Gaozu Benji — Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, chapter 8

Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE) completed the Shiji, the first comprehensive history of China, while serving under Emperor Wu of Han. Its twelve Basic Annals (本紀) open the work, tracing paramount power dynasty by dynasty and reign by reign; this is the eighth, the annals chapter that follows the founding of the Han dynasty itself, the house under which Sima Qian served.

This chapter follows Liu Bang, posthumously Gaozu, from his obscure youth as head of the poststation at Sishui in Pei — the dragon over his mother, the moles on his thigh, the killing of a serpent by night — through his part in the revolt against Qin, his rivalry and uneasy alliance with Xiang Yu, his entry into the Land Within the Passes and the three-article law he gave its people, the tense banquet at Hongmen where Xiang Yu's officers plotted against him, four years of war recounted from the Han side (the rout at Pengcheng, the standoffs at Xingyang and Chenggao, the naming of Xiang Yu's ten crimes across the ravine at Guangwu, a crossbow wound taken in the chest, and the victory at Gaixia), his acclamation as emperor and the founding of Han, his campaigns against the kings who rebelled against him one after another — Zang Tu, Han Xin of Chu, Chen Xi, Peng Yue, Qing Bu — his 'Great Wind' song sung to the boys of his home town of Pei, his death, and the closing list of his eight sons.

The section headings inside the chapter are editorial conveniences of the Wikisource transcription, not divisions of Sima Qian's own, and the Sanjia commentary (集解, 索隱, 正義) that travels with the source text is presented below but not translated; passages opening 太史公曰 are marked 'The Grand Historian says.' Names and titles are given in Hanyu pinyin (Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Han Xin), with Chinese characters at first appearance.

Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese printed in full below. Burton Watson's Records of the Grand Historian (1961; 1993) and the Nienhauser team's The Grand Scribe's Records (1994–) already cover the Basic Annals; they are named here as controls-in-existence that were not consulted, and no live search for other prior translations could be made when this file was prepared, so no claim of firstness is made.

Contents

• Annals of Gaozu (高祖本紀)
  • Liu Bang (劉邦)
  • Appraisal (評論)

Translation

Annals of Gaozu (高祖本紀)

Liu Bang (劉邦)

Gaozu was a man of Zhongyang hamlet in the town of Feng in Pei. His surname was Liu, and his style-name was Ji. His father was called Taigong, the Venerable Sire; his mother was called Dame Liu. Once, earlier, Dame Liu was resting on the bank of a great marsh and dreamed that she met a god. At that moment there was thunder and lightning and the sky went dark. Taigong went to look, and saw a scaled dragon above her. Presently she was with child, and in time gave birth to Gaozu.

As a man, Gaozu had a high-bridged nose and a dragon's brow, a handsome beard and whiskers, and seventy-two black moles on his left thigh. He was humane and loved others, delighted in giving, and was open and free in his mind. He always had a large capacity, and did not occupy himself with the household's work of production. When he was grown he was tried out as an officer and became head of the post-station at Sishui (泗水亭長). There was no officer in the office whom he did not treat with rough familiarity and mockery. He was fond of wine and of women. He often took wine on credit from Dame Wang and from Wu Fu, and when he lay drunk, Wu Fu and Dame Wang would see a dragon above him and thought it strange. Whenever Gaozu bought wine and stayed drinking, the sale of wine was several times as much. When they had seen the marvel, at the year's end these two households would always break the tally and cancel his debt.

Gaozu once went on labor service to Xianyang. Allowed to look on freely, he watched the Emperor of Qin, and sighed deeply and said, "Ah! This is how a great man ought to be!"

Lü Gong (呂公), a man of Shanfu, was on good terms with the magistrate of Pei. Fleeing an enemy, he came to him as a guest, and so made his home in Pei. The powerful men and officers of Pei, hearing that the magistrate had an honored guest, all went to offer their congratulations. Xiao He (蕭何) was chief clerk and had charge of the gifts brought in, and he announced to the assembled gentlemen: "Whoever offers less than a thousand cash will be seated below the hall." Gaozu, who was only a station chief and had always made light of the officers, deceitfully wrote out a card that read, "Congratulatory gift, ten thousand cash," though in fact he carried not one coin. When the card was brought in, Lü Gong was greatly startled, rose, and went to the gate to meet him. Now Lü Gong was fond of reading men's faces. Seeing Gaozu's appearance and bearing, he held him accordingly in great respect and led him in to be seated. Xiao He said, "Liu Ji is certainly full of big talk and accomplishes little." Gaozu then made free with the guests and mocked them, and took the highest seat without the least diffidence. When the drinking was drawing to a close, Lü Gong signaled with his eyes and firmly kept Gaozu back. Gaozu stayed to the end of the drinking and remained behind. Lü Gong said, "From my youth I have been fond of reading faces, and I have read many; none is like your physiognomy, Ji. I beg you, Ji, to take good care of yourself. I have a daughter, and I wish her to be your wife with dustpan and broom." When the drinking was over, Dame Lü was angry with Lü Gong and said, "You always wanted to make something extraordinary of this girl and give her to a man of rank. The magistrate of Pei is on good terms with you; he asked for her and you would not give her. Why have you rashly promised her to Liu Ji on your own?" Lü Gong said, "This is not a thing that women and children can understand." In the end he gave her to Liu Ji. Lü Gong's daughter was Empress Lü. She bore Emperor Xiaohui and the Princess Yuan of Lu.

