to destroy it. Two men emerged as the major contestants in this conflagra-
tion: Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang
The struggle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang to overthrow the emperor
and then rule the Qin empire is replete with casual mentions of martial arts.
This is not surprising in a colossal armed contest that involved more than
just these two men and ranged over all of China. Both men were literate
and trained in martial arts, a characteristic of their class. Although Xiang
Yu’s background was more elevated, they were virtually identical in every
area of education and skills. The accounts of both men are heavily biased
by the need of the historians living under the Han dynasty, the regime
founded by Liu Bang, to legitimate Liu’s victory, but a number of events
in their lives and interactions with each other bear directly on the question
of the place of martial arts in upper-class Chinese society. Liu is often
described as having a peasant background, but it is clear from his access to
education that he was of a higher class. Their biographies were written
in such a way as to juxtapose Liu Bang’s superior character with Xiang
Yu’s; this juxtaposition, of course, is effective because of their overall
similarities.
Near the beginning of Xiang Yu’s biography in theShiji, it says:
When Xiang Ji (Yu) was young, he studied writing but failed to complete [his
studies]. He quit to study fencing, but again failed to complete [his studies]. Xiang
Liang was angry with him.
Xiang Ji said:“Writing is only good for recording people’s names. Fencing is
only for contending with one man. Neither is worth learning. I want to learn how to
contend with ten thousand men.”
Xiang Liang therefore taught him the art of war. Xiang Ji was greatly pleased.
But when he had grasped the general idea of it, he again was unwilling tofinish his
study.^10
While the main character point of this passage is to make it clear that Xiang
Yu was not a man who ever did anything completely, a sign of underlying
immaturity, his course of education is instructive. In all three areas–writing
(literacy), fencing, and the art of war–it was possible to complete an area of
study. This is to say that there was an established body of readings or skills
in the respective areas that could be known and completed by a young man.
Xiang Yu himself was described as very tall, and strong enough to“lift a
tripod,”inborn characteristics of a great martial artist. And despite Xiang
Yu’s truncated training in fencing, he was an extremely capable swordsman.
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang 61