After the death of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, can the difference between the two graves tell the difference between the winner and the loser?
As we all know, the use of idioms in Chinese culture is particularly classic, and each concise and concise idiom does not appear out of thin air, but is summarized in the long-term social practice and literary application of the ancients. In other words, these rich There are allusions behind various idioms. Today, we will discuss "The Successful King and the Lost Bandit" and the story behind them.
The Chu-Han conflict between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang and the comparison of their tombs after their deaths vividly interpret to us the profound meaning of "a successful king loses a bandit", which is more realistic than the rigid words signed and printed in textbooks. .
In August 206 BC, the Chu-Han War broke out. Two major political groups headed by Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and Liu Bang, the king of Han, launched a large-scale war to compete for power. The war lasted for nearly four years. In 202 BC, the Chu-Han War ended with the defeat of the Western Chu Overlord and his suicide in Wujiang River. Since then, Liu Bang established the Western Han Dynasty.
It is said that "the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit", but the fact is that the brand of the defeated bandit did not disappear because Xiang Yu fled. After Liu Bang's death, people can see the difference between the successful king and the defeated bandit. The difference is more than a thousand miles away. Some clues can be seen just from the construction of their cemetery.
Liu Bang's Tomb
After Liu Bang established the Western Han Dynasty, he became China's first emperor who "conquered the world with three feet of cloth". During his reign, he made outstanding achievements. After his death, He was buried in Changling, north of Sanyi Village, Yaodian Town, about 20 kilometers east of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. Due to the undulating terrain here, which is mainly mountainous, the Changling Mausoleum, Liu Bang's tomb, also has the grandeur and atmosphere of a "mountain". In addition, people after Liu Bang have artificially repaired this miraculous workmanship of nature. Changling Mausoleum From a distance, it looks majestic and has supreme dignity that matches the status of the owner of the tomb. Changling is adjacent to Chang'an Weiyang Palace to the south and Jiu Mountain to the north. The Jingwei River, a tributary of the Yellow River, flows through the mausoleum area. It can be said that this place occupies a unique Feng Shui position.
The structural design of the cemetery is also unique and original. The overall layout of Changling is a rectangle with a length of 1,000 meters from north to south and a width of 900 meters from east to west. The main body of the cemetery is the tomb chamber of Liu Bang's tomb. In addition, there are many accompanying tombs of different sizes located around it. The design of the tomb is slightly inferior to that of Liu Bang's tomb, but the combination of these large and small tombs is even more impressive. It is magnificent, and most of the people buried with it are famous families, princes and generals, such as Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhang Er, Tian Fu, Zhou Bo and his son, etc.
The Tomb of Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu
It is said that after Xiang Yu committed suicide in Wujiang River, his body was snatched and dismembered by the Han army. Liu Bang was grateful for Xiang Yu's talent, so he presided over the burial of his head in Gucheng. That is today's Jiuxian Village, Jiuxian Township, Dongping County, Tai'an City, Shandong Province. Compared with Changling, Xiang Yu's tomb is much simpler. The locals call Xiang Yu's tomb the "Overlord's Tomb", but only a low tomb and a broken stele remain in the "Overlord's Tomb". After centuries of wind and rain, some of the writing on the stele has fallen off.
The comparison between the tombs of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu vividly illustrates the four words "a successful king loses a bandit", but it is inevitable to feel sorry for Xiang Yu's heroic past, and the local government has also formulated preliminary plans for the "Overlord's Tomb" With the renovation plan, I believe that soon the Overlord’s Tomb will stand proudly in the long river of history with a brand-new appearance.