It can be said that Sima Qian basically belittled Liu Bangzan Xiang Yu in Historical Records. So there is no type that will mislead many poets and writers in later generations. Especially some frustrated literati.
Xiang Yu burned his bridges and wiped out Qin Jun's elite troops. He also has courage, but his character is flawed and he is not a qualified leader. Han Xin's evaluation of Xiang Yu is very telling: Xiang Yu's benevolence is a woman's benevolence "courage is every man's courage", so,
Xiang Yu is undoubtedly a hero, but he is a failed hero.
Xiang Yu, who fought like a god, can be regarded as a well-known figure among women and children. He became a strong man with superior force, a general who could be called at any time, but finally committed suicide. What is the reason?
Maybe I can learn something from Historical Records of Xiang Yu.
He is more than eight feet long, can carry a tripod and is outstanding in talent. Heroism is reflected in many places in Xiang Yu's biography. First he rebelled with Xiang Liang, and then he led the troops to attack the city. Even if it is besieged, it will not lose the enemy's potential. However, there are also some weaknesses in his character, such as fatal weaknesses.
One is complacency.
When Xiang Yu was a child, "I can't learn books, go; I can't learn swords anymore. " Xiang Liang was very angry, but Xiang Yu said, "A registered surname is enough. After reading this, you may be surprised that Xiang Yu has such ambitions at an early age. But when Xiang Liang taught him the art of war, he also tasted it. The shortcomings of complacency are exposed.
The second is gentleness.
More than 200,000 Qin soldiers were killed and the palace was burned. When someone bothers him, he cooks it, but he never thinks about the merits of others' words. After Liu Bang destroyed Chu, there was no branch of punishment, which was in contrast with Xiang Yu's gentle character.
The third is indecision.
This was most fully demonstrated at the hongmen banquet. Fan Zeng repeatedly sent a signal to Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang, but after Liu Bang escaped, Fan Zeng only sighed "lack of ambition" and made an amazing judgment. He won the title of king of the world, and was repeatedly interrupted by Xiang Yu, so that he was at the end of his tether and died by his own sword.
The fourth is paranoia.
Fan Zeng used to be Xiang Yu's right-hand man, but because of a little distraction, Xiang Yu was suspicious and alienated from Fan Zeng. Fan Zeng also left the biographies of Gaozu, in which Liu Bang analyzed the reasons why Xiang Yu won the world and said: Xiang Yu has a Fan Zeng, which can't be used, so take it for me. Suspicious, Xiang Yu lost his last strong support.
There is a saying that "character determines fate". Xiang Yu's comedy fate is inseparable from his personality weakness, but this historical figure must also be treated dialectically. Sima Qian, the Taishi Duke, listed the story of a failed hero of Xiang Yu in this century and spoke highly of him. It is also conceivable that Xiang Yu's only weakness is emotional.
God doesn't like perfection, leaving everyone with defects. It is Xiang Yu's weakness that adds a bit of good character to him.