Yu Ji

Yu Ji

Concubine Yu is the beauty of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu during the period of Chu Han war. Her name is y ú. She was always with Xiang Yu when she was besieged. Xiang Yu wrote the song of cuxia for her.

It is said that Yu Ji has a beautiful face, equal emphasis on talent and artistry, beautiful dancing, and is known as "Yu beauty". According to the song of cuanxia and the song of heanxia, which is said to be written by concubine Yu, later generations imagined that her ending was that Xiang Yu committed suicide in the camp of Chu when she was defeated in the Chu Han war in 202 BC, thus spreading a legend about "Farewell My Concubine".

Records of literature and history

There are few records of Yu Ji in the historical books, even the original name, race, birthplace, birth and death time, the time of meeting Xiang Yu, the process of meeting Xiang Yu and the final outcome. Sima Qian, a great historian of the Western Han Dynasty, only recorded in the historical records of Xiang Yu: "there is a beauty named Yu." Therefore, there are two versions: one is that some people speculate that "Yu" is a beauty

name

Second, it is speculated that "Yu" is a beauty

lastname

There is such a saying in CI yuan. "Yu Ji" is the title of later generations. There are also certain statements about the word "Ji", which has two meanings: one is that "Ji" is her surname; the other is that "Ji" is the nickname of ancient women. The concubine of Yu Ji can be classified as the second meaning, namely the good name. In general, people can only know that the name of Yu Ji is related to the word "Yu", but her real name has become a mystery.

In 202 B.C., Xiang Yu was besieged by the Han army. He had little food and heard that he was besieged on all sides at night. He was sad that the situation was over. Facing Yu Ji, he drank wine in his tent. He lamented: "pull out the mountain with great strength, the atmosphere is overwhelming, the time is unfavorable, Zhui does not die, Zhui does not die, what can I do, Yuxi does not die?" The lyric of the poem "sentimental and sentimental".

At this time, the powerful figure also showed the lament of her love and heroism. The concubine Yu, who was waiting on her side, drew out her sword and danced with a song: "the Han soldiers have gone out of their way, and the Chu people are singing everywhere; the king's spirit is exhausted, and the concubine he liaosheng." In history, it is called fucuxia song or hecuxia song. This poem has not been recorded in historical records and Hanshu. Zhang Shoujie's Shiji Zhengyi in Tang Dynasty was quoted from Chuhan Chunqiu. Chu Han Chun Qiu was written by Lu Jia in the early Han Dynasty, which was still different in the Tang Dynasty. Liu Zhifeng, Sima Zhen and Zhang Shoujie all saw it in person, and the number of them is the same as that in the history of Han Dynasty. Since this poem is compiled from this book, there is no problem in terms of material source. Some people think that it is impossible to have such a mature five character poem in the early Han Dynasty, and doubt its falsity

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Madame Qi's song in Wai Qi Zhuan and SHUI JING ZHU by Li Daoyuan

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It can be seen from the Great Wall song of he he Zhu that the folk songs of Qin and Han Dynasties were full of five characters and mature. Wang Yinglin of Song Dynasty thinks that this poem is the earliest five character poem in China, and it plays an important role in the history of Chinese poetry, but more evidence is needed to prove it.

Character influence

idiom

Farewell to my concubine (B à w á ngbi é J à) is from the book of historical records Xiang Yu, which describes the tragic scene of the hero's end. Now many metaphors are used to describe autocracy, separation from the masses, and final collapse.

During the struggle between Chu and Han, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and Liu Bang fought for the throne for four years. Finally, Xiang Yu was defeated in Wujiang (today's Wujiang town in the east of Hexian County, Anhui Province). Knowing that the situation was over, he had to say goodbye to Yu Ji on the eve of breaking through the encirclement. Finally, he committed suicide.

traditional opera

Farewell to my concubine

Farewell my concubine is one of the classic operas of Mei school performed by Mei Lanfang, a master of Peking Opera. The protagonist is Yu Meimei, the concubine of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, when the Chu and Han Dynasties fought, Han Xin ordered Li zuoche to cheat Xiang Yu into surrender, and deceived Xiang Yu into entering the army. Lie in ambush on all sides of Jiuli mountain and trap Xiang Yu under the Cuan. Xiang Yu couldn't get out of the encirclement, and he was besieged. He suspected that the Chu army had already surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and drank farewell to Yu Ji in the camp. When Yu Ji committed suicide, Xiang Yu got out of the encirclement. On the way, she ambushed many times by mistake. When she arrived at Wujiang River, she felt shameless. Seeing Jiangdong and his father, she committed suicide by the river.

This play is called Jiuli mountain, also known as the battle between Chu and Han, the death of Wujiang and ambush on all sides. It was compiled by the Qing Yi Ju Shi according to the Kun Opera Qian Jin Ji and Shi Ji Xiang Yu Ben Ji. Four in all. In 1918, Yang Xiaolou and Shang Xiaoyun premiered in Beijing. On February 15, 1922, Yang Xiaolou cooperated with Mei Lanfang. Qi Rushan and Wu Zhenxiu revised "the struggle between Chu and Han" and renamed it "Farewell My Concubine".

Xiang Yu's chronicle of the historian records that Xiang Yu, the overlord, was defeated in the war against Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. He knew that the situation was over and had to say goodbye to Yu Ji on the eve of the breakout.

Mei Lanfang created the play by associating with "having to say goodbye to Yu Ji" in historical records. There are six arias in the play, including the famous "watching the king in the tent (Yu Ji)" and so on.

