192 Double Pupils

A7.43|44|45

After King Xiang died, all the lands of Chu surrendered to Han, except Lu. Han led the army of the whole country to slaughter Lu, but Lu kept the rites and righteousness and was ready to die for their master. Then King Xiang's head was held up facing Lu, then the fathers and brothers of Lu surrendered. At first, King Huai of Chu appointed Xiang Ji as Duke of Lu. When he died, Lu was the last to surrender, so Xiang Ji was buried in Gucheng with the rites of Duke of Lu. The King of Han mourned for him and left in tears.

The King of Han did not kill any of the non-direct relatives of the Xiang family. He appointed Xiang Bo as Marquis of Sheyang. Marquis of Tao, Marquis of Pinggao, and Marquis of Xuanwu were all from the Xiang family and were given the surname Liu.

Taishigong the Grand Historian said: I heard from Zhou Sheng that "Shun had double pupils in his eyes", and I also heard that Xiang Yu also had double pupils. Is Yu a descendant of his family? Why is he so violent! When Qin lost its power, Chen She led the rebellion, and heroes rose up and fought against each other, countless in number. However, Yu was not a man of any size. He took advantage of the situation and rose from the fields. In three years, he led five princes to destroy Qin, split the world, and was made a prince. The governance was from Yu, and he was called "Hegemon". Although he did not hold the position for a long time, it was unprecedented in recent history. When Yu abandoned Guanzhong and chose Chu, exiled Emperor Yi and established himself, he blamed the princes for betraying him. It was difficult. He was arrogant about his achievements, exerted his own smarts and did not learn from the ancients. He claimed that he was a hegemon and wanted to conquer the world. In five years, his country was destroyed and he died in Dongcheng. He still did not wake up and did not blame himself. That was wrong! He quoted "It was Heaven who destroyed me, not my fault of using troops". Isn't it absurd?

项王已死，楚地皆降汉，独鲁不下。汉乃引天下兵欲屠之，为其守礼义，为主死节，乃持项王头视鲁，鲁父兄乃降。始，楚怀王初封项籍为鲁公，及其死，鲁最后下，故以鲁公礼葬项王谷城。汉王为发哀，泣之而去。

诸项氏枝属，汉王皆不诛。乃封项伯为射阳侯。桃侯、平皋侯、玄武侯皆项氏，赐姓刘。

太史公曰：吾闻之周生曰“舜目盖重瞳子”，又闻项羽亦重瞳子。羽岂其苗裔邪？何兴之暴也！夫秦失其政，陈涉首难，豪杰蜂起，相与并争，不可胜数。然羽非有尺寸，乘埶起陇亩之中，三年，遂将五诸侯灭秦，分裂天下，而封王侯，政由羽出，号为“霸王”，位虽不终，近古以来未尝有也。及羽背关怀楚，放逐义帝而自立，怨王侯叛己，难矣。自矜功伐，奋其私智而不师古，谓霸王之业，欲以力征经营天下，五年卒亡其国，身死东城，尚不觉寤而不自责，过矣。乃引“天亡我，非用兵之罪也”，岂不谬哉！

End of A7