Introduction: Xiang Yu is a tyrant in the history of China, and there are countless legends about him, among which he committed suicide in Wujiang River, which is the most generous and tragic, and also the most widely circulated among the people. There are two completely different views on his death: one is represented by Li Qingzhao, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, who wrote in Wujiang River: "Life is a hero, and death is a hero." I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong. "He spoke highly of Xiang Yu's heroism and thought it was worse than death. One is represented by Du Mu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, who wrote in "The Pavilion of Wujiang River": "Winning or losing is the plan of a military strategist by surprise. Children of Jiangdong, brilliant, make a comeback, unknown. "I think Xiang Yu lacks perseverance and determination, and made a pity and disappointment evaluation on his decision to throw himself into the river. For thousands of years, these two different concepts have been extended, so why did Xiang Yu choose to commit suicide instead of crossing the river?
According to the earliest records, Xiang Yu committed suicide because he had no face to see his elders in Jiangdong. According to Records of Historical Records of Xiang Yu, after being defeated by Liu Bang in Chu-Han War, Xiang Yu led 800 troops to break through and came to the banks of Wujiang River. At this time, director Wujiang advised Xiang Yu to cross the river quickly in order to make a comeback and avenge himself. Xiang Yu smiled and said, "What can I do if the sky dies?" Besides, 8,000 people crossed the river westward with Jiangdong's children, and no one has returned so far. I pity my father and brother in Jiangdong, so I can't stand it! If you don't say anything, one person is worth it! "So he drew his sword and committed suicide. This sentence was written by Taishi Gong Sima Qian, which is very close to the time when Xiang Yu died. Very impassioned, so it is the most widely circulated, and most of the legends about Xiang Yu's suicide in later generations originated from this.
In this statement, Yu Ji's death played an important role in promoting. According to Historical Records, Xiang Yu was besieged by the Han army, and he was very surprised to hear that he was besieged at night. At this moment, he got up and drank. At this time, "there are beauties in danger, and they are always lucky. Horses are famous and often ride." Therefore, Wang Xiang was elegant and generous, and wrote a poem for himself:' If you pull out a mountain, you will be angry with the world, and if it is unfavorable, you will not die. What can I do if I don't die, but what can I do if I worry? "There are a few songs, the beauty lies in harmony. According to Lu Jia's "Chu Han Chun Qiu" in the early Han Dynasty, the sword was drawn and danced with the song: "The Han soldiers are weak, and Chu songs are everywhere. Your majesty is exhausted and can't live with his concubine. "After singing, I cut my throat with my sword. Xiang Yu is a competitive and arrogant person. His favorite concubine was forced to commit suicide, feeling sad and desperate and very ashamed. Her self-esteem suffered a severe blow. Coupled with the heavy casualties of the Chu army at that time, "the concubine died, and the children were scattered", so when Xiang Yu fled to the banks of the Wujiang River with beaten soldiers, she felt ashamed and ashamed to see her elders in Jiangdong, so she chose to die.
There is also a saying that Xiang Yu committed suicide in order to end the war and eliminate the pain caused by the war. According to Historical Records, in the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were at loggerheads. "Ding Zhuang struggled in the army, old and weak." So Xiang Yu said to Liu Bang, "Long live the Huns in the world, and would like to challenge Hanwang without suffering the people in the world." It means to fight it out through a duel between two people, so as not to let the people in the world suffer, which shows that Xiang Yu does have feelings of pity for the world. When Xiang Yu led the defeated army to Wujiang River, he thought that he would make a comeback after crossing the river, and another Chu-Han war would bring greater disaster to the people, so he chose to sacrifice his life to end the killing that lasted for several years and return the world to peace.
But this statement contains too much speculation, and it is also inconsistent with Xiang Yu's belligerent and cruel character. Xiang Yu once killed two hundred thousand chi soldiers and burned Epang Palace for three months. He is a very autocratic man, and it is impossible for him to commit suicide in order to avoid the suffering of the people. The reason why he asked Liu Bang to fight one-on-one in the end of World War I was probably a trick, because it was a piece of cake to defeat Liu Bang with Xiang Yu's personal ability, but Liu Bang did not fall for it. Xiang Yu failed to escape to Wujiang River, desperate and flustered, and his heart was filled with emotion. In this case, it is possible to revive his idea that he has pity for the whole world and is willing to end the war with his own death, but this is at best a kind of self-comfort when Xiang Yu is desperate and can't let go of his face. It is inappropriate to regard it as the main cause of Xiang Yu's suicide.