Selected passages of Yu Ji

Watching the king in the tent

See the king in the tent and clothes sleep steady, I here out of the tent and scattered sorrow, light step to the front of the wilderness, stand still, suddenly look up to see the blue moon. (Zhong Dao Bai Lue) when he heard the soldiers chatting, he showed his feeling of separation.

Persuading the king to drink and listen to Yu Song

He advised the king to drink and listen to Yu's songs to relieve his depression and dance. There is no way to win over the Qin Dynasty. The heroes fight all the way. It's a common saying since ancient times that they don't deceive me. In the moment of success or failure, they drink and sit in the tent and listen to the military intelligence.

In the traditional cool party in Sixian County, Suzhou City, the Sizhou opera farewell my concubine is a must show. In Sizhou opera farewell my concubine, concubine Yu also killed herself in Xiang Yu's camp. If concubine Yu really killed herself in the camp of Xiang Yu's commander, then farewell to concubine should take place in the main battlefield of the last decisive battle between Chu and Han, cuxia. Because it is this war that deduces this ancient tragedy.

Character controversy

The official history does not record the birthplace, cemetery, nationality and other information of Yu Ji

birthplace

1. People from Yanji Town, Shuyang County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province

Yanji Town, Shuyang County, is the hometown of Yuji. There is a winding Yuji valley. The valley is named for its people. Beside the valley are yanzhijing, bawangqiao, jiulongkou, dianjiangtai, Xiangzhai and other historical sites. Shuyang, a county directly under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province, gets its name from its location in Shuhe. According to the genealogy of Xiang family in Luling, Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province, Yu housheng was born in Dingchou (224 BC) and died in Zhihai (202 BC) and was buried in Pengcheng. Shuyang folk legends about Yu Ji are also quite good. According to reports, Yuan Mei, a famous writer and poet in the Qing Dynasty, once served as the county magistrate of Shuyang. When he returned to Shuyang 43 years after leaving office, he went to Yanji township to pay homage to Yu Ji. He wrote a poem "a visit to Yu Ji Temple through Yu ditch" and noted that "it is said that Yu is a native of Shu.". The Yuji temple was built in Shuyang during the period of the Republic of China, but it was destroyed during the Anti Japanese war.

2. People from Changshu, Suzhou, Jiangsu

After the fall of Chu, Xiang Yu fled with his uncle to Wu County, Kuaiji county (now Suzhou), and later led the uprising of Jiangdong's children in Suzhou. Xiang Yu met concubine Yu. She is a native of Changshu, Jiangsu Province. Changshu is also known as Yucheng. There is Yushan, which is now a famous Yushan scenic spot. She was born in Yuxi village, a cottage at the foot of Yushan in Changshu.

cemetery

Lingbi tomb

In the east of Lingbi city and the south of Susi highway, there is an evergreen forest with an ancient tomb. The base of the tomb is uplifted, and there are lots of steles. This is the key cultural relic to be protected in Anhui Province, the tomb of Yu Ji. There is a display room in the park. The display room is of brick and wood structure, with small windows and light gray tiles. It has carved beams and painted buildings inside, with ingenious structure.

Yu Ji's tomb. On the side of the tomb, there was a temple of concubine Yu, in which there were statues of Xiang Yu and concubine Yu. It is said that concubine Yu has a gentle temperament and is well-educated, which is deeply loved by Xiang Yu. After Yu Ji committed suicide, Xiang Yu galloped south with her body. Unexpectedly, the Han soldiers came after her, and Xiang Yu left Yu Ji's body helpless. After Xiang Yu broke through the encirclement, the body of Yu Ji was moved and buried 2.5 kilometers east of "Balipu" by Chu soldiers who had no time to break through the encirclement. Later, the village appeared here was called "Yu Ji village". This is the source of Yu Ji's tomb.

Dingyuan tomb

Erlong Township, Dingyuan, Anhui Province

Literary fabrication

(this catalogue is all made up plots of folk literature, but there is no record of literature and history.)

Draw a sword for my husband

According to legend, Xiang Liang killed people to avoid disaster and took Xiang Yu to Wuzhong, Suzhou. The Yu family is a famous family in the middle of Wu Dynasty. Xiang Liang's nephew made friends with Jiangdong's children here. Yu Ji, admiring Xiang Yu's reputation, married Xiang Yu and accompanied her. Or it can be said that Xiang Yu was fortunate enough to know Yu Ji and get this beautiful woman to compose a splendid chapter together.

Concubine Yu often goes out with Xiang Yu.

After the fall of Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu became the overlord of Western Chu. He enfeoffed all the meritorious people, either as king or marquis, and Yu Ji was also named beauty. At that time, the emperor's inner palace was divided into empress, wife, beauty, lover, eight sons, seven sons, long envoy and little envoy. Xiang Yu called himself the overlord of the Western Chu Dynasty, which was naturally lower than the emperor's reputation. The title of "beauty" as concubine Yu was already a relatively high name, which showed that concubine Yu was deeply loved by Xiang Yu. Since then, the name of "beauty Yu" has spread.

In 202 BC, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang fought for the world. Xiang Yu was trapped by Liu Bang. Many of Liu Bang's men could sing the songs of Chu. Xiang Yu failed several times to break through the encirclement, and his soldiers were all alone. At night, he heard the songs of Chu and thought that Chu had been lost. The soldiers in the Chu camp heard the songs of their hometown, and their morale was lax. They all fled one after another. Chu overlord saw that the situation had gone, and his heart was like a sword

Chinese PinYin : Yu Ji