- Chu–Han contention
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Chu-Han contention
caption=
date=206–202 BC
place=China
result=Han victory
combatant1=Principality of Han
combatant2=Western Chu
commander1=Liu Bang,Han Xin ,Zhang Liang ,Xiao He ,Peng Yue
commander2=Xiang Yu†,Fan Zeng †, Zhang Han†,Long Qie †
strength1=?
strength2=?
casualties1=?
casualties2=?The Chu-Han contention ( _zh. 楚漢相爭 or 楚漢春秋, 206–202 BC) was a post-
Qin Dynasty interregnum period inChina . During this period the rebel kings derived from the collapse ofQin Dynasty formed two camps fighting each other. One camp was headed byLiu Bang (劉邦), King of Han, while the other was headed byXiang Yu (項羽), Overlord of the Western Chu. Several minor kings also fought independent wars against each other during that period. The war ended with total victory ofLiu Bang , who proclaimed himself emperor and established theHan Dynasty .Origin of the War
In 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty annexed all the other states in China to form the first united Chinese Empire. However, the political unification did not immediately result in a unified national identity of all Chinese people. In some former state territory, sympathy to the old states still prevailed. This might not be a huge problem had the Qin Dynasty been able to consolidate its rule over all China for a long period of time. However, Qin's rule was extremely unpopular and unbearable to most Chinese people. Insurrection followed and the Qin Dynasty collapsed within 30 years of the unification. During the collapse of Qin, many rebels rallied local people to their support under the banners of the old states. The result was that, when the Qin Dynasty ended, China was divided into many kingdoms, many with the old Warring State kingdom name and with a member of the old royal family on the throne.
At that moment, the future of China was not clear. Some people, especially many descendants of the ruling families of the old kingdoms thought the
Warring States would be restored and China would be divided again among these kingdoms. However, most of the common people were tired of the endless war and hoped a united empire could end it.Among these kingdoms, the strongest was Chu. Xiang Yu, the chief of Chu army, won the support of most of the kings following his heroic
Battle of Julu (鉅鹿之戰) and became the de facto leader of all the kings, although the throne of Chu was still in the hands of the figurehead King Huai of Chu. In206 BC , it seemed obvious that the fate of China lay in his hands. However, although a brilliant military leader, Xiang Yu was incompetent in politics. Being placed in a position to create a post-Qin order of China, he made several moves that are generally considered unwise by historians:
*First, after the bulk of the Qin army (around 200,000 soldiers) surrendered to him, Xiang Yu ruthlessly slaughtered them all. Most of them were from the Qin homeland,Guanzhong (關中). By doing this, Xiang Yu won the hatred of the people of Guanzhong, who later would remain loyal to Liu Bang in the following war.*Second, Xiang Yu murdered
Emperor Yi of Chu , the nominal leader of all the rebel kings. By doing so, Xiang Yu was considered by many as having committed regicide. This gave many people an excuse to turn against him.*Third, Xiang Yu severely underestimated the danger of Liu Bang. Although he had the chance to get rid of Liu Bang for good, Xiang Yu let it pass.
*Fourth, Xiang Yu realigned many kingdoms to reward his favorites, a move which angered many others. Several disgruntled kingdoms soon rebelled against him. Those who were rewarded were also too busy consolidating their own rule to support Xiang Yu in the following war.
The last reason was the direct cause of Chu-Han Contention. It all started with the Qi rebellion.