There is also a saying that Xiang Yu did not want to cross the river, but had no chance to cross it at all. Feng Qiyong, a famous scholar in China, demonstrated in detail the descriptions of Xiang Yu's death in Historical Records, Hanshu and Chunqiu of Chu and Han Dynasties in his article "Xiang Yu didn't die in Wujiang River", pointing out that all the words about Xiang Yu's death in Historical Records, except "Therefore, he wanted to cross the Wujiang River to the east and wait for a boat in Wujiang Pavilion", explicitly mentioned that Xiang Yu "died in Dongcheng" and "made an order". He also investigated the geographical location through chapters such as Expanding Records and Biography of the River Table. According to the field investigation, Xiang Yu did die in Dongcheng, which is today Dingyuan County, Anhui Province, 0/20 km away from Wujiang/KLOC. For the two paragraphs about Wujiang River in Biography of Xiang Yu, Mr. Feng thinks that Sima Qian's narrative is wrong, which led to the later misinformation.
This view has been supported by many people. According to the biographies of Guan Ying in Historical Records and Hanshu, Mr. Ji Zhengshan thinks that Xiang Yu did not "commit suicide" in Wujiang, but "died in battle" in Dingyuan Dongcheng. In the siege of Gaixia, Xiang Yu panicked and led 800 soldiers and horses to break through and flee in the direction of Jiangdong. South of the Yangtze River is Xiang Yu's sphere of influence, where he made his fortune. Even in the late period of Chu-Han War, Wu Rui, King of Hengshan Mountain, and Tai Wei, Linjiang, etc. Still listen to Xiang Yu, listen to Xiang Yu's command, especially the king of Linjiang in Southern Chu, still loyal to Wang Xiang and resisted Liu Bang until his death. If Xiang Yu crosses the river smoothly, he can rally, make a comeback and defeat Liu Bang again. Therefore, Xiang Yu's goal is clear, that is, to cross the Wujiang River, but when he fled to Dongcheng, he was surrounded by the Han army and killed by Guan Ying in the melee. Wujiang River is 0/20km away from Dongcheng/Kloc-,so Xiang Yu didn't have a chance to cross the river or commit suicide.
However, this statement is also full of speculation and conjecture, which has been opposed by many scholars. According to Taiping Universe and other records, Dongcheng County in Han Dynasty was a big county with a wide jurisdiction between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. From the middle and upper reaches of the Chihe River in the southeast of Dingyuan, it crosses the Jianghuai watershed, including the southwest of Chu County, the east of Feidong, the southwest of Quanjiao, and the area along the Wujiang River in Hexian County. In the sixth year of Jin Taikang, Wujiang County was established separately in Dongcheng County. Zhang Xuecheng once pointed out in the History of Hezhou: "Liyang in Jiujiang County, Qin Wei, Wujiang Pavilion in Dongcheng ... The first year of Jin Taikang belonged to Huai County, and Liyang and Wujiang Pavilion in Dongcheng remained unchanged." In other words, during the Chu-Han War, Dongcheng was a wide administrative region, and Wujiang was included in Dongcheng County. Therefore, Sima Qian's "physical death in Dongcheng" and "Wujiang commit suicide" are not contradictory, but a description method to avoid tautology.
It seems that Xiang Yu really died in Wujiang River. Sima Qian lived only about 70 years before the Chu-Han War, and he mastered a lot of first-hand information. Moreover, he is rigorous in his studies and should not speculate on such a big problem as Xiang Yu's death. The reason why Xiang Yu refused to cross the river and chose to commit suicide is really a tragedy of character. Arrogant and aloof, headstrong, arbitrary, and lacking the tough will to bear the burden of humiliation are the main reasons for his failure. Although his death was generous and heroic, it was sung repeatedly for future generations, but it also regretted the passing of a generation of bullies.