In 207 BC, the Qin Dynasty fell. In 206 BC, Xiang Yu divided the Eighteen Roads Princes, self-proclaimed the King of Western Chu, and named Liu Bang the King of Hanzhong, and the unification of Qin was broken, and returned to the era of division and division. In August 206 BC, because Emperor Yi of Chu was killed by Xiang Yu, Liu Bang secretly sent Chen Cang out of Hanzhong, worshiped Han Xin as a general, and publicly denounced Xiang Yu, and the Chu-Han war officially began. In February 202 BC, Xiang Yu Wujiang killed himself, and the Chu-Han War ended. In February 202 BC, Liu Bang was proclaimed emperor at Dingtao, north of the shuishui River, and the founding name was Han, which was for the Western Han Dynasty, and China returned to the situation of great unification.
(Statue of Liu Bang)
The history of the Chu-Han dispute is only a short period of 4 years, but later generations have relished this period of history for more than 2,000 years without fading. Literary works, operas, film and television dramas, and games have interpreted this history with ups and downs. Even Chinese chess uses the Chu River and Han border as the dividing line, and uses chess pieces to imitate military warfare.
(Xiang Yu in the movie "Hongmen Feast")
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang in the Chu-Han dispute have always had different evaluations. Xiang Yu is less resourceful, sensitive and suspicious, self-confident and courageous, self-conscious, and self-absorbed, and the chasm is a turning point in his life, and it is also an insurmountable obstacle to the end of the road. The hero of the end, coupled with the martyrdom of the beauty, adds to the drama and triggers people's endless sighs and sighs. The tragic story of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji was thus passed down. However, this is only the wishful imagination and attachment of posterity, in the real history, Yu Ji is not Xiang Yu's wife, just Xiang Yu's unnamed concubine, and there is no record of her martyrdom for Xiang Yu.
(Xiang Yuji in the movie "Hongmen Banquet")
The dramatic story of Yu Ji and Xiang Yu first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty opera, in the Yuan miscellaneous dramas and legends, Yu Ji's image gradually became full, until the emergence of the opera "Overlord Farewell", laying the image and model of the martyrdom of the hero and the beauty of the end, the interpretation of the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, the tragic story of this hero and beauty to the peak, since then a large number of works have been derived, becoming a legendary story that has been continuously adapted and staged.
(Peking Opera "Overlord Farewell")
There are only a few accounts of Yu Ji in the history books. In the "History of Xiang Yu Benji", only one passage mentions Yu Ji:
"Under the walls of king Xiang's army, the soldiers were few and exhausted, and the Number of Han troops and princes was heavy. Hearing that the Han army was full of songs on all sides, Xiang Wang Nai was shocked: "Han has already obtained Chuhu? It is he Chu people also! The king rose in the night and drank in the tent. There are beautiful people named Yu, often lucky to follow; horses are famous, often riding. Therefore, King Xiang was generous in his lamentations, and wrote to himself: "The strength of the mountain is full of qi, and the times are unfavorable and do not die." If you don't die, you can't help it, and if you don't die, you can't help it! 'Song numbers, beauties and harmony.' King Xiang wept for several lines, crying left and right, and could not look up. ”
In the real history, there is indeed Yu Ji, but she is of low status, has no name, and has no vigorous deeds, so there are only a few records about her, and her place of origin, name, life, and ending are not clearly recorded in the "History", let alone recorded that Yu Ji killed herself. Yu Ji committed suicide and martyrdom for Xiang Yu, but it was only an appendage of posterity.
After Xiang Yu broke through, he killed himself in Wujiang, so why did later generations make up that Yu Ji killed himself under the siege? Xiang Yu was surrounded, and after the tragic song "Song of Xiaxia", "Beauty and Harmony", what exactly did Yu Ji "and" what? The Records of History are not recorded, while the Tang Dynasty Zhang Shoujie's Records of Justice quote the Chu Han Chunqiu to annotate: "The song says: 'The Han soldiers have been skimmed, and the four sides of the Chu song have been sung. The king was exhausted, and the concubine He Liaosheng'. That is to say, according to the annotations of the Tang Dynasty, Yu Ji and this "Song of Harmony", and the posterity is based on the content of this song, inferring that Yu Ji committed suicide before Xiang Yu broke through, and imagined that she killed herself with Xiang Yu's carry-on sword. One sword and two lives, a pair of bitter mandarin ducks have come to an end, this imagination, how tragic and romantic!
