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ChuHanContentionWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ChuHanContention
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheChuHanContention(206202BC)wasan
interregnumbetweentheQindynastyandtheHan
dynastyinChinesehistory.Followingthecollapseof
theQindynastyin206BC,XiangYusplittheformer
QinEmpireintotheEighteenKingdoms.Twomajor
contendingpowersemerged,WesternChuandHan,
whoengagedinastruggleforsupremacyoverChina.
WesternChuwasledbyXiangYu,whiletheHanleader
wasLiuBang.Severalminorkingsalsowarred,but
thesewerelargelyindependentofthemainconflict
betweenWesternChuandHan.Thewarendedin202
BCwithtotalvictoryforHan,withLiuBangsoon
proclaiminghimselffirstemperoroftheHandynasty.

ChuHanContention
Date

206202BC

Location

China

Result

Hanvictory
ReunificationofChina
FallofWesternChu
FoundingoftheHandynasty

Belligerents
Han
Henan

Contents
1 Background
2 Initialstages

WesternChu
KingdomofZhao
ThreeQins

Commandersandleaders
LiuBang
HanXin
YingBu
PengYue

XiangYu
LongJu
JiBu
ZhongliMei

2.1 HanRebellion
2.2 LesserRebellionsinQiandZhao

ChuHanContention
TraditionalChinese

2.3 HanconquestoftheThreeQins

SimplifiedChinese

2.4 BattleofPengcheng

Transcriptions

2.5 BattleofJingsuo

StandardMandarin
HanyuPinyin

3 Northernfront
3.1 BattleofAnyi

ChHnzhnzhng
Yue:Cantonese

Jyutping

Co2Hon3zin3zang1

3.2 BattleofJingxing
3.3 BattleofWeiRiver
4 BattleofChenggaoandtheTreatyofHong
Canal
5 Endofthewar
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5.1 BattleofGaixia
6 Aftermath
7 Culturalreferences
7.1 Film
7.2 Television
7.3 Videogames
8 References

Background
In221BC,theQinstateunifiedChinabyconqueringtheothersixmajorstatesandestablishedtheQin
dynasty.However,theoppressiveandextremelyunpopulardynastylastedonly14years.In209BC,Chen
ShengandWuGuangstartedtheDazexiangUprisingtooverthrowtheQindynasty.
Althoughtheuprisingwascrushed,severalotherseruptedconsecutivelyoverthenextthreeyears.
Numerouspretenderstotheformersixstatesemerged,themostpowerfulbeingtheChukingdom.TheChu
generalXiangYuwonthesupportofmanyrebelleadersafterhisvictoryattheBattleofJulu,becomingthe
defactoleaderoftheinsurgentsandproclaiminghimself"HegemonKingofWesternChu"().He
ruledninecommanderiesintheformerLiangandChuterritories,withhiscapitalatPengcheng(
presentdayXuzhou,Jiangsu).
XiangYudivideduptheformerQinEmpireintovassals,theEighteenKingdoms,andgavethepuppetruler
KingHuaiIIofChuamorehonourabletitle,"EmperorYiofChu".Aboutayearlater,XiangYu
effectivelysentthefigureheadintoexiletoChenCounty(presentdayChenzhou,Hunan),and
secretlyorderedYingBu(KingofJiujiang)tomurderhimonhiswaythere.

Initialstages
HanRebellion
DuringthedivisionoftheEighteenKingdoms,XiangYuappointedsomeformerrebelgeneralsasvassal
kingseventhoughtheyweresubordinatesofotherlords.In206BCLiuBangwasdeprivedofhistitlein
GuanzhongandinsteadsenttotheremoteBashuregion(inpresentdaySichuanandChongqing)
alongwith30,000troopsandthousandsmoreciviliansandgiventhetitle"KingofHan"().
Afterreachinghisdestination,LiuBangorderedthegalleryroadsleadingintoBashutobedestroyedasa
precautionarymoveagainstanypossibleattackfromtherearandtotrickXiangYuthathehadnointention
ofleavingBashu.In206BCEthelastQinemperorZiyingsurrenderedtoLiuBangandbroughtanendto
theQindynasty.
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LesserRebellionsinQiandZhao

