Consort Yu (; died 202 BC), also known as "Yu the Beauty" (), was the wife of the warlord

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...

, who competed with

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...

(Emperor Gao), the founder of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, for supremacy over China in the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention ( zh, , lk=on) or Chu–Han War () was an interregnum period in ancient China between the fallen Qin dynasty and the subsequent Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler, Ziying, unconditionally surrendered t ...

(206–202 BC).

Life

Consort Yu's true name and birth date are unknown and there are two accounts of her origin. The first said she was from Yanji Town () in

Shuyang County Shuyang () is a county in northern Jiangsu province. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suqian. Shuyang sits on the Northern Jiangsu Plains and borders the cities of Xuzhou, Lianyungang and Huai'an to the north, east ...

, while the other claimed that she was from

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, but both pointed that she was born in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

. In 209 BC, Xiang Yu and his uncle

Xiang Liang Xiang Liang (died 208 BC) was a military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin dynasty. Early life Xiang Liang was from Xiaxiang (下相; present-day Suqian, Jiangsu) and was a descendant of a family who served the Chu state in the Warring ...

started a revolution to overthrow the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

. Consort Yu's elder brother, Yu Ziqi (), was serving in Xiang Liang's army as a general then. Consort Yu met Xiang Yu, fell in love with him and became his wife. Since then, she had been following Xiang Yu on his military campaigns and refused to remain behind. She accompanied him on all battles.The China Journal - Volume 3, Issue 2 - Page 374 Arthur de Carle Sowerby - 1925 In 202 BC, Xiang Yu was besieged in the

Battle of Gaixia The Battle of Gaixia was a last stand fought in December 203 BC during the Chu–Han Contention between the forces of Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han) and Xiang Yu. The battle concluded with victory for Liu Bang, who proclaimed himself Emp ...

by the combined forces of

(King of

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

Han Xin Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...

and

Peng Yue Peng Yue (died 196 BC), courtesy name Zhong, was a Chinese military general and politician in the late Qin dynasty and early Western Han dynasty. He was involved in the Chu–Han Contention – a power struggle between the Han dynasty's founder, ...

. The Han army started to sing folk songs from Xiang Yu's native land of Chu to create a false impression that they had captured Chu. The morale of Xiang Yu's troops plummeted and several soldiers deserted. In despair, Xiang Yu indulged in alcohol and sang the '' Song of Gaixia'' to express his sorrow. Consort Yu performed a

sword dance Sword dances are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Africa, Asia and Europe. General types of sword dance include: *solo dancers around swords – such as t ...

and sang a verse in return. To prevent Xiang Yu from being distracted by his love for her, Consort Yu committed suicide with Xiang Yu's sword after singing. She was buried at Gaixia. A "Consort Yu Tomb" stands in present-day

Lingbi County Lingbi County () is a county in the north of Anhui Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the north and northeast. It is under the administration of Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romani ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Song of Consort Yu

This verse was sung by Consort Yu after Xiang Yu sang the '' Song of Gaixia''. She committed suicide with Xiang Yu's sword after singing.

In popular culture

The romance of Xiang Yu and Consort Yu has been the subject of plays, films and television series, even though not much about Consort Yu was recorded in history. The story was reenacted on stage in the

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

The Hegemon-King Bids His Lady Farewell ''The Hegemon-King Bids His Lady Farewell''William Dolby, ''Eight Chinese Plays from the Thirteenth Century to the Present'' (London: P. Elek; New York: Columbia University Press, 1978). (), also known as ''Farewell My Concubine'', is a tradition ...

''. Poets such as

Su Shi Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...

, He Pu and

Yuan Mei Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese painter and poet of the Qing Dynasty. He was often mentioned with Ji Yun as the "Nan Yuan Bei Ji" (). Biography Early life Yuan Mei was born in Qiantang (, in modern Hangzhou), Zhejiang province, to a cu ...

have written poems about Consort Yu as well. Actresses such as

Idy Chan Idy Chan Yuk Lin (born 25 March 1960) is a popular Hong Kong TV actress, especially during the 1980s and was named as one of the Five Beauties of TVB. Career She joined showbiz in 1977. She is most famous for her portrayal of three of the char ...

Melissa Ng Melissa Ng Mei-hang (born 5 May 1972) is a retired American Hong Kong television actress born in China. She had been under contract to the television station TVB since 1996 after coming second in the Miss Chinese International Pageant, retiring ...

Kristy Yang Kristy Yang (born 7 January 1974), also known as Yang Gongru, is a Chinese-born Canadian actress based in Hong Kong. Early life Yang was born in Shanghai, China, to a Chinese father and Jenny Liu, a half American-half Chinese. Ms.Liu was invited ...

Rosamund Kwan Rosamund Kwan Chi Lam (born Kwan Kar Wai on 24 September 1962) is a Hong Kong former actress, best known for starring as the female lead "Thirteenth Aunt" in the 1990s ''Once Upon a Time in China'' film series. She had since retired from acti ...

and

Liu Yifei Crystal Liu (born An Feng; August 25, 1987), better known by her stage name Liu Yifei (), is a Chinese-American actress, singer, and model. She has appeared multiple times on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list and was named one of the New Four D ...

have played the role of Consort Yu in films and television series. The 2012 TV drama series ''Beauties of the Emperor'' () had her full given name as "Yu Miaoyi" (), which is

artistic license Artistic license (alongside more contextually-specific derivative terms such as poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It can include the alterat ...

as her actual full name was not historically recorded. In the video game ''

Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's ''Fate/stay night'' franchise, and ...

'', Consort Yu is an Assassin-class Servant, later a Lancer-class Servant, voiced by

Mariya Ise Mariya is a variation of the feminine given name Maria. People * Mariya Abakumova (born 1986), Russian Olympic javelin thrower * Mariya Agapova (born 1997), Kazakhstani mixed martial arts fighter * Mariya Alyokhina (born 1988), Russian politica ...

. Here, she is a elemental spirit similar to a vampire, a ''

xian Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...

'' and ''

zhenren Zhenren () is a Chinese term that first appeared in the ''Zhuangzi'' meaning "Taoist spiritual master", roughly translatable as "Perfected Person". Religious Taoism mythologized ''zhenren'' to rank above ''xian'' "transcendent; immortal" in the ce ...

'' who survived to the present day under the alias Hinako Akuta and desires to reunite with Xiang Yu, who in an alternate universe, is unexpectedly a monstrous robotic Centaur programmed by

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

under the code name Huiji-Yishi. The Japanese version of the game refers to her as "Gu Bijin", the Japanese equivalent of "Yu Meiren", while the English version uses the Chinese reading. Along with Xiang Yu, Yu Meiren appears in '' Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2'', where they are resurrected by

Shi Huangdi Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

to fight against the heroes of the Three Kingdoms.

References

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

. ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', Volume 7, Biography of Xiang Yu. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Consort 202 BC deaths Women in ancient Chinese warfare Chu–Han contention people Year of birth unknown 3rd-century BC Chinese women writers 3rd-century BC Chinese women 3rd-century BC Chinese people 3rd-century BC Chinese writers Suicides in the Chu–Han contention