When Gaozu was a station chief he once took leave and went home to the fields. Empress Lü was in the fields with her two children, hoeing, when an old man passed by and asked for a drink, and Empress Lü gave him food. The old man read Empress Lü's face and said, "Madam is one of the noble ones of the empire." She had him read the faces of her two children. Seeing Xiaohui, he said, "What makes madam noble is this boy." He read the face of the girl who became the Princess Yuan of Lu, and she too was noble. After the old man had gone, Gaozu happened to come over from a nearby house, and Empress Lü told him fully how a stranger had passed by and had read her face and the children's as all greatly noble. Gaozu asked about him, and she said, "He has not gone far." So he went after him and overtook him and questioned the old man. The old man said, "The lady and the children just now all resemble you, sir. Your own physiognomy is noble beyond words." Gaozu thanked him, saying, "If it is truly as you say, sir, I shall not dare forget the kindness." But when Gaozu became exalted, no one knew where the old man was.

When Gaozu was a station chief he made himself a cap out of bamboo sheath, and had the thief-catcher of his station go to Xue to have it fashioned. From time to time he wore it, and after he became exalted he wore it constantly. This is what is called the "Liu cap."

As station chief, Gaozu was escorting convicts on behalf of the county to Mount Li, and many of the convicts fled along the road. He reckoned that by the time he arrived they would all have run off. When he reached the marsh west of Feng he halted and drank, and that night he untied and released the convicts he was escorting. He said, "You gentlemen, all of you go; I too shall depart from here." Among the convicts there were more than ten stout fellows who wished to follow him. Gaozu, being in his cups, took a path through the marsh by night and ordered one man to go ahead. The man who went ahead came back and reported, "There is a great serpent ahead, lying across the path. Let us turn back." Gaozu, drunk, said, "When a stout man marches, what is there to fear?" He went forward, drew his sword, struck, and cut the serpent down. The serpent was split in two, and the path was opened. After going several li he was drunk and lay down. Men coming behind reached the place of the serpent, where an old woman was weeping in the night. They asked why she wept. The old woman said, "Someone has killed my son, and so I weep for him." They said, "Why was the old woman's son killed?" The old woman said, "I am the son of the White Emperor; I changed into a serpent and lay across the road, and now the son of the Red Emperor has cut me down, and so I weep." The men thought the old woman was not speaking the truth and were about to lay information against her, when she suddenly was not to be seen. When the men behind arrived, Gaozu had awakened. They told Gaozu what had happened, and in his heart Gaozu alone rejoiced and thought highly of himself. His followers day by day feared him the more.

The First Emperor of Qin used to say, "In the southeast there is the emanation of a Son of Heaven," and therefore he traveled east in order to press it down. Gaozu at once suspected that it was himself; he fled and hid, concealing himself among the mountains, marshes, and rocks of Mang and Dang. Empress Lü and others went together to seek him, and always found him. Gaozu thought this strange and asked her about it. Empress Lü said, "Above the place where you are, Ji, there is always a cloud-emanation; so we follow it and always find you, Ji." Gaozu was glad in his heart. Some of the young men of Pei heard of it, and many wished to attach themselves to him.

In the autumn of the first year of the Second Emperor of Qin, Chen Sheng and others rose at Qi, and when they reached Chen he took the title of king, calling the state Zhang Chu. In the commanderies and counties many killed their chief officers in response to Chen She. The magistrate of Pei was afraid and wished to make Pei respond to She. The assistant clerk and the chief clerk, Xiao He and Cao Shen (曹參), said to him: "You, sir, are an officer of Qin. If you now wish to turn against it and lead the young men of Pei, we fear they will not obey. We beg you to summon back those who have fled and are outside — several hundred men may be had — and to use them to coerce the multitude, and then the multitude will not dare disobey." So he ordered Fan Kuai (樊噲) to summon Liu Ji. Liu Ji's following already numbered nearly a hundred men.

Thereupon Fan Kuai came, following Liu Ji. The magistrate of Pei then repented of it, and, fearing an upheaval, shut the city and held it, intending to put Xiao and Cao to death. Xiao and Cao were afraid; they climbed the wall and took refuge with Liu Ji. Liu Ji then wrote on a piece of silk and shot it up over the wall, addressing the elders of Pei: "The empire has suffered under Qin for a long time. Now, though you elders hold the city for the magistrate of Pei, the feudal lords are rising together and will presently put Pei to the sword. If Pei now joins in putting the magistrate to death, chooses one of its young men who is fit to be set up and sets him up, and so responds to the feudal lords, then your households will be preserved whole. If not, fathers and sons alike will be slaughtered, and there is no purpose in that." The elders then led the young men and together killed the magistrate of Pei. They opened the city gates and welcomed Liu Ji, wishing to make him magistrate of Pei. Liu Ji said, "The empire is now in turmoil, and the feudal lords are rising together. If a commander is badly chosen now, a single defeat will smear us upon the ground. It is not that I dare to spare myself; I fear that my abilities are slight and that I could not keep your fathers and elder brothers and sons whole. This is a great matter; I beg you to consult one another again and choose a fit man." Xiao, Cao, and the rest were all civil clerks who cared for their own safety and feared that the affair would not succeed and that Qin would afterward exterminate their clans; so they all yielded to Liu Ji. All the elders said, "From the marvels and prodigies we have heard about Liu Ji all our lives, he is bound to become exalted; and moreover, when we divined by tortoise and by yarrow, none was so auspicious as Liu Ji." Thereupon Liu Ji declined several times. Since none of the crowd dared take the place, they set Ji up as the Duke of Pei. He sacrificed to the Yellow Emperor and offered sacrifice to Chiyou in the courtyard of Pei, and consecrated his drums and standards with blood; his banners were all red. Because the serpent he had killed was the son of the White Emperor, and the one who killed it was the son of the Red Emperor, he therefore honored red. Thereupon the young men and the powerful officers, such as Xiao, Cao, and Fan Kuai, gathered for him two or three thousand of the young men of Pei. They attacked Huling and Fangyu, then returned and held Feng.

