First, the merits and demerits of Xiang Yu
According to Sima Qian, Xiang Yu has had merits and demerits in his life. His merit is to overthrow the Qin dynasty, and his fault is too cruel. For the overlord, although he was not an emperor in the end, he did what the emperor should do. At that time, only Xiang Yu could compete with Liu Bang, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. So Sima Qian thought it necessary to write Xiang Yu into this chronicle.
2. Xiang Yu's deeds
Although Xiang Yu was a royal family, he later became an subaltern. It was such an subaltern who built the country on his own and became the overlord of Chu. Not everyone can do this great cause, only Liu Bang and Xiang can do it. Secondly, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu also became half-brothers, and later turned against each other. In addition, there is an allusion to the hongmen banquet. At that time, Xiang Yu spared Liu Bang, otherwise there might not be a struggle between Chu and Han, and so on.
3. Xiang Yu's success or failure
Although Xiang Yu successfully overthrew the Qin Dynasty, he lost to Liu Bang. He lost to himself instead of Liu Bang. If it weren't for his paranoia and self-righteousness, he would have had many opportunities to destroy Liu Bang, but the last battle was defeated because of his character. Not only did his lover Yu Ji commit suicide, but he also had no face to face his elders in Jiangdong and commit suicide in Wujiang River.
In addition, Sima Qian is a realistic person, and it is precisely because he is too realistic that he was punished by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, in response to Sima Qian's insistence, we should dare to write Xiang Yu into his chronicle, which is not only what a historical recorder should do, but also a kind of ideological consciousness.