Ep. 91 | Xiang Yu
We’re back in ancient days again, this time the short period in between the Qin and Han Dynasties when two great leaders, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, contended for the throne left vacant by the deceased first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang.
Xiang Yu has gone down in the annals of Chinese history as one of the most ferocious and greatest of generals and strategists. Between 206 and 202 BC Xiang Yu of Chu and Liu Bang, the King of Han, fought all over Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, and Shaanxi. To the victor of this Chu-Han Contention would go the future destiny of China.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chen She | 陈涉 | Also knoewn as Chen Sheng, he led the Daze Village uprising that led to the fall of the Qin |
| Chu Guo | 楚国 | The Chu State (Kingdom) |
| Chu Han Xiangzheng | 楚汉相争 | The Chu-Han Contention |
| Chu He Han Jie | 楚河汉界 | “Chu River, Han Border”, the dividing line in Chinese chess (象棋） |
| Chuci | 楚辞 | The Songs of Chu, the ancient work that contains many poems by Qu Yuan |
| Dazexiang Qiyi | 大泽乡起义 | The uprising inJuly-December 209 BC that spelled the end of the Qin Dynasty |
| Dingtao | 定陶 | Battle where Xiang Liang was killed |
| Dongting Lake | 洞庭湖 | Lake in northeast Hunan that is also a flood basin for the Yangzi River |
| Fan Zeng | 范增 | One of Xiang Yu’s closest advisors and generals |
| Gaixia | 垓下 | Xiang Yu’s Waterloo…located in northern Anhui |
| Guanzhong | 关中 | The central plain of the Qin State located near the capital of Xianyang in Shaanxi |
| Gucheng | 古城 | City in Hebei near the Shandong border |
| Han Gaozu | 汉高祖 | The regnal name of Liu Bang after he became emperor of China |
| Henan | 河南 | Province in the central part of China |
| Huai River | 淮江 | One of China’s great rivers, runs west to east south of the Yellow and north of the Yangzi |
| Hubei | 湖北 | Province in the central part of China |
| Hunan | 湖南 | Province in the central part of China |
| Jiangsu | 江苏 | Province in the east of China |
| Liu Bang | 刘邦 | Governor or Pei and King of Han, Xiang Yu’s historic rival who went on to found the Han Dynasty |
| Lu | 鲁国 | One of China’s most illustrious and greatest states of ancient times, located around Shandong |
| Miluo Jiang | 汨罗江 | River that empties into Dongting Lake. Here is where Qu Yuan committed suicide in 278BC |
| Nanzheng | 南郑 | Capital of the Kingdom of Han, in southernmost Shaanxi |
| Ouyang Xiu | 欧阳修 | Song dynasty statesman and man of letters covered in CHP episode #71 |
| Pengcheng | 彭城 | Capital of the Chu State located in present day Xuzhou |
| Qi | 齐国 | Ancient kingdom in Shandong |
| Qin Ershi | 秦二世 | Son of Qin Shihuang. He became the 2nd Qin emperor |
| Qin Shihuang | 秦始皇 | The first emperor from whose name we get the word China |
| Qu Yuan | 屈原 | Poet and statesman from Chu who warned King Huai in vain to prepare against the Qin |
| Shaanxi | 陕西 | Province in central China, not to be confused with its neighbor Shanxi (山西） |
| Sichuan | 四川 | Province in the southwest-central part of China |
| Sima Qian | 司马迁 | China’s most famous historian who wrote the Shiji (史记）Records of the Grand Historian |
| Sunzi Bingfa | 孙子兵法 | The Art of War by Sun Tzu |
| Suqian | 宿迁 | City just south of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province |
| Tang Xuanzong | 唐玄宗 | Tang Dynasty emperor who loved his concubine Yang Guifei |
| Wang Jian | 王翦 | Qin general during the Warring States period who helped Ying Zheng become the Qin emperor |
| Wu Guang | 吴广 | Military partner of Chen She |
| Xiang Bo | 项伯 | Uncle of Xiang Yu who tried to bring about an alliance between Han and Chu |
| Xiang Liang | 项梁 | Uncle of Xiang Yu who looked after him in his early years |
| Xiang Yu | 项羽 | Great warrior of the Chu State who fought Liu Bang for supremacy after the fall of the Qin |
| Xianyang | 咸阳 | Near present day Xian, the capital of the Qin Dynasty |
| Xuzhou | 徐州 | City in northwest Jiangsu province |
| Yan | 燕国 | Ancient kingdom near the area in present day Beijing |
| Yang Guifei | 杨贵妃 | Concubine to Tang Xuanzong who was blamed for the An Lushan Rebellion |
| Ying Zheng | 嬴政 | Qin Shihuang’s name (from the family of Ying) |
| Yu Ji | 虞姬 | Lady Yu, Xiang Yu’s loyal and most favorite concubine |
| Zhang Han | 章邯 | Qin general who later came over to the side of Xiang Yu |
| Zhang Liang | 张良 | Liu Bang’s great general who went on to become a great statesman during the early Han dynasty |
| Zhang Qian | 张骞 | The great Han Dynasty adventurer who helped to build relations between China and the lands to the west |
| Zhao Gao | 赵高 | Eunuch during the Qin dynasty and one of the most notorious rogues of Chinese history |
| Zhejiang | 浙江 | Province in the east of China |
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