(Anhui Xiaxia Ruins)
Sima Qian's "Records of History", when writing the history of Qin and Han, borrowed and quoted a lot of Lu Jia's "Spring and Autumn of Chu Han". The book "Chu Han Chunqiu" was lost in the Song Dynasty, and it is unknown how Yu Ji is recorded in the book. The biggest reason why Sima Qian did not record Yu Ji's whereabouts in the "Records of History" is that Lu Jia's "Chu Han Chunqiu" did not write about Yu Ji's suicide. Lu Jia did not record Yu Ji killing herself, indicating that Yu Ji did not commit suicide under the qi, but her whereabouts are unknown.
Since the whereabouts of Yu Ji are not recorded in the historical materials, it has left endless imagination space for future generations, and the stories of Yu Ji that we know today are all legends that cannot be verified. Legend has it that Yu Ji is a beautiful woman of the Yu clan in Wuzhong, she is beautiful, versatile, and has a moving dance posture, known as "Yu Meiren". Xiang Yu raised an army with his uncle Xiang Liang and marched to Wuzhong. At this time, Xiang Yu, in his twenties, was in his youth, satisfied and full of spirit. Yu Ji was the younger sister of Yu Ziqi, a general in Xiang Yu's army, and Xiang Yu, who was young and brave for ten minutes, often accompanied Xiang Yu under the recommendation of others. "There are beautiful people with good names, and they are often lucky to be from." However, in ancient history, women are often just political victims of male power, a tool and object of male power, perhaps in Xiang Yu's eyes, Yu Ji is the same as his own Wuqi war horse, Yu Ji is just an appendage of his own, and even the status is not as good as that of a war horse. At the critical moment of life and death, the woman became a "red face disaster" and a stumbling block to get in the way, so Xiang Yu did not take Yu Ji with her to break through, but left her to take care of herself and fled for her life. There are also records that Xiang Yu did take Yu Ji with him, but when he arrived at Yin Ling, Xiang Yu was chased by Han soldiers, Xiang Yu was defeated, and Xiang Yu killed Yu Ji and was buried here. The Northern Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huanyu Record" records: "Yu Ji's tomb is in the south sixty miles of Dingyuan County, six zhangs high, that is, Xiang Yu was defeated, and Ji Ji was buried here." According to this record, the possibility that Xiang Yu personally killed Yu Ji was not ruled out. Even if it wasn't Xiang Yu who killed him, at least Xiang Yu was guilty of Yu Ji's death.
Xiang Yu was surrounded, knowing that he had been defeated, it was difficult to return to heaven, and he wept with grief. In the imagination of later generations, Yu Ji killed herself in order not to drag Xiang Yu's hind legs. Xiang Yu wept bitterly, ordered the people to bury Yu Ji on the spot, and then stepped on the war horse and killed the siege. But in the end, he was caught up by the Han soldiers and had no choice but to kill himself by the river.
In fact, in the real history, Xiang Yu was surrounded, he took more than 800 people to slip away in the middle of the night, did not encounter the Han army to block, did not have a fierce battle, and even the Han army did not find Xiang Yu slipping away, and the Han soldiers did not find Xiang Yu until it was almost dawn to find that Xiang Yu had left. In this regard, the "History of Xiang Yu Benji" records very clearly: "So King Xiang nai got on his horse, and more than 800 people under his command rode and followed, and they broke out of the south in the night and galloped away." Ping Ming, the Han army was juezhi, and ordered the horse general to chase him with five thousand horses. Xiang Yu broke out, whether he had taken Yu Ji with him or not, it is not known. However, since there was no battle, Yu Ji did not need to kill herself.
According to some research, Yu Ji's hometown should be in Tashi Village in the west of Shaoxing. And where Yu Ji's tomb is, there is also endless debate. As a result, two tombs of Yu Ji appeared, both in Anhui.
