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

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

, who competed with

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

, the founding emperor of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, for supremacy over China during the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention (), also known as the Chu–Han War (), was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 BCE, the empir ...

(206–202 BC).

Life

Consort Yu's full name and birth date are not recorded in history, although there are two differing accounts on her origin. The first claimed that she was from Yanji Town () in

Shuyang County Shuyang () is a Counties of China, 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'a ...

, while the second mentioned that she was from

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

; both accounts agreed that she was born in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. In 209 BC, when Xiang Yu and his uncle

Xiang Liang Xiang Liang (; died 208 BC) was a Chinese military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin dynasty between 209 and 208 BC. He is best known as an uncle of Xiang Yu, the rival of the Han dynasty's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Ban ...

started a rebellion to overthrow the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

, Consort Yu's brother, Yu Ziqi (), joined their rebel group. During this time, Consort Yu met Xiang Yu and became his consort, and had accompanied him whenever he went to battle ever since then.The China Journal - Volume 3, Issue 2 - Page 374 Arthur de Carle Sowerby - 1925 In 202 BC, Xiang Yu came under attack by his rival

(the King of Han) during the Battle of Gaixia. The Han soldiers started singing folk songs from the

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

lands to evoke feelings of nostalgia among Xiang Yu's troops, who were mostly from Chu, and create the false impression that many of Xiang Yu's men had surrendered and joined the Han forces. The morale of Xiang Yu's forces plummeted and several of his men deserted. In despair, Xiang Yu consumed alcohol and sang the " Song of Gaixia" to express his sorrow. Consort Yu also performed a

sword dance Weapon dances incorporating swords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of Solo dance, solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic dance, Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa, Asia and Europe. Some traditions use ...

and sang a song in return, expressing her willingness to die with him. Xiang Yu ultimately made a last stand against Liu Bang's forces and took his own life when he was overwhelmed by the enemy. Although Consort Yu's eventual fate was not recorded in history, cultural works commonly depict her committing suicide by slitting her throat with Xiang Yu's sword shortly after she had sung her song. A Consort Yu Tomb stands in present-day Lingbi County,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Song of Consort Yu

This verse was sung by Consort Yu after Xiang Yu sang the "Song of Gaixia".

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 instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

'' The Hegemon-King Bids His Lady Farewell,'' which is also a trope of the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

-winning film '' Farewell, My Concubine''. Poets such as

Su Shi Su Shi ( zh, t=, s=苏轼, p=Sū Shì; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese poet, essayist, calligrapher, painter, scholar-official, literatus, artist, pharmacologist, and gastronome wh ...

, He Pu and

Yuan Mei Yuan Mei (; 1716–1797) was a Chinese 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 cultured famil ...

have written poems about Consort Yu as well. Actresses such as Idy Chan, Melissa Ng,

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

, Rosamund Kwan and

Liu Yifei Liu Yifei (; born August 25, 1987) is a Chinese-born American actress. She has appeared multiple times on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list and was named one of the New Four Dan actresses of China by Tencent Entertainment in 2009. She is k ...

have portrayed Consort Yu in films and television series. In the 2012 television series '' Beauties of the Emperor'' (), she was given the name "Yu Miaoyi" (). In the video game '' Fate/Grand Order'', Consort Yu, voiced by

Mariya Ise is a Japanese actress who specializes in voice acting. She played Riko Mine in '' Hidan no Aria'', Urara Kasugano/Cure Lemonade in ''Yes! PreCure 5'' and its sequels ''GoGo!'' and '' Power of Hope: PreCure Full Bloom'', Killua Zoldyck in '' H ...

, is an Assassin-class Servant and later a Lancer-class Servant, an elemental spirit similar to a vampire, a ''

xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

'' and ''

zhenren ''Zhenren'' ( zh, c=真人, p=zhēnrén, w=chen-jen, l=true/ upright/ genuine person or 'person of truth') is a Chinese term that first appeared in the '' Zhuangzi'' meaning "a Taoist spiritual master" in those writings, as in one who has mastered ...

'' 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 (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

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, Consort Yu appears in '' Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2'', in which they are resurrected by Qin Shi Huang to fight the heroes of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

References

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

. ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', 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 Suicides in the Chu–Han contention