Timelineofevents

Meanwhile,intheformerQistate,TianRong(Qi'schancellor)was Year
unhappywithhowtheQiterritorieswereallocated,sohewagedwar
againstthekingsofJiaodong,QiandJibei(collectivelyknownas
theThreeQis).TianRongconqueredtheThreeQisandinstated
TianFuastheKingofQi,butlatertookoverthethronehimself.
TianRongputPengYueinchargeofhisarmy,orderinghimto
attackWesternChu,andsenttroopstosupportanotherrebellionin
theformerZhaostateledbyChenYu,aformerZhaovice
207
chancellor.In205BC,ChenYudefeatedZhangEr(Kingof
BC
Changshan),seizedhisdomain,andinstalledZhaoXie(Kingof
Dai)astheruleroftheZhaoterritories.XiangYufeltthreatenedby
therebellionsinQiandZhaosoheledhisforcestoattackTian
Rong.

HanconquestoftheThreeQins
WhileXiangYuwasawaysuppressingtherebellions,LiuBang
usedtheopportunitytoattacktheThreeQinsinGuanzhong.Liu
Bang'sgeneralHanXinorderedhismentopretendtorepairthe
galleryroadsinordertoputZhangHan(KingofYong)offguard,
whilesecretlymakingadvancesthroughChencang(present
dayChencangDistrict,Baoji,Shaanxi).ZhangHanwastakenby
surpriseanddefeatedbytheHanforcesintwoconsecutivebattles.
Takingadvantageofthevictory,LiuBangproceededtoconquer
Longxi(),Beidi()andShangjun().Healsosenthis
mentofetchhisfamilyinPei(inpresentdayXuzhou,Jiangsu).
UponreceivingnewsofLiuBang'sattacks,XiangYusentanarmy
toYangxia()tointercepttheHanarmy,andappointedZheng
Changasthe"KingofHn"tohelphimcoverhisflank.InYan,
ZangTukilledHanGuang(KingofLiaodong),seizedhislandsand
proclaimedhimselftheruleroftheYanterritories.

BattleofPengcheng
In205BC,afterestablishinghisbaseinGuanzhong,LiuBang
advancedtotheeastofHanguPasstoprepareforanattackonthe
Henanregion.SimaXin(KingofSai),DongYi(KingofDi)and
ShenYang(KingofHenan)surrenderedtoLiuBang.ZhengChang
(KingofHn)refusedtosubmittoLiuBangandwasdefeatedby
HanXininbattle.LiuBangreplacedZhengChangwithHnXinas
thenewKingofHn.ZhangEr(formerKingofChangshan)came
tojoinLiuBangafterlosinghisdomaintoZhaoXieandChenYu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

206
BC

Events
Acoalitionrebel
armyledbyXiang
YudefeatsQinforces
ledbyZhangHanat
theBattleofJulu.
EndoftheQin
dynasty.
ThelastQin
emperor,
Ziying,
surrendersto
LiuBang.
LiuBang'sarmy
occupiestheQin
capital,Xianyang.
FeastatHongGate
XiangYu'sarmy
occupiesXianyang
andsacksthecity.
XiangYupromotes
KingHuaiIIofChu
to"EmperorYiof
Chu"andrelocates
himtoChenCounty.
XiangYudividesthe
formerQinEmpire
intotheEighteen
Kingdoms.
XiangYu
declares
himself
"Hegemon
Kingof
WesternChu".
LiuBangis
grantedthetitle
"KingofHan".
HanXinleaves
WesternChuand
joinsHan.
RebellioninQi
TianRong
conquersthe
KingdomofQi.
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Qi'sruler,Tian
Du,fleesto
WesternChu.
TianRong
conquersthe
Kingdomof
Jiaodongand
killsitsruler,
TianFu.
XiangYukillsHan
Cheng(KingofHn).
ZhangLiangjoins
Han.
LiuBangappoints
HanXinasageneral.
TianRongsends
PengYuetoconquer
theKingdomofJibei
andkillitsruler,Tian
An.
YingBu(Kingof
Jiujiang)kills
EmperorYiofChu.
Hanforcessecretly
passthrough
Chencang.

