At the end of Qin, after the rebel army overthrew the rule of the tyrannical Qin, King Xiang rewarded the meritorious personnel with the consent of King Huai. First, he respected Wang Huai as the righteous emperor, then divided 18 princes and kings, and finally established himself as the "overlord of Western Chu".
Why is it called the Overlord of Western Chu?
After the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the opening of the Warring States Period, the monarchs of various countries pursued not the royal road, the widespread benevolence and righteousness, and the convincing of people with virtue, but domineering. As Xiang Yu of the Jiangmen family, he was already affected by domineering, and at that time he was indeed a well-deserved leader among the princes from all walks of life.
Why is it called "Western Chu Overlord" instead of "Chu Overlord"?
The overlord of Western Chu is usually referred to as the overlord of Chu, but Xiang Yu does not call himself the "overlord of Chu", this is because although he divides the world, Xiang Yu occupies the most territory, and he himself occupies nine of the thirty-six counties in the world, but after all, he did not inherit all the territory of Chu. Dangyang Jun Tuib was established as the king of Jiujiang, Pojun Wu Rui was established as the king of Hengshan, and Emperor Yi Zhuguo Gongao was established as the king of Linjiang. Although Xiang Yu's territory occupies the richest area of the Chu State, after all, the territory area is less than half of the Chu State, and it is still a bit unworthy of the name to be called the overlord of Chu.
Xiang Yu is a person who wants to save face, and it seems immodest to call the overlord of Chu, so he gives up this self-title. Of course, we call Chu Bawang, because after the death of Qin, it was mainly Chu and Han who fought for the world, and the other princes were all soy sauce characters, and our name Chu Bawang can be said to be an honorific title.
Why is it called "Western Chu Overlord" instead of "Eastern Chu Overlord"?
If we look at the map, we will find that the territory occupied by Xiang Yu mainly includes part of the former Wei State and the northern and eastern parts of the former Chu State. Xiang Yu occupies most of the northern part of the original Chu State, if according to the region where the country is located, Xiang Yu should be called "Northern Chu Overlord"; Of course, it can also be called the "overlord of Eastern Chu" (note that the eastern region had just been developed at that time, and its economic strength was still relatively weak). Obviously, the above two titles exist in partial generalizations, so the reason why Xiang Yu calls himself the "Overlord of Western Chu" should not be from the perspective of occupying the region.
Xiang Yu was born in Xia Xiang (now Suqian, Jiangsu), located in the northeast of Chu and had no relationship with Western Chu. But looking at Xiang Yu's ancestral hometown, we can find some clues.
The ancients attached great importance to the family lineage and hoped that they could inherit and carry forward the glory of the family. Xiang Yu once said: "Wealth does not return to their hometown, such as embroidering clothes at night, who knows!" ”
In Zhoukou City, Henan Province, there is a county-level city called Xiangcheng, the early years of the Zhou Dynasty for Xiang Ziguo, and then was destroyed by the Qi State, the descendants of Xiang Ziguo took the country as the surname, and the surname Xiang began. During the Warring States period, Xiang belonged to the state of Chu. During the reign of King Xiang of Chu, the capital of Chu was moved from Yingyi to Chen (now Huaiyang), with Xiang as the other capital (i.e., accompanying the capital). In the "Historical Records", Xiang Yu's book recorded: "Xiang's family is a Chu general and is sealed in Xiang, so his surname is Xiang." And Xiang is located precisely in the western part of the Chu State. Now the reason why Xiang Yu calls himself the "Overlord of Western Chu" can be explained, which is named after the location of his ancestral hometown, in order to show his outstanding achievements, and it contains the meaning of glory to the ancestors.
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