Sima Qian's "Historical Records: The Biography of Xiang Yu" is very well written, portraying a tragic character of flesh and blood - Xiang Yu. He focused on writing three major events in Xiang Yu's life: First, breaking the boat, which was the highlight moment of Xiang Yu's life. The second is the Hongmen Banquet. This is the turning stage of Xiang Yu's strength from strong to weak. His wife's benevolence made him misplace Liu Bang, which paved the way for the tragic fate that followed. The third is the siege of Gaixia. This is the most tragic and tragic moment in Xiang Yu's life. He was besieged on all sides, Farewell My Concubine, Gaixia Song, etc. In any case, for Xiang Yu, Sima Qian did not judge the hero based on success or failure, but gave him deep sympathy and appreciation.
For such a tragic figure as Xiang Yu, it also aroused discussions among many later poets. Here we mainly talk about the three most famous poems discussing Xiang Yu. The first is Du Mu's "Ti Wu Jiang Pavilion" in the late Tang Dynasty: "Victory and defeat soldiers have unexpected family affairs, and it is a man to be ashamed and endure shame. The children of Jiangdong are many talented people, and their comeback is unknown." Du Mu believes that victory and defeat are common things for military strategists, and they must endure humiliation and bear the burden of defeat. The consequences, and the Jiangdong children have many outstanding talents. After settling down, they come back, and history may be rewritten. This is Du Mu's idea. But in the Song Dynasty, people paid more attention to theory and put forward different views on it. The second one is Wang Anshi's "Die Ti Wujiang Pavilion": "The warriors are tired from a hundred battles and mourn, and it is difficult to recover from a defeat in the Central Plains. Although the children of Jiangdong are here today, they are willing to fight against the king." Wang Anshi believed that this defeat made Xiang Yu's army more energetic. Seriously injured, not as good as before. Moreover, it is unknown whether the Jiangdong children are still willing to make a comeback with Xiang Yu, so Xiang Yu will eventually fail. In the Song Dynasty, there were different views. The third is Li Qingzhao's "Summer Quatrains": "I was born as a hero, and died as a ghost hero. I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the Yangtze River." Li Qingzhao warmly praised Xiang Yu's behavior of refusing to cross the Yangtze River and thought it was very special. Dare to act and be responsible. Such praise may be related to the environment of the times in which Li Qingzhao lived. Although the Song Dynasty was economically prosperous, its national power was in decline. Facing the invasion of foreign enemies, they will only tolerate it blindly. Therefore, Li Qingzhao, as an outstanding female poet of her generation, how much she hopes that there will be heroes like Xiang Yu in this era, who can be a hero among men when she is alive and a hero among ghosts after death. This is the desire and praise for heroes.
All in all, these three poems analyze Xiang Yu's reluctance to cross Jiangdong from different angles. Du Mu, starting from his personal qualities, believes that Xiang Yu should endure the shame and make a comeback. Wang Anshi started from the realistic situation and believed that a comeback was unlikely. Li Qingzhao wrote from the perspective of the realm of life, praising Xiang Yu's spiritual realm and praising his heroic qualities.
No matter what, Xiang Yu, this character impressed us deeply. I wonder how everyone evaluates Xiang Yu?