| Xiang Liang | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 項梁 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 项梁 | ||||||||
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Xiang Liang (died 208 BC) was a military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin Dynasty.
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Xiang was a native of Xiaxiang (present-day Suqian, Jiangsu). Xiang was a descendant of a family who served the Chu state for generations. Xiang's father, Xiang Yan, was a famous military commander, who led the Chu army to resist the invading Qin forces led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action in 223 BC when Qin annexed Chu.
After the fall of Chu, Xiang and his brothers became commoners and lived under the Qin Dynasty's rule by years. When Xiang's older brother Xiang Chao died, Xiang took Xiang Chao's son, Xiang Yu, under his care. Xiang doted on Xiang Yu and had his nephew instructed in scholarly arts and swordsmanship, but Xiang Yu did not master what he was taught and Xiang Liang was very displeased with his nephew.[1] When Xiang Yu expressed interest in military strategy, Xiang Liang tried to educate him but Xiang Yu stopped learning after grasping the main concepts, for he believed that learning them was only treating warfare like a game of chess.[1] Xiang Liang gave up on his nephew eventually, who showed no sign of motivation or apparent talent apart from his great strength, and he let Xiang Yu decide his own destiny.[1]
Once, Xiang killed someone and he fled with his family to Wu (present-day southern Jiangsu) to evade the authorities. At that time, Qin Shi Huang was on an inspection tour in that area and Xiang watched the emperor's procession pass by together with his nephew. Xiang Yu said, "I can replace him (Qin Shi Huang)." (彼可取而代之).[1] Xiang Liang was shocked and immediately covered his nephew's mouth with his hand. Since then, Xiang began to see his nephew in a different light. Xiang became an influential man in Wu due to his noble lineage and he became a representative for the people when dealing with the local authorities. Xiang also made use of his fame and popularity to rally a group of supporters and build a personal army secretly.
In 209 BC, during the reign of Qin Er Shi, peasant rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, plunging China into a state of anarchy. Of these uprisings, the most early one was led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. Yin Tong, Grand Administrator of Kuaiji, wanted to start a rebellion as well, so he invited Xiang to meet him and discuss their plans. However, the Xiangs killed Yin instead and Xiang initiated the rebellion himself and rallied about 8000 men to support him. Xiang Liang proclaimed himself Grand Administrator of Kuaiji and appointed Xiang Yu as Major-General.
Xiang led his men across the Yangtze River later and built his new base at Xiapi. At that time, some other rebel forces pledged allegiance to him, further increasing the size of his army to between 60,000 to 70,000. In 208 BC, following the advice of Fan Zeng, Xiang sent his men to search for Mi Huai, the grandson of King Huai I of Chu, and enthroned him as King Huai II of Chu. The king was actually a puppet ruler under Xiang Liang's control then, and was used by Xiang to rally support from people eager to help him overthrow the Qin Dynasty and restore the former Chu state. Xiang scored some victories against the Qin armies in a few battles.
In 208 BC, Xiang led his army to attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han at the Battle of Dingtao. Xiang underestimated the enemy and was killed in action. When Zhang Han was defeated later by Xiang Yu in the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu had the 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive as a sacrifice to his late uncle's spirit.
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