Political Situation at the Start of the War
In
206 BC the Qin Dynasty ended. China was divided into six kingdoms with the same names as the old Warring States, namely Chu, Qi, Hán (Han), Wei, Zhao and Yan. The Qin government was overthrown, and who should rule Qin remained undecided. According to the promise made by King Huai of Chu, the nominal leader of all the kings, whoever occupied Guanzhong (the Qin homeland) first should be rewarded with the kingdom of Guanzhong. This would make Liu Bang the rightful king of Guanzhong. The people of Guanzhong also supported Liu Bang, who, though a Chu, treated the Qin people kindly and righteously. Xiang Yu was also afraid that if Liu Bang was made the King of Guanzhong, he would become too strong for himself. When Xiang Yu moved his army into Guanzhong and met Liu Bang, Liu Bang knew it was impossible for him to oppose Xiang Yu and gave in. Xiang Yu then gave Guanzhong to several surrendered Qin generals, thereby creating the Kingdoms ofthree Qins . Liu Bang was only awarded with the relatively desolateKingdom of Han .During the
Battle of Julu , most of the kings sent troops to support Xiang Yu. As a result, Xiang Yu was in command of the united force of several kingdoms. After overthrowing the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu thought that he should reward the service of the generals of those kingdoms who fought along his side. Therefore he divided all the kingdoms to give these generals their own kingdom. The Kingdom of Qi was divided into three kingdoms, Yan, Hán, Wei, Zhao each into two, Qin into the aforementioned three Qin and Han. In his own kingdom, Chu, Xiang Yu made King Huai of Chu an emperor (Emperor Yi of Chu ), and virtually exiled him to a remote place. Xiang Yu then made himself the King of Chu (Conqueror of West Chu) and created three more kingdoms from the southwestern part of Chu territory. Generally, Xiang Yu gave the best territories to his favorites, at the expense of the original rulers. This certainly would not make him popular among them. Moreover, several generals who thought they should be made kings but were ignored by Xiang Yu also felt envious.Those who felt slighted included Liu Bang, King of Han, Wei Bao, King of Wei, Han Guang, King of Liaodong, Chen Yu, Lord Cheng'an,
Peng Yue andTian Rong . They would soon insurrect against Xiang Yu, and except for Han Guang, who was defeated quickly by his former subordinateZang Tu , they all had a major impact.tart of the War: Qi Rebellion
During the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, the Kingdom of Qi was restored and now the king was
Tian Shi . The prime minister of Qi wasTian Rong . Tian Rong refused to help Xiang Yu in several occasions during the war against Qin Dynasty. Therefore Xiang Yu disliked Tian Rong a lot. During the realignment of the kingdoms, Xiang Yu divided the kingdom of Qi into three kingdoms:Kingdom of Qi ,Kingdom of Jibei andKingdom of Jiaodong . The best part of the three, Kingdom of Qi was awarded toTian Du , a Qi general who had disregarded Tian Rong's order and helped Xiang Yu. Tian Shi was demoted to the King of Jiaodong, a much desolate and poor territory. Kingdom of Jibei was awarded to another Qi general,Tian An . Tian Rong was left with no kingdom. In fall 206 BC, Tian Rong rose up against Xiang Yu. He quickly deposed Tian Du, and killed both Tian An and Tian Shi. After reuniting Kingdom of Qi, Tian Rong made himself the King. At that timePeng Yue was also left without any fief, so Tian Rong namedPeng Yue (彭越) his chief of army and ordered him to attack Chu.The Kingdom of Qi lay just north of Xiang Yu's core territory:
Pengcheng (彭城). For the next year Xiang Yu would concentrate his army in the effort to suppress the Qi rebellion. Therefore he was unable to intervene at Guanzhong, whereLiu Bang soon began his own insurrection.Occupation of Guanzhong by Liu Bang
In winter
206 BC , Liu Bang decided to reclaim his rightful territory: Guanzhong. At that time Guanzhong was ruled by the Kings ofThree Qins : Zhang Han, King of Yong, Sima Xin, King of Sai and Dong Yi, King of Di. These three kings were all old Qin generals. They surrendered their army to Xiang Yu when it was obvious the Qin's fall was inevitable. Xiang Yu ruthlessly slaughtered all the surrendered soldiers, but spared the lives of these three generals and later awarded them Guanzhong. The people ofGuanzhong considered these three kings to be traitors who gained their kingdom by sacrificing the sons, brothers and husbands of the Qin people. On the other hand, Liu Bang was regarded by many Guanzhong people to be their ideal ruler.Without the support of Qin's people, the Kingdom of Sai and Kingdom of Di were soon conquered by Han. The Kingdom of Yong was reduced to a few cities. Now that he occupied the strategic territory of Guanzhong, Liu Bang had a solid rear area and a reliable logistic base.
Development in Other Kingdoms
Chen Yu, Lord Cheng'an was only awarded a territory of mere three counties by Xiang Yu while his rival
Zhang Er was made the King of Zhao. Feeling robbed, Chen Yu jumped at the opportunity of Qi Rebellion. With help from Qi troops, Chen Yu managed to depose Zhang Er from the Zhao throne in the first month of205 BC . Xie, King of Dai was restored to the Zhao throne by Chen Yu, while Chen Yu himself was awarded the Kingdom of Dai.In the meantime Zang Tu, King of Yan killed the former King of Yan Han Guang, King of Liaodong and reunited the Kingdom of Yan.
In the Kingdom of Hán, Xiang Yu killed Cheng, King of Hán and replaced him with Zheng Chang.
