Xiang Yu
Hegemon-King of Western Chu
"Heaven wants to destroy me, it is not my fault in fighting."โ His final words before dying at the Wu River.
Biography
Xiang Yu was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin dynasty. Known for his immense physical strength and martial prowess, he led the rebellion that successfully overthrew the Qin empire.
Despite his military genius, Xiang Yu was infamous for his extreme cruelty and lack of political foresight. A chilling example occurred during his campaign against Qin: fearing a mutiny, he mercilessly ordered the live burial of 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers at Xin'an in the dead of night. Later, when he captured the Qin capital of Xianyang, instead of pacifying the people, he slaughtered the surrendered Qin royal family, massacred the desperate citizens, and burned the magnificent city and its palaces to the ground.
After the fall of Qin, he divided the empire into Eighteen Kingdoms and declared himself the 'Hegemon-King of Western Chu'. However, his arrogant and ruthless nature alienated many of his allies and generals.
He engaged in a prolonged struggle for supremacy against Liu Bang, known as the Chu-Han Contention. Despite winning many tactical victories, he was ultimately defeated strategically by Liu Bang's superior coalition and the brilliant general Han Xin.
At the Battle of Gaixia, surrounded by enemy forces singing the songs of his homeland (the origin of the idiom 'Chu songs on all sides' / ์ฌ๋ฉด์ด๊ฐ), his army collapsed. He committed suicide at the Wu River rather than return home in defeat.