In the second year of the Second Emperor of Qin, Chen She's general Zhou Zhang led his army west as far as Xi and then turned back. Yan, Zhao, Qi, and Wei all set themselves up as kingdoms. The Xiang clan rose in Wu. Ping, the Qin overseer of Sichuan, led troops and besieged Feng; after two days the Duke of Pei came out and fought him and defeated him. He ordered Yong Chi (雍齒) to hold Feng, and led his troops to Xue. Zhuang, the governor of Sizhou, was defeated at Xue and fled to Qi; the Duke of Pei's left marshal took Zhuang, governor of Sichuan, and killed him. The Duke of Pei returned and encamped at Kangfu, then came to Fangyu (Zhou Fu came to attack Fangyu), and there was no battle. King Chen had sent Zhou Fu, a man of Wei, to seize territory. Zhou Fu sent a man to say to Yong Chi: "Feng is a place to which men of Liang were formerly moved. Now several tens of cities in the land of Wei have already been settled. If you, Chi, submit to Wei now, Wei will make you a marquis and let you hold Feng. If you do not submit, Feng will be put to the sword." Yong Chi had all along been unwilling to be subordinate to the Duke of Pei, and when Wei called him over he at once revolted and held Feng for Wei. The Duke of Pei led his troops to attack Feng but could not take it. The Duke of Pei fell ill and went back to Pei. The Duke of Pei resented that Yong Chi and the young men of Feng had betrayed him. Hearing that Lord Ning of Dongyang and Qin Jia had set up Jing Ju as acting king and were at Liu, he went and joined them, wishing to ask for troops in order to attack Feng. At this time the Qin general Zhang Han (章邯) was following up the campaign against Chen, and his subordinate general Sima Yi led troops north to settle the land of Chu, put Xiang to the sword, and reached Dang. Lord Ning of Dongyang and the Duke of Pei led troops west and fought him west of Xiao, without advantage. They went back, gathered their troops, and assembled at Liu; then they led their troops to attack Dang, and in three days took Dang. They thereupon took over the troops of Dang and obtained five or six thousand men. They attacked Xiayi and carried it, then returned and encamped at Feng. Hearing that Xiang Liang (項梁) was at Xue, he went with a hundred-odd horsemen to see him. Xiang Liang increased the Duke of Pei's forces by five thousand men and ten commanders of the fifth order. The Duke of Pei went back and led his troops to attack Feng.

He had followed Xiang Liang for a month and more when Xiang Yu (項羽), having taken Xiangcheng, returned. Xiang Liang summoned all his subordinate commanders to Xue. Hearing that King Chen was certainly dead, he then set up Xin, the grandson of King Huai and heir of the house of Chu, as King of Chu, with his seat at Xuyi. Xiang Liang took the title Lord Wuxin. After several months he attacked Kangfu in the north, relieved Dong'e, and broke the Qin army. The Qi army went home; Chu alone pursued the fleeing enemy. He sent the Duke of Pei and Xiang Yu to attack Chengyang separately, and they put it to the sword. They encamped east of Puyang, fought the Qin army, and defeated it.

The Qin army rallied again and held Puyang, ringing it about with water. The Chu army left and attacked Dingtao, but Dingtao did not fall. The Duke of Pei and Xiang Yu seized territory westward as far as the foot of Yongqiu, fought the Qin army, greatly defeated it, and beheaded Li You. They turned back and attacked Waihuang, but Waihuang did not fall.

Xiang Liang, having twice broken Qin armies, wore a look of arrogance. Song Yi remonstrated; he would not listen. Qin reinforced Zhang Han's troops, and at night, with gags between their teeth, they struck Xiang Liang and greatly defeated him at Dingtao. Xiang Liang died. The Duke of Pei and Xiang Yu were then attacking Chenliu; hearing that Xiang Liang was dead, they led their troops east together with General Lü. Lü Chen encamped east of Pengcheng, Xiang Yu encamped west of Pengcheng, and the Duke of Pei encamped at Dang.

Zhang Han, having broken Xiang Liang's army, considered that the troops of the land of Chu were not worth worrying about. He therefore crossed the Yellow River, struck Zhao in the north, and greatly defeated it. At that time Zhao Xie was king, and the Qin general Wang Li besieged him in the city of Julu. This was what was called the army north of the river.