Inthethirdmonth,LiuBangattackedHenei()withhelpfrom
WeiBao(KingofWesternWei).WhenLiuBangreceivednews
thatEmperorYiofChuhadbeenmurderedonXiangYu'sorder,he
heldamemorialservicefortheemperor,accusedXiangof
committingregicide,andusedthatincidentaspoliticalpropaganda
tojustifythewaragainstWesternChu.
Inthefourthmonthof205BC,XiangYudefeatedTianRongat
Chengyang().TianRongwaskilledwhileretreatingto
Pingyuan.AlthoughtheQikingdomhadsurrenderedtoWestern
Chu,XiangYudidnotappeasethepeopleandinsteadallowedhis
soldierstolootandplundertheQiterritories.TianRong'syounger
brother,TianHeng,installedTianGuang(TianRong'sson)onthe
throneofQi,andcontinuedtoputupresistanceagainstWestern
Chu.
Meanwhile,LiuBanghadmusteredanarmyofabout560,000with
supportfromthekingswhosurrenderedtohim.Intheeighthmonth,
Chu'scapital,Pengcheng(presentdayXuzhou,Jiangsu),fell
toacoalitionforceledbyLiuBang.WhenXiangYureceivednews
thatLiuBanghadoccupiedPengcheng,heled30,000troopsto
retakePengcheng.LiuBangwascaughtoffguardandhisarmy
sufferedheavycasualtiesandhisfamilymemberswerecapturedby
Chuforces.Afterthebattle,HanlostitsterritorialgainsinChuand
thesupportofitsallies.

BattleofJingsuo
AftertheirdefeatatPengcheng,thestrengthoftheHanforces
decreaseddrastically.LiuBang'sfamilymemberswerecapturedby
Chuforcesandkeptashostages.Besides,manyofthekingswho
hadsurrenderedtoLiuBangearlierdefectedtoXiangYu'sside
afterLiuBang'sdefeat.Moreover,theQiandZhaokingdoms,
whichwerepreviouslyatwarwithChu,alsorequestedtomake
peacewithChu.
UponreachingXiayi(eastofpresentdayDangshanCounty,
Suzhou,Anhui),whichwasdefendedbyhisbrotherinlaw,Liu
Bangreorganisedhistroopsforaretreat.WhenhearrivedatYu
(presentdayYuchengCounty,Shangqiu,Henan),hesentan
envoytomeetYingBu(KingofJiujiang)andpersuadeYingto
supporthim.YingBuagreedtojoinLiuBangandrebelledagainst
WesternChu.XiangYusentLongJutoleadanarmytoattackYing
Bu.
Inthesixthmonthof205BCE,LiuBangnamedhissonLiuYingas
hiscrownprinceandorderedhimtodefendYueyang(
presentdayYanliangDistrict,Xi'an,Shaanxi).Shortlyafter,Han
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

StartoftheChuHancontention

Year

Events
ZhangHan(Kingof
Yong)isdefeatedby
Hanforces.He
retreatstoFeiqiu.
DongYi(KingofDi)
andSimaXin(King
ofSai)surrenderto
Han.
ZangTu(Kingof
Yan)killsHanGuang
(KingofLiaodong).
XiangYuappoints
ZhengChangasthe
KingofHn.
ZhaoTuoproclaims
himself"KingWuof
Nanyue".
ShenYang(Kingof
Henan)surrendersto
Han.
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forcesconqueredFeiqiu(presentdayXingping,Shaanxi),
whichwasguardedbyZhangHan,whocommittedsuicideafterhis
defeat.
Onanotherfront,YingBuwasunabletodefeatLongJusohegave
uponJiujiangandwenttojoinLiuBang.LiuBangreorganisedhis
army,whichnowincludedreinforcementsfromGuanzhong(sentby
XiaoHe)andHanXin'stroops.LiuBang'sforcesattackedChuat
JingCounty(aroundpresentdayXingyang,Zhengzhou,
Henan)andSuoting(nearpresentdayXingyang,Henan),
emergedvictorious,anddroveXiangYu'sforceseastofXingyang.

