Illustration
Artistic rendering of Consort Yu (also Yuji, born Yu Miaoyi), the young concubine of Xiang Yu, King of Chu (r. 206-202 BCE). She was captured in one of the skirmishes of the Chu-Han Contention (206-202 BCE) in which the forces of Liu Bang of Han fought with Xiang Yu's Chu forces and brought to Giaxia. Despite knowing he was walking into a trap, Xiang Yu wished to save Yu and marched for Gaixia, where he was indeed ambushed (Battle of Gaixia, 202 BCE). Xiang Yu and his consort were eventually reunited and sang a lament known as The Song of Gaixia together. Yu performed the sword dance (depicted in this image) as she sang her verses and then, blaming herself for the Chu defeat, and wishing to save Xiang Yu from further disaster through his love for her, she killed herself with his sword. Xiang Yu buried her and committed suicide not long after.
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Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by ShangGuan Zhou. Uploaded by Emma Groeneveld, published on 22 January 2019. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Zhou, S. (2019, January 22). Consort Yu. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9888/consort-yu/
Chicago Style
Zhou, ShangGuan. "Consort Yu." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified January 22, 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9888/consort-yu/.
MLA Style
Zhou, ShangGuan. "Consort Yu." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 22 Jan 2019. Web. 15 Apr 2024.