In the third year of the Second Emperor of Qin, King Huai of Chu, seeing that Xiang Liang's army had been broken, took fright. He moved from Xuyi and made Pengcheng his capital, combined the armies of Lü Chen and Xiang Yu, and took command of them himself. He made the Duke of Pei chief of Dang commandery, enfeoffed him as Marquis of Wu'an, and gave him command of the troops of Dang commandery. He enfeoffed Xiang Yu as Marquis of Chang'an, with the title Duke of Lu. Lü Chen was made minister of education, and his father Lü Qing chief minister.

Zhao repeatedly asked to be rescued, and King Huai therefore made Song Yi supreme general, Xiang Yu second general, and Fan Zeng last general, to go north and rescue Zhao. He ordered the Duke of Pei to seize territory westward and enter the passes, and he made an agreement with the commanders that whoever first entered and settled the Land within the Passes should be made its king.

At that time the troops of Qin were strong and constantly rode their victories in pursuit of the fleeing, so that none of the commanders saw advantage in being first to enter the passes. Only Xiang Yu, who resented that Qin had broken Xiang Liang's army, was roused, and wished to go west into the passes together with the Duke of Pei. King Huai's veteran generals all said: "Xiang Yu as a man is violent, fierce, crafty, and cruel. When Xiang Yu attacked Xiangcheng, he left not a survivor there but buried them all alive, and wherever he passed there was nothing not ruined and destroyed. Moreover Chu has pressed forward again and again, and before this both King Chen and Xiang Liang were defeated. It would be better to send instead a man of years and standing, one who upholds righteousness, to go west and make proclamation to the fathers and elder brothers of Qin. The fathers and elder brothers of Qin have long suffered under their masters. If now a man of years and standing can truly be got to go, one who will not encroach or use violence, it should be possible to bring them over. Xiang Yu is violent and fierce; he cannot be sent now. Only the Duke of Pei has always been a generous and magnanimous man of standing; he can be sent." In the end Xiang Yu was not permitted, and the Duke of Pei was sent to seize territory in the west and to gather up the scattered troops of King Chen and Xiang Liang. He took the road through Dang to Chengyang, and formed opposing ramparts with the Qin army at Gangli, and broke two Qin armies. The Chu army sent out troops to strike Wang Li and greatly defeated him.

The Duke of Pei led his troops west and met Peng Yue at Changyi; he therefore joined him in attacking the Qin army, and the fighting went badly. He went back as far as Li, met the Marquis of Gangwu, took his army from him — some four thousand men and more — and incorporated it. Together with the armies of the Wei general Huang Xin and of Wu Pu, minister of education of Wei, he joined in attacking Changyi, but Changyi was not carried. Going west he passed Gaoyang. Li Yiji (酈食其) was a gatekeeper there, and said, "Many commanders have passed this way, but I see that the Duke of Pei is a great man and one of true standing." So he sought an audience in order to advise the Duke of Pei. The Duke of Pei was sprawling on a couch, having two women wash his feet. Master Li did not bow but made a deep salute and said, "If you are determined to punish the lawless Qin, it is not fitting to receive a man of standing while sprawling." Thereupon the Duke of Pei rose, gathered up his robes, apologized to him, and invited him to the seat of honor. Yiji advised the Duke of Pei to fall suddenly upon Chenliu, and he obtained the stored grain of Qin. He then made Li Yiji Lord of Guangye, and made Li Shang a general with command of the troops of Chenliu, and together with him attacked Kaifeng, but Kaifeng was not carried. Going west he fought the Qin general Yang Xiong at Baima, and fought again east of Quyu, and greatly defeated him. Yang Xiong fled to Xingyang, and the Second Emperor sent an envoy to behead him and expose the head as a warning. He attacked Yingyang in the south and put it to the sword. Through Zhang Liang (張良) he then seized the Han territory of Huanyuan.

At that time the Zhao subordinate general Sima Ang was about to cross the Yellow River and enter the passes, so the Duke of Pei attacked Pingyin in the north and cut off the river ford. Going south, he fought east of Luoyang, and the battle went badly; he went back to Yangcheng, gathered the horses and cavalry in his army, fought Yi, governor of Nanyang, east of Chou, and defeated him. He seized Nanyang commandery; Yi, the governor of Nanyang, fled and took cover in the walls, holding Wan. The Duke of Pei led his troops past it and went west. Zhang Liang remonstrated, saying, "Though you wish to enter the passes with all speed, the troops of Qin are still numerous and hold the strong places. If Wan is not brought down now, Wan will strike from behind while a strong Qin lies in front. This is a dangerous course." Thereupon the Duke of Pei led his troops back by night by another road, changed his banners, and at first light surrounded the city of Wan with three rings. The governor of Nanyang wished to cut his own throat. His retainer Chen Hui said, "It is not yet too late to die." He then climbed over the wall and saw the Duke of Pei, and said: "I have heard of your agreement, that whoever first enters Xianyang shall be made its king. Now you have stopped to hold Wan under siege. Wan is the seat of a great commandery, with several tens of cities linked to it, a numerous people, and much laid up in store. Its officers and people believe that if they surrender they must die, and therefore they all hold firm and man the walls. If you now spend all your days in the attack, your officers and men killed and wounded will surely be many; and if you lead your troops away from Wan, Wan will surely follow at your back. In front you would lose the agreement about Xianyang, and behind you there would remain the trouble of a strong Wan. My counsel for you is that nothing would be better than to arrange a surrender, enfeoff its governor, and let him remain here in charge, while you take his armored soldiers with you and go west. Those cities that have not yet fallen, hearing of it, will vie to open their gates and wait for you, and you will pass through with nothing to hinder you." The Duke of Pei said, "Good." He then made the governor of Wan Marquis of Yin, and enfeoffed Chen Hui with a thousand households. He led his troops west, and there was none that did not submit. When he reached Danshui, Sai, Marquis of Gaowu, and Wang Ling, Marquis of Xiang, surrendered at Xiling. He turned back and attacked Huyang, and met Mei Xuan, a subordinate general of the Lord of Po; joining with him, he received the surrender of Xi and Li. He sent Ning Chang, a man of Wei, as envoy to Qin, and the envoy had not yet come back. By this time Zhang Han had already surrendered with his army to Xiang Yu in Zhao.