Battle of Pengcheng and Lingbi
In the first month of
205 BC , Xiang Yu had Emperor Yi of Chu assassinated. This was soon used as an excuse by Liu Bang to rally people against Xiang Yu.After consolidating his base at Guanzhong, Liu Bang moved his army east of
Hangu Pass to conquer the Henan area. Soon, the prefect of Nanyang and Henan fell intoLiu Bang 's hands. After that Han conquered the Kingdom of Wei and Kingdom of Yin and replaced Zheng Chang, King of Hán withHan Xin (Prince of Han) (not to be confused with the otherHan Xin , who was later known as Marquess of Huaiyin). Han's territory was now directly adjacent to Chu's.Xiang Yu was at that moment busy with Qi. In the fourth month of
205 BC Xiang Yu defeated Tian Rong soundly inChengyang and the latter was soon killed by some local people. However, Xiang Yu failed to follow suit and appease the Qi people.Tian Heng , younger brother of Tian Rong rallied Qi people against Chu invaders, and the war remained indecisive in Qi.Meanwhile Liu Bang had mustered a huge force (around 560,000 soldiers) with the help of the other kings. In the eighth month of
205 BC , the united force of Han, Zhao, Sai, Di, Hán and Wei captured Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, when Xiang Yu was fighting in Qi.Despite the success, Liu Bang did little to advance. The coalition force spent most of its time drinking and partying in Pengcheng. This gave Xiang Yu an opportunity. Leaving a general to command the rest of Chu army in Qi, Xiang Yu took a hand-picked force of 30,000, sneaked back to Pengcheng and surprised Liu Bang and his coalition force. Panicked, many Han soldiers jumped into a river nearby and were drowned. When the defeated Han army moved south, Xiang Yu chased them to Lingbi and forced the bulk of them into another two rivers. An estimated 100,000 Han soldiers were lost. Liu Bang himself was pursued by Chu troops and was so frightened that he attempted to abandon his two children, later
Emperor Hui of Han andPrincess Yuan of Lu to lighten his chariot. Liu Bang's father and wife (laterEmpress Dowager Lü ) were both captured by Chu troops.After the Battle of Pengcheng and Lingbi, Han lost all its territory gains in Chu, and most of the kings defected to the camp of Xiang Yu.
Recovery of Han
Liu Bang reorganized his defeated army in
Yingyang (榮陽). With the reinforcements from Guanzhong, Liu Bang managed to stop Xiang Yu's advance and the war became a stalemate. In the ninth month of205 BC , Han annexed the Kingdom of Yong, thus finally solidifying its hold on Guanzhong. In the meantime, Liu Bang realized that it was extremely hard to beat Xiang Yu head on. Therefore, he decided to employ a roundabout strategy suggested byZhang Liang (張良). In this plan, Liu Bang would deploy his own troops in Yingyang stalling Xiang Yu, while lettingHan Xin (韓信)andPeng Yue attack the rear area of Chu to weaken its line. Liu Bang would also rallyYing Bu (英布), King of Jiujiang, against Xiang Yu, thus pressuring Chu from the south.To carry out this plan,
Han Xin had to conquer the Hebei area (north of Huanghe River, including Kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, Dai and Yan). In the eleventh month of205 BC ,Han Xin conquered the Kingdom of Wei, thus solidifying the Han's line from north. In the first month of204 BC Han Xin led his army into the Kingdom of Zhao, together with the deposed King of Zhao,Zhang Er . In the decisive battle inJingjing Pass ,Han Xin deliberately stationed his troops with their backs to a river, forcing them to fight for their survival and won the battle soundly against the united force of Zhao and Dai. Both Zhao Xie, King of Zhao and Chen Yu, King of Dai were killed in action.Han Xin then restoredZhang Er back to the throne of Zhao, with Dai united with Zhao. TheKingdom of Yan soon acknowledged the leadership of Han. Chu tried to intervene in Zhao, but their assault went fruitless. The result was that Han now had a reliable ally north of the Yellow River in Zhao and could now attack Chu's flank from the north.Other parts of the plan also materialized when
Sui He managed to persuadeYing Bu , the King of Jiujiang, to turn againstXiang Yu . In the meantimeTian Heng finally drove the Chu army out of Qi.Chu Striking Back
Now facing Han's aggression from multiple theaters, the balance appeared to be ticking away from Chu. However,
Xiang Yu would not give it up without a fight. In the third month of204 BC the Chu army led by Long Qie (龍且) droveYing Bu out of the Kingdom of Jiujiang, removing the threat from the south.Xiang Yu then concentrated his effort in beatingLiu Bang inYingyang . In the seventh month of204 BC Xiang Yu managed to encircleLiu Bang inYingyang , butLiu Bang made another lucky escape and withdrew back toGuanzhong , leavingYingyang besieged by the Chu army.Although