Northernfront
BattleofAnyi
In205BC,WeiBao(KingofWei)leftLiuBangonthepretextof
visitinganillrelativeandsecretlyreturnedtohisdomain.He
pledgedallegiancetoXiangYuandrebelledagainstLiuBang.Liu
BangsentLiYijitopersuadeWeiBaotosurrenderbutWeirefused,
soLiuorderedHanXintoleadanarmytoattackWei.
WeiBaostationedhisarmyatPuban()andblockedtheroute
toLinjin().HanXintrickedWeiBaointobelievingthathe
wasplanningtoattackLinjin,whilesecretlysendingaforcefrom
Xiayang()tocrosstheriverandattackAnyi(present
dayXiaCounty,Yuncheng,Shanxi).Intheninthmonth,WeiBao
personallyledanattackonHanXinbutlostthebattleandwas
captured.Whenheofferedtosurrender,LiuBangacceptedhis
surrenderandappointedhimasageneral.Intheninthmonth,Han
XinledhisarmytoattacktheKingdomofDaiwithsupportfrom
ZhangEr(formerKingofChangshan),scoredadecisivevictory
againstDai,andcapturedDai'schancellor,XiaShuo.

BattleofJingxing
AfterachievingvictoryovertheDaikingdom,HanXinandZhang
ErledanarmytoattacktheZhaokingdomatJingxingPass.Zhao
Xie(KingofZhao)andhischancellor,ChenYu,ledanarmyof
200,000toresisttheHanforces.TheZhaogeneralLiZuoche
proposedaplantotrapHanXinwithin10days:hewouldlead
30,000mentodisruptHanXin'ssupplyrouteandblockhisreturn
route,whileChenYuwoulddefendthefrontlinefirmlyandprevent
HanXinfromadvancing.ChenYurefusedtoimplementLi
Zuoche'splan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

206
BC

RebellioninZhao
ChenYu
conquersthe
Kingdomof
Changshan.
ZhangEr(King
ofChangshan)
fleestoHan.
ChenYuhelps
ZhaoXie(King
ofDai)become
theKingof
Zhaoandthen
replacesZhao
XieastheKing
ofDai.
HnXinconquersthe
KingdomofHnwith
supportfromHan.
ZhengChang
surrenders.

XiangYuattacks
TianRong.Tian
Rongretreatsto
Pingyuananddies
there.XiangYu
appointsTianJiaas
theKingofQi.
WeiBao(Kingof
Wei)surrendersto
Han.
SimaAng(Kingof
Yin)iscapturedby
Hanforces.
TianJiaisdefeated
byTianHeng(Tian
Rong'syounger
brother).
TianJiais
killedbyXiang
Yuafterjoining
WesternChu.
TianHeng
helpsTian
Guang(Tian
Rong'sson)
becomethe
KingofQi.
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Theeveningbeforethebattle,HanXinsent2,000horsemen,each
carryingaflagoftheHanarmy,tostationneartheZhaocamp.The
nextmorning,HanXinfeigneddefeatinaskirmishwithZhao
forcesandluredthemtofollowhim,whilehis2,000mentook
advantageofthesituationtocapturetheweaklydefendedZhao
camp.Meanwhile,theZhaosoldiersretreatedafterfailingto
conquerHanXin'sfort,andweresurprisedtoseethattheircamp
hadbeenoccupiedbyHanforceswhentheyreturned.TheZhao
armyfellintochaosandHanXinseizedtheopportunitytolauncha
counterattackandscoredavictory.ChenYuwaskilledinaction
whileZhaoXieandLiZuochewerecaptured.