Earlier, Xiang Yu had gone north with Song Yi to rescue Zhao. When Xiang Yu killed Song Yi and took his place as supreme general, the commanders and Qing Bu all became his subordinates. He broke the army of the Qin general Wang Li, received the surrender of Zhang Han, and the feudal lords all attached themselves to him. When Zhao Gao had killed the Second Emperor, he sent a man to propose an agreement to divide the Land within the Passes and rule it as kings. The Duke of Pei thought it a trick, and so used Zhang Liang's plan and sent Master Li and Lu Jia to go and talk over the Qin generals, baiting them with gain; then he fell suddenly upon Wu Pass and broke it. He also fought the Qin army south of Lantian, spreading out still more banners as a show of false strength, and forbade any plundering wherever he passed. The people of Qin were glad, the Qin army fell apart, and so he greatly defeated them. He fought them again to the north of that place and greatly defeated them. Riding on his victory, he broke them utterly.

In the tenth month of the first year of Han, the Duke of Pei's troops accordingly reached Bashang ahead of the feudal lords. Ziying, king of Qin, in a plain carriage with white horses and a silken cord about his neck, sealed up the imperial seal, tallies, and credentials, and surrendered beside the Zhi Road. Some of the commanders said that the king of Qin should be put to death. The Duke of Pei said, "In the beginning King Huai sent me precisely because I could be lenient and forbearing; and besides, the man has already submitted and surrendered. To kill him now would be inauspicious." So he handed the king of Qin over to the officials and went west into Xianyang. He wished to stop in the palace and lodge there, but Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang remonstrated, and he therefore sealed up the treasuries and storehouses of Qin's precious things and goods and led his army back to Bashang. He summoned the elders and the powerful men of the counties and said: "You elders have long suffered under the harsh laws of Qin. Those who spoke ill were exterminated with their clans; those who talked together in pairs were executed in the marketplace. I made an agreement with the feudal lords that whoever first entered the passes should be its king, and I am therefore to be king of the Land within the Passes. With you elders I make an agreement of laws in three articles only: he who kills a man dies; he who injures a man, and he who robs, is punished according to his offense. All the rest of Qin's laws are abolished. All officers and people are to remain settled in their places as before. My whole reason for coming is to remove harm for you elders, not to encroach upon you or use violence. Have no fear! And my reason for leading the army back to Bashang is simply to wait until the feudal lords arrive and the terms are settled." He then sent men to go with the Qin officers through the counties, districts, and towns and make this known. The people of Qin were greatly delighted, and vied with one another in bringing oxen, sheep, wine, and food to present and to feast the soldiers. The Duke of Pei again declined and would not accept, saying, "There is much grain in the granaries; we are not in want, and I do not wish to put the people to expense." The people were the more delighted, and feared only that the Duke of Pei would not become king of Qin.

Someone advised the Duke of Pei: "Qin is ten times as rich as the rest of the empire, and the lie of its land is strong. Now we hear that Zhang Han has surrendered to Xiang Yu, and that Xiang Yu has given him the title King of Yong, to be king of the Land within the Passes. If he comes now, you may well not be able to hold this. You should quickly send troops to hold Hangu Pass, let in no army of the feudal lords, and gradually levy the troops of the Land within the Passes to strengthen yourself, and so resist him." The Duke of Pei thought the plan right and followed it. In the middle of the eleventh month Xiang Yu did indeed lead the troops of the feudal lords west, wishing to enter the passes, but the gate of the pass was shut. Hearing that the Duke of Pei had already settled the Land within the Passes, he was greatly enraged and sent Qing Bu and others to attack and break Hangu Pass. In the middle of the twelfth month he reached Xi. Cao Wushang, the Duke of Pei's left marshal, hearing that King Xiang was angry and wished to attack the Duke of Pei, sent a man to say to Xiang Yu, "The Duke of Pei means to be king of the Land within the Passes, to make Ziying his chancellor, and to keep all the precious treasures for himself." By this he hoped to obtain a fief. The Second Father urged Xiang Yu to strike the Duke of Pei. He was then feasting his soldiers, and at daybreak they were to join battle. At that time Xiang Yu's troops were four hundred thousand, styled a million; the Duke of Pei's troops were a hundred thousand, styled two hundred thousand, and in strength he was no match. It happened that Xiang Bo wished to keep Zhang Liang alive; he went by night to see Liang, and thereupon laid the matter before Xiang Yu in fair words, and Xiang Yu desisted. The Duke of Pei, with a hundred-odd horsemen, rode to Hongmen and saw Xiang Yu to make his apologies. Xiang Yu said, "It was the Duke of Pei's left marshal Cao Wushang who told me this. Otherwise how should I, Ji, have come by such a notion?" Thanks to Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang, the Duke of Pei was able to get free and return. On returning, he at once put Cao Wushang to death.