Liu Bang had been beaten squarely,Peng Yue now appeared to be the main trouble. Waging a guerrilla war against Chu for several months,Peng Yue severely undermined Chu's supply line. WhenPeng Yue defeated a Chu force inXiapi , southeast toPengcheng ,Xiang Yu had had enough. He decided to handlePeng Yue himself. The campaign againstPeng Yue went well, but in the west frontLiu Bang attacked again and destroyed the Chu army inChenggao (成皋), just west ofYingyang .Xiang Yu had to move his troops again to the west front. In the ninth month of204 BC Xiang Yu capturedYingyang and defeatedLiu Bang again inChenggao .Liu Bang abandoned his own army and fled alone to the barracks of the Zhao army commanded byHan Xin andZhang Er . In dramatic fashionLiu Bang seized control of the Zhao army.Battle of River of Si
With the Zhao army in hand,
Liu Bang was able to regroup and stop the Chu army from attacking eitherGuanzhong or Hebei. Again trying to weakenXiang Yu 's flank,Liu Bang sent generalLiu Jia (later King of Jing) to helpPeng Yue in Liang (southeastern part of Kingdom of Wei), which endangered the supply line of Chu army.Xiang Yu again decided to handlePeng Yue himself, and left Cao Jiu, Marquess of Haichun, to defend Chenggao. WhenXiang Yu left, he warned the Marquess of Haichun to concentrate on defense and not to fight with the Han troops.At first the Marquess of Haichun followed
Xiang Yu 's instructions strictly. He stationed his troops insideChenggao and ignored the challenges from the Han army. However, whenLiu Bang sent an envoy to taunt him, the Marquess of Haichun was furious and mobilized his troops to attackLiu Bang . While crossing the So river,Liu Bang ambushed him and completely defeated the Chu troops.Chenggao fell into the hands ofLiu Bang .Liu Bang soon captured Aocang (敖倉) and its enormous storage of food. Now the Han army would not have to worry about supply problems.Xiang Yu , on the other hand, again defeatedPeng Yue in Liang. However, the loss of Chu troops inChenggao made Chu's strategic position extremely unfavorable.Conquest of Qi by Han Xin
When
Liu Bang was attacking the Chu army in Chenggao, he also made diplomatic attempts to win the support of Qi. The King of Qi was convinced by the Han envoy and decided to lean towards the Han side.Han Xin , however, had other thoughts. Having received an early order fromLiu Bang to conquer Qi and no order to rescind it,Han Xin decided not to care about the actual political stand of Qi. He invaded Qi in the first month of203 BC .Qi was caught unprepared from an invasion from
Han Xin . Most of its territory fell toHan Xin in a few weeks. Qi had to resort to its former enemy, Chu.Xiang Yu sent Long Qie's army to help Qi.Facing a numerically superior united force of Qi and Chu,
Han Xin pretended to withdraw, then built a dam to hold back the flow of a river and tricked his opponent into crossing it. While the Chu and Qi troops were crossing the river, he released the water held back by the dam. Most of them were drowned. Long Qie was killed in action.End of the War
While
Han Xin was conquering Qi,Liu Bang andXiang Yu were confronting each other in Guangwu (廣武). After several months, the Chu army was out of supplies.Xiang Yu tried to force Han's army into a decisive battle, butLiu Bang would not give him the chance. The fall of Qi shookXiang Yu deeply. Brave asXiang Yu was, his situation was nearly hopeless. In a desperate move to improve his position,Xiang Yu tried to persuadeHan Xin to defect to his side. At that point the strength and strategic value of the Kingdom of Qi made it the deciding factor of the war. Be it Han or Chu, whoever had the support ofHan Xin and his kingdom would certainly win.Han Xin remained loyal to Han and rejected this offer. He later rejected another suggestion that he remain neutral and virtually make China divided into the three kingdoms of Han, Chu and Qi.Xiang Yu 's fate was sealed.Only one obstacle remained in
Liu Bang 's way.Liu Bang 's father and wife were still held as hostage in Chu's barracks. After reaching a peace treaty withXiang Yu for the return of these two hostages, this obstacle was removed.In the first month of
202 BC ,Liu Bang broke the peace treaty and attackedXiang Yu again in Guling. Fighting for his own survival,Xiang Yu won another battle against Han troops. This victory proved to be nothing but a tactical one. WhenPeng Yue andHan Xin sent their troops alongsideLiu Bang , the outcome of the war was finally decided.In the third month of