BattleofWeiRiver
In204BC,theYankingdomsurrenderedtoHanXin,andZhangEr
wasappointedastheKingofZhao.XiangYuconstantlysenthis
armiestoattackZhaobutHanXinandZhangErmanagedtohold
theirground.XiangYuthenturnedhisattentiontowardsXingyang,
whereLiuBangwasstationed.LiuBangwasforcedtoretreatto
Chenggao,wherehewasbesiegedbyXiangYu.Eventually,hehad
nochoicebuttoheadnorthoftheYellowRivertojoinHanXin.In
asurprisemove,LiuBangtookoverHanXinandZhangEr's
commandoftheHanarmyinZhao.HethenorderedHanXinto
leadanarmytoattacktheQikingdom.
JustasHanXinwaspreparingtoattackQi,LiuBangsentLiYijito
persuadeTianGuang(KingofQi)tosurrenderwithoutinforming
HanXin.TianGuangdecidedtosurrenderandorderedhistroopsto
withdrawfromLixia(presentdayLixiaDistrict,Jinan,
Shandong).However,HanXinwasnotawarethatTianGuanghad
theintentionofsurrendering,sohefollowedKuaiTong'sadviceto
attackQi.HanXin'sarmyconqueredLixiaandattackedtheQi
capital,Linzi.TianGuangthoughtthatLiYijihadliedtohimsohe
executedLiandretreatedtoGaomi,whereherequestedaidfrom
WesternChu.Meanwhile,HanXinconqueredLinziandcontinued
topursuetheretreatingQiforcestoGaomi.
XiangYusentLongJutolead200,000troopstohelpTianGuang.
ThealliedforcesofQiandChulosttoHaninthefirstbattle.
SomeoneadvisedLongJutoavoidengagingHanXindirectlyand
focusonstrengtheningtheirdefences,whileaskingTianGuangto
rallysupportfromtheQicitiesthathadfallentoHan.Inthatcase,
theHanarmywouldeventuallybedeprivedofsuppliesandbe
forcedtosurrender.However,LongJurejectedtheplanandinsisted
onattackingHanXin.Onthenightbeforethebattle,HanXinsent
hismentodamtheWeiRiver()withsandbags.Thenext
morning,afteraskirmishwithLongJu'sforces,HanXinfeigned
defeatandretreatedtolureLongtofollowhim.Whenabouta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

205
BC

BattleofPengcheng
DongYiand
SimaXin
defectto
WesternChu.
SimaAngdies.
PengYuejoinsHan.
BattleofJingsuo
LiuBang
occupies
Xingyang.Han
forcesstart
buildingsupply
routeslinking
Xingyangand
Aocang.
LiuBangnameshis
son,LiuYing,ashis
crownprince.
Hanforces
floodFeiqiu.
ZhangHan
commits
suicide.
BattleofAnyi
HanXinconquersthe
KingdomofDaiand
capturesits
chancellor,XiaShuo.
BattleofJingxing
HanXinreceivesthe
surrenderofthe
KingdomofYan.
YingBu(Kingof
Jiujiang)defectsto
Han.

WesternChuattacks
Hansupplylines.
XiangYudismisses
FanZengafterfalling
forChenPing'sruse.
FanZengdiesof
illnessonhisjourney
home.
BattleofXingyang
WeiBao(King
ofWei)is
killedbyZhou
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quarteroftheChuarmyhadcrossedtheriver,HanXinsignalledto
hismentoopenthedam.ManyChusoldiersdrownedandLongJu
wasisolatedwithonlyafractionofhisforces.Takingadvantageof
thesituation,HanXinlaunchedacounterattack.LongJuwaskilled
inactionandtherestoftheChuarmydisintegratedasHanXin
continuedpressingtheattack.TianGuangfled.HanXinpursuedthe
retreatingenemyforcestoChengyang().
Afterhisvictory,HanXinswiftlytookcontroloftheQiterritories
andthensentanenvoytoLiuBangtorequestthatLiuappointhim
astheKingofQi.Atthetime,LiuBangwasbesiegedinXingyang
byXiangYu,andwaseagerlywaitingforreinforcementsfromHan
Xin.HewasfuriouswhenhereceivedHanXin'srequest.However,
eventually,actingontheadviceofZhangLiangandChenPing,Liu
BangreluctantlyapprovedHanXin'srequest.Atthesametime,
XiangYufeltworriedafterlosingLongJu,sohesentWuSheto
attempttopersuadeHanXintorebelagainstLiuBanganddeclare
himselfking.However,despiteurgingfromKuaiTong,HanXin
refusedtobetrayLiuBang.HanXinlaterorganisedanarmyto
movesouthwardandattackWesternChu.