Xiang Yu then went west, put Xianyang to the sword, and burned the palaces of Qin; wherever he passed nothing was left unruined. The people of Qin were bitterly disappointed, yet they were afraid and simply did not dare to withhold submission.

Xiang Yu sent a man back to report to King Huai. King Huai said, "As agreed." Xiang Yu resented that King Huai had refused to let him go west into the passes together with the Duke of Pei, but had sent him north to rescue Zhao, so that he came late in the empire's agreement. He therefore said, "This King Huai was merely set up by Xiang Liang of my own house. He has no merit in arms; how should he preside over the agreement? It was the commanders and I, Ji, who settled the empire from the first." So he made a show of honoring King Huai as the Righteous Emperor, while in fact he did not obey his commands.

In the first month Xiang Yu set himself up as Hegemon-King of Western Chu, ruling nine commanderies in the lands of Liang and Chu, with his capital at Pengcheng. He broke the agreement and set up the Duke of Pei instead as King of Han, ruling Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong, with his capital at Nanzheng. He divided the Land within the Passes into three and set up three generals of Qin: Zhang Han as King of Yong, with his capital at Feiqiu; Sima Xin as King of Sai, with his capital at Yueyang; Dong Yi as King of Di, with his capital at Gaonu. The Chu general Shen Yang of Xiaqiu was made King of Henan, with his capital at Luoyang. The Zhao general Sima Ang was made King of Yin, with his capital at Zhaoge. King Xie of Zhao was moved to be king of Dai. The Zhao chancellor Zhang Er was made King of Changshan, with his capital at Xiangguo. Lord Dangyang, Qing Bu, was made King of Jiujiang, with his capital at Lu. King Huai's pillar of the state, Gong Ao, was made King of Linjiang, with his capital at Jiangling. The Lord of Po, Wu Rui, was made King of Hengshan, with his capital at Zhu. The Yan general Zang Tu was made King of Yan, with his capital at Ji. The former king of Yan, Han Guang, was moved to be king of Liaodong. Guang would not comply, and Zang Tu attacked and killed him at Wuzhong. He enfeoffed Lord Cheng'an, Chen Yu, with three counties in Hejian, and Chen Yu resided at Nanpi. He enfeoffed Mei Xuan with a hundred thousand households.

In the fourth month the troops were dismissed from below Xi, and the feudal lords each went to their states. When the King of Han went to his state, King Xiang sent thirty thousand men to accompany him, and those of Chu and of the feudal lords who admired him and followed numbered tens of thousands. They entered the Shi valley from south of Du. As they went, they burned and cut the plank roads behind them, both to guard against a surprise attack by marauding troops of the feudal lords and to show Xiang Yu that they had no intention of going east. When they reached Nanzheng, many of the commanders and soldiers deserted along the road and went home, and the soldiers all sang of their longing to return east. Han Xin (韓信) advised the King of Han: "Xiang Yu has made kings of those commanders who had merit, while Your Majesty alone dwells at Nanzheng. This is banishment. The officers and soldiers of the army are all men from east of the mountains. Day and night they stand on tiptoe looking homeward. Use them while their edge is keen, and great things can be accomplished. Once the empire has been settled and every man is at peace in himself, they can no longer be used. It would be better to decide upon turning east and contending for power over the empire."

Xiang Yu went out of the passes and sent men to move the Righteous Emperor, saying, "The emperors of antiquity had a territory a thousand li square, and always dwelt upstream." So he sent envoys to move the Righteous Emperor to Chen county in Changsha, and urged the Righteous Emperor to be gone. His ministers gradually turned their backs and betrayed him, and Xiang Yu then secretly ordered the King of Hengshan and the King of Linjiang to strike him, and the Righteous Emperor was killed south of the river. Xiang Yu resented Tian Rong, and set up the Qi general Tian Du as King of Qi. Tian Rong was angry, and thereupon set himself up as King of Qi, killed Tian Du, and revolted from Chu. He gave Peng Yue a general's seal and ordered him to rebel in the land of Liang. Chu ordered Jiao, Duke of Xiao, to strike Peng Yue, and Peng Yue greatly defeated him. Chen Yu resented that Xiang Yu had not made him a king, and had Xia Yue speak to Tian Rong and ask for troops to strike Zhang Er. Qi gave Chen Yu troops, and he struck and broke Zhang Er, King of Changshan, and Zhang Er fled and went over to Han. They welcomed King Xie of Zhao from Dai and set him up again as King of Zhao, and the King of Zhao thereupon set up Chen Yu as King of Dai. Xiang Yu was greatly enraged and struck north against Qi.

In the eighth month the King of Han used Han Xin's plan, returned by the old road, and fell suddenly upon Zhang Han, King of Yong. Han met and struck the Han army at Chencang; the troops of Yong were beaten and fled back. They halted and fought at Haozhi, and were beaten again, and fled to Feiqiu. The King of Han then settled the land of Yong. He went east to Xianyang, led troops to besiege the King of Yong at Feiqiu, and sent his commanders to seize and settle Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun. He ordered the generals Xue Ou and Wang Xi to go out by Wu Pass and, using Wang Ling's troops in Nanyang, to fetch Taigong and Empress Lü from Pei. Chu heard of it and sent troops to block them at Yangxia, and they could not go forward. Chu made Zheng Chang, formerly magistrate of Wu, King of Han, to block the Han troops.

