Song Yi (died 207 BC) was a minister of the insurgent Chu kingdom during the final years of 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 dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

Biography

Song Yi joined Xiang Liang's insurgent Chu kingdom around 209 BC, when rebellions broke out throughout China to overthrow the

. In 208 BC, Xiang Liang found Xiong Xin, a descendant of the royal family of Chu, and installed him on the throne of Chu as King Huai II. After engaging Qin forces in various battles, Xiang Liang began to grow contemptuous of the enemy due to the small amount of resistance that he encountered. Song Yi warned Xiang Liang that his overconfidence and his troops' inattentiveness would lead to defeat against the Qin army. At that time, the Lord of Gaoling (高陵君), an envoy from the insurgent Qi kingdom, was travelling to Chu and he encountered Song Yi along the way. Song Yi told him to slow down his pace because he was sure that Xiang Liang would meet his downfall. Song Yi's prediction was right as Xiang Liang was killed in action against the Qin army, led by Zhang Han, at the Battle of Dingtao. The Lord of Gaoling met King Huai II later and recommended Song Yi to the king, saying that Song "may indeed be said to understand the art of warfare." The king summoned Song Yi and discussed strategic issues with him, after which he appointed Song Yi as commander-in-chief of his army, with

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 dyna ...

(Xiang Liang's nephew) and

Fan Zeng Fan Zeng (277–204 BC) was an adviser to the warlord Xiang Yu, who fought for supremacy with Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC). Life Fan Zeng was from Juchao (present-day Yaf ...

serving as his deputies. Song Yi was commissioned to lead an army to reinforce the Zhao kingdom, which was under attack by Qin. In 207 BC, the army reached Anyang (安陽; southeast of present-day

Cao County Cao County or Caoxian () is a county in Heze City in southwestern Shandong Province, China. It borders Henan Province to the west. History Bo, one of the capitals of the Shang dynasty, lay in what is now Cao . Prior to the Boxer Rebellio ...

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

) and Song Yi ordered them to halt and wait for 46 days without making further movement. As the Zhao capital

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shan ...

was under siege by Qin forces, Xiang Yu advised an immediate crossing of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

to attack the Qin army, but Song Yi ignored him, preferring to move when Zhao and Qin were exhausted from fighting each other. Song Yi then gave an order that any man who was "fierce as a tiger, recalcitrant as a ram, greedy as a wolf, so headstrong they will not submit to orders" should be decapitated, hinting that the assassination of Xiang Yu would be agreeable to him. He sent his son, Song Xiang ( 宋襄), to the Qi kingdom, and accompanied his son to a drinking party at Wuyan (無鹽; east of present-day

Dongping County , other_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = BaifoShan Park.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_ ...

Tai'an Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...

, Shandong). Xiang Yu was angry with Song Yi and he gave a speech to the other generals, decrying Song's extravagance and unconcerned attitude towards military affairs. The next morning, when entering the commander's tent to make his morning report, Xiang Yu took Song Yi by surprise and killed him, seizing Song's command of the army. Xiang Yu then denounced Song Yi for committing treason, saying that Song was plotting with Qi against Chu, and his execution was authorised by the king.

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 be ...

. ''

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 his ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Yi Chinese generals Qin dynasty people 207 BC deaths Year of birth unknown