According to the legend of Yu Ji's self-destruction, Yu Ji's tomb should be in the village of Lingbi County, Anhui Province. During the Tang and Song dynasties, many literati and inkers went to the tomb of Yu Ji to pay their respects, and this tomb of Yu Ji was approved as a "provincial cultural relics protection unit" in 1996;
(Statue of Yu Ji in Lingbi County)
According to some literati notes and local chronicles, the real tomb of Yu Ji may be in Dingyuan County, Anhui Province. After Xiang Yu broke through at night from xiaxia, he arrived at Yinling (present-day Gucheng Village, Dingyuan County), and was instructed by TianFu Chen Duo, Xiang Yu Lost His Way, fell into Daze, and was caught up by Han soldiers, and a fierce battle occurred. The "Records of History" records: "Xiang Wang crossed the Huaihuai, and rode more than a hundred people who could belong to the genus." King Xiang went to yin ling, lost his way, and asked Father Tian, who was 'left'. Left, it is trapped in Osawa. Pursued by the old Han. King Xiang was sent east to the east, and to the east, there were twenty-eight horses. The "Records of the Nine Domains of Yuanfeng" edited by Wang Cun and others during the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty records: "Yinling City, Xiang Yu lost his way here, and Gai Yu Ji died. The Northern Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huanyu Record" records: "Yu Ji's tomb is in the south of Dingyuan County, sixty miles south, six zhangs high, that is, Xiang Yu was defeated, killing Ji ji and burying here." Qing Dynasty poet Wang Pu's "Yin Ling" poem: "Yin Ling's old legend Xiang Yu Bei Yu Ji is here." The partition is several peaks and back, and the cloud path can be found. The mountain sky is sad and domineering, and the grass is cold and wants to worry about it. The fallen wood is determined by the monks, and the ghost birds lie deep in the moon. Ancient and modern parting hate, flowing water to clarify the sound. According to these records, yu Ji was most likely killed or committed suicide in the melee of Yinling.
(Tomb of Yu Ji, Dingyuan County)
The Ming Yi Tongzhi records: "Yu Ji's tomb is in the southern sixty miles of Dingyuan County, commonly known as 'Yu Dun'. The Jiangnan Tongzhi records: "Yu Dun, in the northeast of the province, eighty miles, was passed down from generation to generation to Xiang Yu. The Republic of China's "Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Chinese Geographical Names" records: "Yu Dun, in the south of Dingyuan County, Anhui, that is, the tomb of Xiang Yu Yuji." ”；
The Chronicle of Dingyuan County records:
Yu Ji was killed or committed suicide in the melee. Xiang Yu did not have time to take Aiji's body with him, so he had to carry Ji's head and run to the Four Collapse Mountains (in the territory of present-day Dingyuan Erlong) west of Dongcheng in one breath, gasping for breath, and being surrounded by pursuing soldiers, and a battle broke out. The overlord could not get rid of himself, so he had to bury Ji's head and cry goodbye (today there is a tomb of Yu Ji in Dingyuan Territory). And the local folk have also been passed down through the generations: Xiang Yu was on the head of Ji when he fled south from Yinling. Extremely sad, one day and nine battles, blood stained battle robes, Yu Ji's first blood and Xiang Yu's wounded blood dissolved together, from north to south, seven beaches of blood flowed, and later grew seven small dirt bags, later known as "seven stars and the moon with beauty". Later, an unknown grass grew on Yu Ji's tomb, and the leaves were red as soon as they came out, which was charming and cute. According to local rumors, this is Yu Ji's sincere incarnation, giving it a beautiful name, called Yu MeirenCao.
(Yu Meiren Flower)
Yu Ji followed Xiang Yu around, without a name, Xiang Yu was defeated, and Yu Ji's whereabouts were unknown. However, even if Xiang Yu won and became emperor, Yu Ji would be just one of many concubines, and no one would remember her.
A sword, a hero and a beauty with two necks, and the bleak story of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji's love satisfy the imagination of posterity, but unfortunately this is not reality.
How did Yu Ji die? Is Yu Ji's tomb in Lingbi County or Dingyuan County? The controversy is endless, each has its own reason, it is difficult to explain clearly, and it can only be left for posterity to examine. However, it is very clear that Yu Ji did not commit suicide and was most likely killed by the enemy army or by Xiang Yu.
(Yu Ji played by Liu Yifei in the movie "Hongmen Banquet")
Some people say that among all disciplines, history is the discipline with the most human factors, because of different positions, different emotions, different environments, etc., it is difficult to record history truthfully and objectively. Even the cause of Yu Ji's death, there are three theories, suicide martyrdom, being killed by the enemy army, and being killed by Xiang Yu; Yu Ji's tomb, there are also two places, Lingbi County and Dingyuan County. It seems difficult to say what the truth is, perhaps this is the charm of history, triggering people's curiosity and desire to explore, from different positions and angles to explore, just like exploring the mysteries of space. It's just that history is mixed and permeated with too many people's emotions, and scientific knowledge is more objective and rational than that. Emotion and reason are the two keys to open the door to the new world, pushing mankind forward.