In the second year the King of Han seized territory in the east, and Xin, King of Sai, Yi, King of Di, and Shen Yang, King of Henan, all surrendered. Chang, King of Han, would not comply, and he sent Han Xin to strike and break him. Thereupon he established the commanderies of Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun, Weinan, Heshang, and Zhongdi, and outside the passes he established Henan commandery. He set up in Chang's place Xin, the grand commandant of Han, as King of Han. Any commander who surrendered with ten thousand men, or with a whole commandery, was enfeoffed with ten thousand households. He repaired the frontier works along the river. All the former parks, preserves, gardens, and ponds of Qin he allowed the people to farm. In the first month he took prisoner Zhang Ping, younger brother of the King of Yong. He granted a general amnesty to criminals.

The King of Han went out of the passes as far as Shan and comforted the elders outside the passes; on his return Zhang Er came to see him, and the King of Han treated him generously.

In the second month he ordered the altars of soil and grain of Qin abolished and the altars of soil and grain of Han set up in their place.

In the third month the King of Han crossed at Linjin, and Bao, King of Wei, followed with troops. He took Henei, captured the King of Yin, and established Henei commandery. He crossed south at the Pingyin ford and reached Luoyang. Dong Gong, an elder of the Thrice-Venerable of Xincheng, stopped him on the road and told the King of Han the circumstances of the Righteous Emperor's death. When the King of Han heard it, he bared his shoulder and wept aloud. He then proclaimed mourning for the Righteous Emperor and wailed for three days. He sent envoys to announce to the feudal lords: "The empire together set up the Righteous Emperor and faced north to serve him. Now Xiang Yu has banished and murdered the Righteous Emperor south of the river — the greatest treason, utterly without principle. I have proclaimed mourning for him in person, and all the feudal lords are in white mourning. Let all the troops within the passes be called out, and the officers of the Three Rivers gathered; going south we shall float down the Yangzi and the Han. I wish to follow the kings of the feudal lords in striking the man of Chu who killed the Righteous Emperor."

At this time King Xiang was striking Qi in the north, and Tian Rong fought him at Chengyang. Tian Rong was defeated and fled to Pingyuan, and the people of Pingyuan killed him. All of Qi surrendered to Chu. Chu thereupon burned its walls and towns and bound and carried off its sons and daughters, and the people of Qi revolted from him. Tian Rong's younger brother Heng set up Rong's son Guang as King of Qi, and the King of Qi revolted from Chu at Chengyang. Although Xiang Yu heard that Han had come east, since he was already locked with the troops of Qi he wished first to break them and then strike Han. For this reason the King of Han was able to press into service the troops of five feudal lords and so entered Pengcheng. Xiang Yu heard of it and led his troops away from Qi; he went by way of Lu, came out at Huling, and reached Xiao. He fought a great battle with Han on the Sui River east of Lingbi near Pengcheng, greatly defeated the Han army, and killed many of its soldiers, so that the Sui River ceased to flow because of them. He then took the King of Han's father and mother, wife and children at Pei, and placed them in his camp as hostages. At that time the feudal lords, seeing that Chu was strong and Han beaten, all turned back, left Han, and went over to Chu again. Xin, King of Sai, fled and entered Chu.

Empress Lü's elder brother, the Marquis of Zhoulü, was leading troops for Han and was at Xiayi. The King of Han joined him, gradually gathered soldiers, and encamped at Dang. The King of Han then went west through the land of Liang and reached Yu. He sent the usher Sui He to the place of Bu, King of Jiujiang, saying, "If you can make Bu raise troops and revolt from Chu, Xiang Yu will certainly stay to strike him. If he can be kept there a few months, my taking of the empire is assured." Sui He went and persuaded Bu, King of Jiujiang, and Bu did indeed turn his back on Chu. Chu sent Long Ju to strike him.

When the King of Han was beaten at Pengcheng and went west, he sent men along the way to seek his family, but his family too had fled, and they did not find one another. After the defeat he recovered only Xiaohui. In the sixth month he set him up as heir apparent and granted a general amnesty to criminals. He ordered the heir apparent to hold Yueyang, and the sons of the feudal lords who were within the passes were all gathered at Yueyang as a guard. He led water to flood Feiqiu; Feiqiu surrendered, and Zhang Han killed himself. He changed the name of Feiqiu to Huaili. He then ordered the officers of sacrifice to make offering to Heaven and Earth, to the four quarters, to the High Emperors, and to the mountains and rivers, sacrificing to them at their seasons. He raised troops within the passes to man the frontier works.

At this time Bu, King of Jiujiang, fought Long Ju and did not prevail; with Sui He he traveled by byways and went over to Han. The King of Han gradually gathered soldiers, and with his commanders and the troops from within the passes ever more came out, so that his forces were greatly restored at Xingyang and he broke Chu between Jing and Suo.