202 BC ,Xiang Yu found himself besieged in theBattle of Gaixia (垓下), by the coalition force of Han and the other kings. Jiujiang fell toYing Bu andLiu Jia the preceding month, and most of the Kingdom of Chu was occupied by the Han army. When he heard the besieging troops singing songs in the Chu accent,Xiang Yu knew his kingdom had fallen (this incident gave birth to theChinese idiom : ). Defiant to the very end, he broke out of the siege and fled to the bank ofWu River (烏江) in heroic fashion, where he committed suicide.After beating
Xiang Yu ,Liu Bang madePeng Yue King of Liang andYing Bu King of Huainan .Han Xin was also moved fromKing of Qi toKing of Chu . Chu's former territory was now ruled by these three kings.In the fourth month of
202 BC , upon the petition of all the kings,Liu Bang claimed himself Emperor of Han. This was the start of theHan Dynasty .Aftermath
The Chu-Han Contention ended with
Liu Bang 's total victory. China was reunited under the new Han empire, which was to become one of the strongest empires in the history of the world.This war did not eliminate all the kingdoms within China. However, most of the old ruling families of these kingdoms were no longer on the throne, and the kings were mostly former commoners. The old noble families would still be a factor in Han Dynasty politics, but their role would never be as significant as in the past.
Legends
Xiang Yu won almost every battle he participated in, but still lost the war. Later he was often depicted as a fallen hero.On the contrary, although he suffered defeat after defeat,
Liu Bang fought on and finally won it all. Later in Chinese literature he was often used as an example to advise people to never give up, just like the story ofRobert the Bruce (or, for that matter,the Tortoise and the Hare ) in Western literature.The expression "Bei shui yi zhan" (背水一戰), literally "fighting with the river at your back", was often used to mean "either win or die". This expression came from the battle of Jingjingkou, in which
Han Xin deliberately stationed his troops facing the enemy, with their backs to the river, leaving no escape route. The knowledge that there was no way out but victory or death inspired the soldiers to fight harder.Liu Bang and his officers are often favored in Chinese history book because Liu Bang started out as a peasant. They are often referred as people who worked their way to the top starting with nothing, like a
rags-to-riches story.It has been known that when Liu Bang's wife and father was taken hostage by Xiang Yu, he threatened to kill and eat them, unless Liu Bang agrees to have a single hand to hand
duel (Xiang Yu is famous in single combat and weaponry). Knowing that, Liu Bang rejected the challenge and boldly replied back "Killing my father and my wife will be an unfilial act, since we both have sworn into brotherhood. But if you must eat them, please share me a bowl." With that Xiang Yu shot an arrow and hit Liu Bang armoured chest, seriously wounding him.Impact on Chinese culture
*
Chinese Chess is usually referred to as Chu-Han contention. The red side is usually Han while the Green side is usually called Chu. The middle part which divides the players' sides is called the "Chu-Han borderline" (楚河漢界, literally "Chu river and Han border").*The last stand of Xiang Yu is often called Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬) in
Chinese opera .*The incident of the
Feast at Hong Gate was made into a proverb.*Many Chinese four-character proverbs and short stories come from the Chu-Han war. Most of the stories are related to Han Xin and Zhang Liang.
*The
36 Strategies make many Chu-Han War references.*Liu Bang is respected in Chinese history because he created the
Han Dynasty which is considered a golden age period for China, militarily. The other golden age period isTang Dynasty (the golden age ofChinese culture ).*There have been TV series made in mainland China and Hong Kong
TVB about the Chu-Han contention. Keeping with traditional views, Liu Bang is seen as the hero while Xiang Yu is seen as an arrogant warmonger.*The Chu-Han contention is often seen as a battle of intelligence and moral edict, rather than bravery and heroism as in
Romance of the Three Kingdoms .*Japanese game maker
KOEI made a strategy game set during the Chu-Han contention. The title of this game isRise of the Phoenix . It was released on theSNES during 1994. The player can choose to be either Liu Bang or Xiang Yu. The story is set in a five-year timespan, in accordance with the historical timeline. Also, the historical background is fairly accurate. There is no current published computer game about the war, but a major plot point in arole-playing game namedPrince of Qin involves an alternative timeline whereFusu did not commit suicide and helped Liu Bang destroy Qin.Notable Figures
*
Liu Bang
*Xiang Yu
*Zhang Liang
*Xiao He
*Han Xin
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