BattleofChenggaoandtheTreatyof
HongCanal
Onthesouthernfront,LiuBang'sforcesstartedbuildingsupply
routesfromXingyangtoAocang().In204BC,aftersustaining 204
BC
lossesfromChuattacksontheroutes,theHanarmywasrunning
shortofsupplies.LiuBangnegotiatedforpeacewithXiangYuand
agreedtocedethelandseastofXingyangtoWesternChu.Xiang
YuwantedtoacceptLiuBang'soffer,butFanZengadvisedhimto
rejectandusetheopportunitytodestroyLiuBang.XiangYu
changedhismind,pressedtheattackonXingyangandbesiegedLiu
Bang'sforcesinsidethecity.LiuBangheededChenPing's
suggestiontobribeXiangYu'smenwith40,000cattiesofgoldfor
themtospreadrumoursthatFanZenghadtheintentionofbetraying
XiangYu.XiangYufellfortheruseanddismissedFanZeng.
Inlate204BC,whileXiangYuwasawaysuppressingtherebellion
intheQikingdom,LiYijiadvisedLiuBangtousetheopportunity
toattackWesternChu.HanforcesconqueredChenggaoand
defeatedtheChuarmyledbyCaoJiuneartheSiRiver.LiuBang's
forcesadvancedfurtheruntiltheyreachedGuangwu().Chu
forcesledbyZhongliMoweretrappedbytheHanarmyattheeast
ofXingyang.FollowingHanXin'svictoryintheBattleofWei
River,theChuarmy'smoralefellanditranshortofsuppliesmonths
later.XiangYuhadnochoicebuttorequesttomakepeacewithLiu
BangandreleaseLiu'sfamilymembers,whowereheldhostageby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

KeandZong
Gong.ZhouKe
andZongGong
dieafter
Xingyangfalls
toChuforces.
HnXin(King
ofHn)is
capturedby
XiangYu.
YuanShengadvises
LiuBangtoattackthe
citiesofWanandYe.
PengYuedefeatsChu
forcesatXiapi.
XiangYuturnsback
toattackPengYue.
LiuBangusesthe
opportunitytoseize
Chenggao.
XiangYudefeats
PengYue,conquers
Xingyang,and
besiegesLiuBangin
Chenggao.
LiuBangbreaksout
ofthesiegeand
escapestoZhao.Liu
BangtakesoverHan
XinandZhangEr's
commandoftheHan
armyinZhao.
GongAo(Kingof
Linjiang)diesandis
succeededbyhisson,
GongWei.
LiuBangsendsLi
YijitoQitopersuade
TianGuang(Kingof
Qi)tosurrender.
BattleofSiRiver
CaoJiu,Dong
YiandSima
Xincommit
suicide.
Hanforces
conquer
Chenggao.
HanXinattacksQi
andconquersLixia
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andLinzi(Qi's
capital).LiYijiis
executedbyTian
Guang.
BattleofWeiRiver
LongJuis
killedinaction.
TianGuangis
killedwhile
tryingto
escape.Tian
Hengproclaims
himselfthe
KingofQi.
LiuBangappoints
ZhangErastheKing
ofZhao.

him.ChuandHanagreedtoaceasefireattheTreatyofHongCanal
(),whichdividedChinaintoeastandwestundertheir
respectivedomains.

