Xiang Yu

Xiang Yu was descended from the aristocratic family of Chu . His uncle Xiang Liang was engaged in his upbringing. Xiang Yu had tremendous growth and great physical strength, was brave in battles and subdued others with a shout or a look.

One day, when he saw Emperor Qin Shihuan at the crossing during an inspection trip to Chu, he told his uncle that now was a good time to kill the emperor at the crossing and to occupy his throne himself. Xiang Liang got scared and immediately closed his nephew’s mouth with his hands. From that moment on, he began to perceive his nephew differently.

When after the death of Qin Shihuan in 209 BC. er a rebellion led by Chen Sheng broke out in Chu, the governor summoned Xiang Liang to entrust an army to him; Xiang Liang called Xiang Yu, and he cut off the head of the governor, after which Xiang Liang took control and joined the rebels. Soon, Xiang Liang led the troops of the rebels.

Qin's General Zhang Han successfully led the fighting to end the uprising, and after a while Chen Sheng was killed. After that, Xiang Liang assumed command of the anti-Qin forces. He took into account the mistakes of Chen Sheng and, on the recommendation of his wise adviser Fan Zeng, decided to rely on the authority of the ousted Chu dynasty in order to give legitimacy to the uprising, which was to restore centuries-old irregular statehood. For this, he found an impoverished descendant of the Chu Vans, who was declared by him Huai-van (the Second) . At the same time, Huai-wang always remained a puppet in the hands of Xiang Liang, and then Xiang Yu, and never had real power. Soon, Xiang Liang was defeated by Zhang Hanya and was killed.

Huai-wang appointed Xiang Yu a second commander. When the first commander-in-chief began to hesitate with the offensive, Xiang Yu invited him to talk and cut off his head, taking command of the troops.

An important role in the success of Xiang Yu was played by his adviser Fan Zeng (previously advisor to Xiang Liang), who found clever political and strategic decisions that could strengthen Chu and make Xiang Yu a ruler of all of China for a time.

Xiang Yu proved himself as a cruel commander in chief: conquering cities, he executed local residents and dealt with officials. Being a talented commander and winning many battles, Xiang Yu, nevertheless, was not a far-sighted politician and statesman. Therefore, in the end, he lost to more diplomatic opponents.

Xiang Yu (項羽) was able to inflict heavy defeats on the Qin troops. At the end of 207 BC. er the future Han emperor Liu Bang (then Pei-gun), an ally of Xiang Yu, occupied the Qin capital of Xianyang , but did not dare to establish himself and a month later let Xianyang into Xianyang, who in January 206 BC. er destroyed and plundered the entire city ^[1] , executing the last emperor of Qin, cutting out his entire clan, destroying and plundering the tomb of Qin Shi Huang .

In the chronicles, the description of the following episode remained: Liu Bang, after occupying the capital, fearing the huge army of Xiang Yu, appeared in his headquarters with expressions of friendship; a dance with swords was organized at the feast, and one of the dancers was trying to suddenly attack Liu Bana, but the other dancer was blocking him with himself all the time; sensing danger, Liu Bang managed to escape (see Hongmen Festival for details).

Having established himself in power, Xiang Yu assumed the title of hegemon, and Huai-wang gave the title of “Just Emperor” (E-Di), but soon he was killed (205 BC) and began to rule himself; at the same time, by his order, several dozen military leaders and aristocrats were given the title of Van .

The assassination of the emperor, interpreted as a usurpation of the heavenly mandate , was used by Liu Bang in propaganda against Xiang Yu and helped rally the generals to the struggle. Treachery in relation to his own protégé was included in the arsenal of Chinese historical parables.

Having won over Qin, Xiang Yu showed political and diplomatic short-sightedness, creating a shaky formation of 18 semi-independent states ruled by Wangs. Thus, he, in fact, recreated the situation that had taken place before the unification of China by the Qin kingdom, once again separating the Celestial Empire into the warring states. The newly appeared wans, dissatisfied with the appointments, started an internecine war, which later grew into a confrontation between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu in the west and the struggle for the throne of the kingdom of Tsi in the east.

Xiang Yu had to fight on two fronts, alternately pacifying Liu Bang and the next Wang, who had occupied the Cyr throne. Despite the successes, when he was distracted in the other direction, he gave his opponents to reassemble a strong army, and although his opponents were almost completely defeated several times, Xiang Yu exhausted his forces on two fronts and finally began to lose battles. .

Liu Bang, realizing the role that his wise adviser Fan Zeng played in the success of Xiang Yu, managed to embroil them with cunning intrigue, so Fan Zeng, offended by the overlord of the sovereign, left him. Having lost the advice of Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu after some time began to suffer defeat after defeat. Subsequently, after becoming emperor, Liu Bang noted that Xiang Yu had the only wise adviser, Fan Zeng, whom he was unable to use, which is why he lost.

The battle under Gay in 203 BC was decisive in the confrontation of Xiang Yu and Liu Bana . er in which Xiang Yu was defeated. In 202 BC. er Xiang Yu, feeling that he could not keep the situation under control, fled, and was captured by the troops of Liu Bang, who became the sole ruler of China. Chu's dynasty was liquidated, and Liu Bang became known as the emperor Gao-tsu , the founder of the new Han dynasty , which united China for the next four centuries, from 206 BC. er up to 220 n. er

In Chinese literature, the tragedy of Xiang Yu is played up: after he was severely defeated, he sat in the tent with his concubine , drank wine and wrote poems on the subject “why Heaven left me and revenge me”. During a sad evening, the concubine committed suicide, and Xiang Yu fled with a small detachment. After crossing the swamp, 28 men remained in the detachment, surrounded on all sides by Han troops. Xiang Yu was able to escape from the encirclement, but refused the boat, which he was given by the head of the parish, deciding that Heaven had turned away from him anyway. When a Han officer approached him, whom Xiang Yu knew from previous battles, he cut his throat, giving the officer an opportunity to receive an award from Liu Bang.

• " Supreme van of Western Chu " (1994)

• Chu (dynasty)
• Liu Bang
• Han (dynasty)
• And di
• Fan zeng
• Battle of Gay

• Sima Qian . Historical notes. Translation by R.V. Vyatkina. v.2, parts 6-8