Xiang Yu is a generation of overlords in Chinese history. There are countless legends about him. Among them, his suicide in Wujiang River is the most generous and tragic, which will be regretted by future generations.
There are two completely different views on his death:
One is represented by Li Qingzhao, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. She wrote in "Wujiang":? Even if you are an outstanding person, you will die as a ghost hero. I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong. ?Highly appraise and praise Xiang Yu's heroic spirit of being willing to sacrifice jade for scraps instead of tiles; one is represented by the poet Du Mu of the late Tang Dynasty. He wrote in "Ti Wu Jiang Pavilion": ?The victorious and defeated soldiers have unexpected family affairs, including It is a man to endure shame. There are many talented people from Jiangdong, and their comeback is unknown. ? believed that Xiang Yu lacked perseverance and determination, and commented with regret and disappointment on his decision to commit suicide in Wujiang. These two different concepts have been extending for thousands of years. So what was the real reason why Xiang Yu committed suicide in Wujiang River? Why did Xiang Yu refuse to cross Jiangdong?
Xiang Yu had no face to see his elders in Jiangdong
According to the earliest records, Xiang Yu committed suicide because he had no face to see his elders in Jiangdong. According to "Historical Records of Xiang Yu", after Xiang Yu was defeated by Liu Bang in the Chu-Han War, Xiang Yu led 800 men and horses to break through the encirclement and came to the bank of Wujiang River. At this time, the chief of the Wujiang Pavilion advised Xiang Yu to cross the river quickly in order to make a comeback and take revenge. Xue regretted it, but Xiang Yu smiled and said: "If the sky destroys me, how can I survive!" Moreover, I crossed the river to the west with eight thousand people from the east of the Yangtze River, and now no one has returned. Even though my father and brother from the east of the Yangtze took pity on me and lorded over me, how could I see them with my own eyes! Even if he doesn't say anything, Ji alone is worthy of his heart! ?So he drew his sword and killed himself. This statement was written by Ma Qian of the Taishi Company, which was relatively close to the time of Xiang Yu's death. The description is very impassioned, so it is the most widely circulated. Most of the legends about Xiang Yu's suicide in later generations originated from this.
According to "Historical Records", Xiang Yu was besieged by the Han army in Gaixia. He heard that he was besieged on all sides at night. He was very surprised and got up to drink. So Xiang Wangnai sang a tragic song generously, and wrote a poem of his own: "Strength can lift the mountain and the spirit is overwhelming, but the times are not good and the glory will not fade away." What can you do if your glory is not gone? What can you do if you are worried? ?Songs of songs, beauty and harmony. ?According to the "Chu Han Chun Qiu" written by Lu Jia in the early Han Dynasty, Yu Ji drew her sword sadly at that time, danced, and sang in harmony: "The Han soldiers have captured the territory, and Chu songs are heard from all directions." The king is exhausted, how can I survive as a lowly concubine? ?After singing, he swung his sword and killed himself. His most beloved concubine was forced to commit suicide, and the Chu army suffered heavy casualties at that time. So when Xiang Yu fled to the Wujiang River with his remaining soldiers and defeated generals, he felt so ashamed that he had no face to see Jiangdong's elders, so he chose to die. .
Pity the common people in the world and end the war with death
According to "Historical Records", Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were in a stalemate during the Chu-Han War. , So Xiang Yu said to Liu Bang: "The Xiongnu in the world are old and only have my two ears. I am willing to challenge the king of Han to fight between male and female. I don't want to suffer the consequences of the fathers and sons of the people in the world." ?It means that he wants to eliminate the pain caused by the war to the people through a duel between two people. It shows that Xiang Yu does have feelings of pity for the people in the world. When Xiang Yu led his defeated troops to break through the encirclement and come to Wujiang River, he thought that after crossing the river, he would have to make a comeback and start a new Chu-Han War, which would bring greater disaster to the people, so he chose to sacrifice his life to end the continuous killings for several years and restore the world. A peaceful world.
But this statement needs to be verified. Xiang Yu once killed 200,000 Qin soldiers and burned Epang Palace for three months. He was a very cruel man, and it is unlikely that he committed suicide in order to save the people from suffering. The reason why he asked Liu Bang to fight alone and decide the outcome was probably out of a ploy, because with Xiang Yu's personal ability, it was easy to defeat Liu Bang, but Liu Bang was not fooled. When Xiang Yu failed and fled to Wujiang River, he was despairing and embarrassed, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart. It was possible that Xiang Yu's thoughts of pity for the people in the world and his willingness to die to end the war were rekindled under this situation, but this was at most Xiang Yu's. It is a kind of self-comfort when you are desperate and can't let go of face, but it is inappropriate to regard it as the main reason for Xiang Yu's suicide.
The Overlord really has no chance to return to Jiangdong
Xiang Yu has no chance to cross the river. Feng Qiyong, a famous Chinese scholar, in his article "Xiang Yu did not die in Wujiang", he demonstrated in detail the descriptions of Xiang Yu's death in "Historical Records", "Hanshu", and "Chu Han Chun Qiu", and pointed out that all the details about Xiang Yu's death in "Historical Records" Except for two references to the Wujiang River in "The Chronicles of Xiang Yu", there is no mention of Xiang Yu committing suicide in the Wujiang River. On the contrary, it is clearly mentioned: Xiang Yu died in Dongcheng, and he sent the cavalry general Guan Ying to hunt down Xiang Yu in Dongcheng, etc. That is today's Dingyuan County, Anhui Province, which is 120 kilometers away from Wujiang River. As for the two records involving Wujiang in "The Chronicles of Xiang Yu", Mr. Feng believes that it was an error in Sima Qian's narrative, which led to subsequent misinformation.
Mr. Ji Zhengshan believes that Xiang Yu did not commit suicide in Wujiang River, but was killed in a fight in Ding Yuandong City. During the siege of Gaixia, Xiang Yu panicked and led eight hundred troops to break through the siege and escape toward the east of the Yangtze River. If Xiang Yu successfully crosses the river, he can regroup, make a comeback, and defeat Liu Bang again. Therefore, Xiang Yu's goal was very clear, which was to cross the Wujiang River. However, when he fled to Dongcheng, he was surrounded by Han troops and was killed by Guan Ying in the melee. The Wujiang River was still 120 kilometers away from Dongcheng, so Xiang Yu had no chance to cross the river. Nor did he kill himself to death.
According to records such as "Taiping Huanyu Ji", Dongcheng County during the Han Dynasty was a large county with a vast territory between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River. Zhang Xuecheng once pointed out in "The History of Hezhou Zhibu": The Qin Dynasty was the land of Liyang and Wujiangting in the east city of Jiujiang County. In the first year of Taikang in the Jin Dynasty, it belonged to Huai County, and the land of Liyang and Wujiangting in the east city remained the same. ?In other words, during the Chu-Han War, Dongcheng was a vast administrative area, and Wujiang was included in Dongcheng County. Therefore, what Sima Qian said about "death in Dongcheng" and "suicide in Wujiang" are not contradictory, but A descriptive method used to avoid tautology.
From this point of view, Xiang Yu did die in Wujiang River. Sima Qian lived in an era only about seventy years before the Chu-Han War. He had a lot of first-hand information, and he was rigorous in his studies. After Xiang Yu's death, There should be no speculation on such a big issue. The reason why Xiang Yu refused to cross the river and chose to commit suicide is really a tragedy of his character. Arrogant, arrogant, self-willed, arbitrary, and lack of perseverance to endure humiliation were the main reasons for his failure. Although his death seemed generous and heroic, it was chanted repeatedly by future generations.