Endofthewar
In203BC,whileXiangYuwasretreatingeastward,LiuBang,
actingontheadviceofZhangLiangandChenPing,renouncedthe
TreatyofHongCanalandorderedanattackonWesternChu.He
alsorequestedassistancefromHanXinandPengYuetoattack
XiangYusimultaneouslyfromthreedirections.However,HanXin
andPengYuedidnotmobilisetheirtroopsandLiuBangwas
defeatedbyXiangYuatGuling(southofpresentday
TaikangCounty,Zhoukou,Henan).LiuBangretreatedand
reinforcedhisdefences.Atthesametime,hesentmessengersto
meetHanXinandPengYueagain,andpromisedtogivethemland
andtitlesiftheyjoinedhiminattackingXiangYu.

BattleofGaixia
Threemonthslater,in202BC,HanforcesledbyLiuBang,Han
XinandPengYueattackedWesternChufromthreedirections.The 203
ChuarmywasrunninglowonsuppliesandXiangYuwastrapped
BC
inGaixia(southeastofpresentdayLingbiCounty,Suzhou,
Anhui).HanXinorderedhistroopstosingChufolksongstocreate
afalseimpressionthatChuhadfallentoHanforces.TheChu
army'smoraleplummetedandmanysoldiersdeserted.

LiuBangappoints
HanXinastheKing
ofQi.
LiuBangappoints
YingBuastheKing
ofHuainan.
BattleofGuling
ZhouYindefectsto
Han.

XiangYuattemptedtobreakoutthesiegeandwasleftwithonly28
menwhenhereachedthenorthernbankoftheWuRiver(near
presentdayHeCounty,ChaohuCity,Anhui).Hemadealaststand 202
BC
andmanagedtoslayseveralHansoldiersbeforeeventually
committingsuicide.

BattleofGaixia
XiangYu
commits
suicide.

Aftermath
AfterXiangYu'sdeath,therestofWesternChusurrenderedtoHan,
andChinawasunifiedunderHanrule.LiuBanggrantedPengYue,
YingBuandHanXinthetitles"KingofLiang","KingofHuainan"
and"KingofChu"respectively.Monthslater,attheurgingofhis
followersandvassals,LiuBangdeclaredhimselfEmperorand
establishedtheHandynasty.HebuilthiscapitalinLuoyang(later
movedtoChang'an)andnamedLZhihisempress,andLiuYingas
hiscrownprince.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%E2%80%93Han_Contention

EndoftheChuHancontention

Year

Events
Vassalkings
appointedbyLiu
Bang:
HanXinasthe
KingofChu
PengYueas
theKingof
Liang
HnXinasthe
KingofHn
WuRuiasthe
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AlthoughLiuBanginitiallyhandsomelyrewardedhissubjectswho
helpedhimbecometheEmperor,hegraduallybecamesuspiciousof
themovertimeandstartedtodoubttheirloyalties.HanXinwas
demotedfrom"KingofChu"to"MarquisofHuaiyin"inlate202
BC,andwassubsequentlyarrestedandexecutedbyEmpressLin
196BCforallegedlyplottingarebellionwithChenXi.Inthesame
year,LiuBangbelievedrumoursthatPengYuewasalsoinvolvedin
theplot,anddemotedPengtothestatusofacommoner.PengYue
andhisfamilymembersweresubsequentlyexecutedbyEmpress
L.

Culturalreferences
Xiangqi(Chinesechess)isoftenseenasanallegorytothe
ChuHanContention.Themiddlesectionofthechessboard
thatdividestheplayers'sidesiscalledthe"ChuHanborder"
(lit."ChuriverandHanborder").Theredand
blacksidesrepresentHanandChurespectively.
TheBeijingoperaFarewellMyConcubine()
depictstheeventsofXiangYu'sdefeatattheBattleofGaixia
andhisromancewithConsortYu.Thetitleoftheoperawas
borrowedastheChinesetitleforChenKaige'sawardwinning
filmofthesametitle.
TwowellknownmusicpiecesforthepipadepicttheBattleof
GaixiafromdifferentperspectivesShiMianMaiFu(
AmbushfromTenSides)andBaWangXieJia(
TheHegemonKingTakesOffHisArmour).

