhang Han and Wang Li at Julu.
    1. Xiang Yu Winning at JuluXiang Yu destroyed supply cauldrons and crossed the Zhang River, crushing Qin main forces at Julu.
  3. 206 BCEHongmen BanquetTook partage 26At the Hongmen banquet, Fan Zeng pressed Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang, but Liu escaped and resumed the struggle for Guanzhong.
    1. Xiang Yu Burns Xianyang's Qin PalacesDays after the Hongmen banquet, Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, killed the surrendered Qin king Ziying and set the Qin palaces ablaze for three months.
    2. Feast at Hongmen ConfrontationFan Zeng plotted to kill Liu Bang at the Hongmen feast, but Fan Kuai intervened, allowing Liu Bang's escape.
  4. 206 BCEChu-Han ContentionTook partage 26Liu Bang's coalition defeated Xiang Yu at Gaixia, ending the Chu-Han struggle and clearing the way for the Han dynasty.
    1. Xiang Yu Burning Qin NecropolisIn 206 BCE, after Xiang Yu's forces entered the Guanzhong region, fire destroyed surface buildings of Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum and collapsed timber roofing over the Terracotta Army pits.
    2. Xiang Yu Routing Han at Pengcheng205 BCEage 27Xiang Yu launched an audacious blitzkrieg with 30,000 elite cavalry at Pengcheng, decimating Liu Bang's 560,000 allied host.
    3. Xiang Yu Surrounded at Gaixia202 BCEage 30Surrounded at Gaixia, Xiang Yu heard Chu songs on every side, exchanged a tearful song with Lady Yu, and broke out with more than eight hundred riders.
  5. 202 BCEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Sayings2
    1. The Hegemon-King's Farewell to Lady YuHanIdiom from Sima Qian's annals of Xiang Yu: a fallen hero's last song to his beloved
    2. Strength to Uproot Mountains, Spirit to Top the WorldHanIdiom from Xiang Yu's Song of Gaixia: the doomed hero's boast of matchless might
  2. Literature · Poetry1
    1. Song of GaixiaHanXiang Yu's lament at Gaixia, surrounded by Han troops, sung to Lady Yu and his horse

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Xiang Yu
    Grandfather
    Xiang Yan
    Younger cousin
    Xiang Zhuang

Connections

  1. Shared events5
    1. Zhang LiangBirth unknown–186…
    2. Fan KuaiBirth unknown–189…
    3. Consort YuDates unknown; ac…
    4. Han XinBirth unknown–196…
    5. Xiang Boc. 245 BCE–192 BCE
  2. Interactions2
    1. Zhang HanPhysical: Fought at Julu · Birth unknown–205…Battle of Julu
    2. Zi YingPolitical: Execution of the surrendered king at Xianyang · Birth unknown–206…Xiang Yu Burns Xianyang's Qin Palaces
  3. Rulers and officials1
    1. Fan ZengStrategist · 277 BCE–204 BCE
  4. Others1
    1. Liu BangRival in the Chu-Han contention · c. 256 BCE–195 BC…