* Xiang Yu ( 232 BC – 202 BC ), Chinese rebel general against the Qin Dynasty and arch nemesis of Liu Bang in the Chu-Han contention.

* Liu Bang, King of Han, defeats Xiang Yu of Western Chu in the Battle of Gaixia, ending the Chu-Han contention.

* Xiang Yu, rebel leader against the Qin Dynasty and nemesis of Liu Bang in the Chu-Han contention ( b. 232 BC )

** Xiang Yu, rebel leader against the Qin Dynasty and nemesis of Liu Bang in the Chu-Han contention ( b. 232 BC )

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after the collapse of the Qin Dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong.

Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu ( d. 202 BCE ) of Chu and Liu Bang ( d. 195 BCE ) of Han, engaged in a war to decide who would become hegemon of China, which had fissured into 18 kingdoms, each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang.

Although Xiang Yu proved to be a capable commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia, in modern-day Anhui.

Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207 BC and surrendered shortly after ; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu.

Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, declaring himself Emperor Gaozu of the new Han Dynasty.

* 232 BC – Xiang Yu, Chinese rebel general against the Qin Dynasty, as well as the later arch nemesis of Liu Bang in the civil war of the Chu-Han contention ( d. 202 BC )

It is not known what criteria were used to determine who would stay and who would go, but 16, 000 troops and some of the Communists ' most notable commanders at the time ( including Xiang Ying, Chen Yi, Tan Zhenlin, and Qu Qiubai ) were left to form a rear guard, to divert the main force of Nationalist troops from noticing, and preventing, the general withdrawal .< ref > Barnouin, Barbara and Yu Changgen.

Xiang Yu styled himself, Xīchǔ Bàwáng (“ 西楚霸王 ,” lit.

However, in order to secure his position throughout China, Liu Bang becomes engaged in a civil war with the warlord, general Xiang Yu, until 202 BC, known as the Chu-Han contention.

* Xiang Yu, Chinese rebel general against the Qin Dynasty, as well as the later arch nemesis of Liu Bang in the civil war of the Chu-Han contention ( d. 202 BC )

The emperor's own library still had copies of the forbidden books but most of these were destroyed later when Xiang Yu burned the palaces of Xianyang in 206 BC.

Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne, and other people after the death of the Emperor, however there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered.

Some of the figures in pit one and two showed fire damage and remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found ; these, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and its subsequent burning.

Yuzhang commandery ( 豫章, Gan: Ì-zong ) was established in Jiangxi at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, possibly before the death of Xiang Yu in 202 BC, and it's also the very first commandery set up by Chinese dynasty in Jiangxi.

The biography of Xiang Yu, who never actually ruled all the country, was contained in this class.

This may be because Sima Qian included de facto rulers such as Xiang Yu and Empress Dowager Lu and excluded rulers with no real power, such as Emperor Yi of Chu and Emperor Hui of Han.

For example, the information that Liu Bang ( later Emperor Gaozu of Han ), in a desperate attempt to escape in a chase from Xiang Yu's men, pushed his children off his carriage to lighten it, was not given in the emperor's biography, but in the biography of Xiang Yu.

Xiang Chong also led Liu Bei safely to Yufu ( present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing ) and managed to repel any further attacks by pursuing enemy forces.

While Xiang Yu was away suppressing the rebellion in Qi, Liu Bang led his troops to seize Guanzhong and several lands, including Xiang's capital of Pengcheng ( present-day Xuzhou ) at one point.

Duke Xiang of Qin led his troops to escort King You's son King Ping of Zhou to Luoyi, where the new capital city of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established.

The April 1931 arrest and defection to the Kuomintang of Gu Shunzhang, former Green Gang gangster and member of the Party ’ s Intelligence Cell, led to serious breaches in Party security and the arrest and execution of Xiang Zhongfa, the Party ’ s General Secretary.

This allowed Liu Bang to retake Guanzhong by surprise, and eventually led to his victory over Xiang Yu and the birth of the Han Dynasty.

Western Chu was led by Xiang Yu, while the Han leader was Liu Bang.

The following year, Xiang Yu led the Chu rebel forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han.

Xiang Yu's grandfather, Xiang Yan, was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC.

Later that year, Xiang Liang was killed in the Battle of Dingtao against the Qin army led by Zhang Han and the military power of Chu fell into the hands of the king and some other generals.

The Chu army led by Song Yi and Xiang Yu reached Anyang, some distance away from Julu ( in present-day Xingtai, Hebei ), where Zhao Xie's forces had retreated to.

In 207 BC, Xiang Yu's army advanced towards Julu and he sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead the 20, 000 strong vanguard army to cross the river and attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han, while he followed behind with the remaining majority of the troops.

Xiang Yu paid no attention to Liu Bang's presumptive title and led his troops into Xianyang in 206 BC.

Upon hearing that, Xiang Yu led 30, 000 men to attack Liu Bang and defeated the latter at the Battle of Pengcheng, with the Han army suffering heavy casualties.

However, Xiang Yu's forces were not faring well on the battlefront north of the Yellow River, as the Han army led by Han Xin defeated his troops in every single battle.

At the same time, Liu Bang's ally Peng Yue led his men to harass Xiang Yu's rear.

Shortly after, as Xiang Yu was retreating eastwards, Liu Bang renounced the treaty and led his forces to attack Western Chu.

In 202 BC, Han armies led by Liu Bang, Han Xin and Peng Yue attacked Western Chu from three sides and trapped Xiang Yu's army, which was low on supplies, in the Battle of Gaixia.

The next morning, Xiang Yu led about 800 of his remaining elite cavalry on a desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement, with 5, 000 enemy troops hot on pursuit.

The Chu army, led by Xiang Yan ( 項燕 ), had avoided using its main force to resist the Qin invaders, in wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack.

The Chu armies, led by Xiang Yan, used their full strength to launch an offensive on the Qin camp but failed.