202
BC

Kingof
Changsha
YingBuasthe
Kingof
Huainan
ZangTuasthe
KingofYan
ZhangErasthe
KingofZhao
Wuzhuasthe
Kingof
Minyue
LiuBangestablishes
theHandynastyand
becomestheEmperor
ofChina.
EmperorGaozu(Liu
Bang)disbandsthe
militaryandgrants
amnestytoconvicts.
ZangTustartsa
rebellion.
TianHeng(former
KingofQi)commits
suicideinLuoyang.
ZhangErdiesandis
succeededbyhisson,
ZhangAo.
EmperorGaozu
suppressesZangTu's
rebellionandcaptures
him.
Linjiangisconquered
byHan.GongWeiis
capturedand
executed.

Somechengyu(Chineseidioms)andproverbsoriginatedfrom
theeventsintheChuHancontention.Someexamplesare
listedasfollows:
"Breakingcauldronsandsinkingboats"():
OriginatedfromtheBattleofJulu.
FeastatHongGate()
"Pretendingtorepairthegalleryroadswhilesecretly
passingthroughChencang"(,):OriginatedfromastrategybyHanXinto
capturetheThreeQins.
"Fightingabattlewithone'sbackfacingariver"():OriginatedfromtheBattleof
Jingxing.
"Ambushontensides"():OriginatedfromastrategybyHanXintoweardown
XiangYu'sforces.
"SurroundedbyChusongs"():OriginatedfromtheBattleofGaixia.

Film
TheGreatConqueror'sConcubineisa1994HongKongfilmdirectedbyWeiHandaoandStephen
Shin.ZhangFengyiandRayLuistarredasLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
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WhiteVengeanceisa2011ChinesefilmdirectedbyDanielLee.LeonLaiandFengShaofengstarred
asLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
TheLastSupperisa2012ChinesefilmdirectedbyLuChuan.LiuYeandDanielWuplayedLiu
BangandXiangYurespectively.

Television
TheBattlefieldisa1985HongKongtelevisionseriesproducedbyTVB.LawrenceNgandShekSau
starredasLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
TheStoryofHanDynastyisa2003Chinesetelevisionseries.HuJunandXiaoRongshengstarredas
XiangYuandLiuBangrespectively.[1]
TheConqueror'sStoryisa2004HongKongtelevisionseriesproducedbyTVB.AdamChengand
KwongWahstarredasLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
TheMythisa2010Chinesetelevisionseriesadaptedfromthe2005filmofthesametitle.Apresent
dayphotographertravelsbackintimeandmeetsLiuBangandXiangYuandbecomessworn
brotherswiththem.
LegendofChuandHanisa2012ChinesetelevisionseriesdirectedbyGaoXixi.ChenDaomingand
PeterHostarredasLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
ChuHanZhengxiongisa2012ChinesetelevisionseriesdirectedbyChenJialin.AnthonyWongand
RenChengweiplayedLiuBangandXiangYurespectively.
BeautiesoftheEmperorisa2012ChinesetelevisionseriesproducedbyYuZheng.Itromanticises
thelifestoriesofLiuBangandXiangYu(playedbyLuoJinandMingDowrespectively),withthe
focusonLiuBang'swifeLZhi(playedbyJoeChen),wholovesanddesiresbothofthetwomen.

Videogames
RiseofthePhoenixisa1993strategyvideogameproducedbyJapan'sKoei.Itwasfirstreleasedon
SNESin1994.
PrinceofQinisa2002actionRPG.TheprotagonististheformerQincrownprinceFusu.He
witnesseshowtheQindynastybecomescorruptedbyQinErShiandZhaoGao,anddecidestohelp
LiuBangandXiangYuoverthrowthedynasty.

References
1. DaHanFengonSina(http://data.ent.sina.com.cn/movie/1816.html)

SimaQian.RecordsoftheGrandHistorian.
BanGuetal.BookofHan.
SimaGuang.ZizhiTongjian.
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