This poem praises Xiang Yu's heroic character who refuses to endure humiliation and survive. Live to be a hero among men, die tragically, and be a hero among ghosts. People today still miss Xiang Yu because they admire his heroic spirit in those days when he would rather die than surrender and would not endure the humiliation and return to Jiangdong.

"Summer Quatrains" by Li Qingzhao of the Song Dynasty:

He is a hero in life, but he is also a ghost in death.

I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong.

[Today's translation]

Those who live should be regarded as heroes among men, and those who die should also be regarded as heroes among ghosts.

People still miss Xiang Yu because he refused to return to Jiangdong secretly. Extended information

In August of the first year of Emperor Qinzong’s reign in the Song Dynasty (1126), Jin soldiers attacked Kaifeng again. In leap November, Kaifeng fell. In February of the next year, the Jin people deposed Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, and the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed. In December of the first year of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127), Qingzhou mutiny occurred. The inscriptions, antiques, calligraphy and paintings that Li Qingzhao and her husband had collected for decades were burned, and only a few remained.

Li Qingzhao, who was burdened with the hatred of his country's subjugation and the pain of losing his treasure, expressed strong indignation against the invasion of the Jin people and the Southern Song government that blindly sought peace and traveled east to protect himself. So this woman who looked weak and strong took advantage of Xiang Yu's defeat at Gaixia and his refusal to return to Jiangdong to mock the Southern Song Dynasty government. Later, this poem caused a huge sensation.