In the third year Bao, King of Wei, asked leave to go home and see to a parent's illness. On arriving he at once cut off the river ford and revolted, going over to Chu. The King of Han sent Master Li to persuade Bao; Bao would not listen. The King of Han sent General Han Xin to strike him, and he greatly defeated him and took Bao prisoner. He then settled the land of Wei and established three commanderies, called Hedong, Taiyuan, and Shangdang. The King of Han then ordered Zhang Er and Han Xin to go east down through Jingxing and strike Zhao, and they beheaded Chen Yu and Xie, King of Zhao. The next year he set up Zhang Er as King of Zhao.

The King of Han encamped south of Xingyang and built a walled road joining it to the Yellow River, in order to draw upon the Ao granary. He stood against Xiang Yu for more than a year. Xiang Yu repeatedly encroached upon and seized the Han walled road; the Han army ran short of food, and he then surrounded the King of Han. The King of Han asked for peace, offering to cut off the land west of Xingyang as Han. King Xiang would not agree. The King of Han was troubled by this, and so used Chen Ping's plan and gave Chen Ping forty thousand catties of gold to sow division between the ruler and the ministers of Chu. Thereupon Xiang Yu came to suspect the Second Father. The Second Father at that time was urging Xiang Yu to press on and take Xingyang; when he found himself suspected he grew angry, pleaded his years, and asked that his bones be granted him so that he might go home to the ranks. He died before reaching Pengcheng.

The Han army's food was cut off, and so by night they sent out from the east gate more than two thousand women wearing armor, and Chu accordingly struck at them from all four sides. General Ji Xin then rode in the king's carriage, pretending to be the King of Han, and deceived Chu; the men of Chu all shouted "Ten thousand years!" and went to the east of the city to watch, and for this reason the King of Han was able to slip out of the west gate with a few tens of horsemen. He ordered the imperial secretary Zhou Ke, together with Wei Bao and Cong Gong, to hold Xingyang. Those commanders and soldiers who could not follow him were all left in the city. Zhou Ke and Cong Gong said to one another, "A king who has betrayed his state is a hard man to hold a city with." So they killed Wei Bao.

The King of Han left Xingyang and entered the passes, gathering troops and wishing to go east again. Master Yuan advised the King of Han: "Han and Chu have stood against one another at Xingyang for several years, and Han has always been hard pressed. I would have Your Majesty go out by Wu Pass; Xiang Yu will certainly lead his troops south. If Your Majesty entrenches deeply, the country between Xingyang and Chenggao will get a respite. Let Han Xin and the others gather in the Zhao lands north of the river and link up Yan and Qi; then Your Majesty may hurry back to Xingyang, and it will not be too late. In this way Chu will have many places to guard, its strength will be divided, and Han will have rest. When we fight it again, the breaking of Chu is certain." The King of Han followed his plan, moved his army out between Wan and She, and with Qing Bu went about gathering troops.

Xiang Yu heard that the King of Han was at Wan, and, as expected, led his troops south. The King of Han held his ramparts firmly and would not give battle. At this time Peng Yue crossed the Sui River and fought Xiang Sheng and the Duke of Xue at Xiapi, and Peng Yue greatly defeated the Chu army. Xiang Yu then led his troops east to strike Peng Yue. The King of Han likewise led his troops north and encamped at Chenggao. When Xiang Yu had broken and driven off Peng Yue, he heard that the King of Han had again encamped at Chenggao, and so he again led his troops west, took Xingyang, put Zhou Ke and Cong Gong to death, captured Xin, King of Han, and then besieged Chenggao.

The King of Han slipped away, and alone with the Duke of Teng in a single carriage went out by the Jade Gate of Chenggao, crossed the Yellow River northward, and galloped to spend the night at Xiuwu. Calling himself an envoy, at dawn he galloped into the fortified camp of Zhang Er and Han Xin and took their army from them. He then sent Zhang Er north to gather more troops in the land of Zhao, and sent Han Xin east to strike Qi. Having obtained Han Xin's army, the King of Han recovered his strength. He led his troops down to the river and to the south feasted his army south of Lesser Xiuwu, wishing to fight again. The gentleman of the palace Zheng Zhong then advised the King of Han to stop, and to raise his ramparts high and dig his moats deep and not give battle. The King of Han took his counsel, and sent Lu Wan and Liu Jia with twenty thousand men and several hundred horsemen to cross at the Baima ford and enter the land of Chu; with Peng Yue they again struck and broke a Chu army west of the outer wall of Yan, and so brought down more than ten cities in the land of Liang again.

The Marquis of Huaiyin had already received his commission to go east but had not yet crossed at Pingyuan. The King of Han sent Master Li to persuade Tian Guang, King of Qi. Guang revolted from Chu, made peace with Han, and joined in striking Xiang Yu. Han Xin used Kuai Tong's plan and fell suddenly upon Qi and broke it. The King of Qi boiled Master Li alive and fled east to Gaomi. Xiang Yu heard that Han Xin had raised the troops north of the river and broken Qi and Zhao, and was about to strike Chu; he therefore sent Long Ju and Zhou Lan to strike him. Han Xin fought with them; the cavalry general Guan Ying struck, greatly defeated the Chu army, and killed Long Ju. Guang, King of Qi, fled to Peng Yue. At this time Peng Yue was leading troops in the land of Liang, coming and going to harass the Chu forces and cut off their grain supply.

In the fourth year Xiang Yu said to Cao Jiu, Marquis of Haichun and grand marshal: "Hold Chenggao carefully. If Han offers battle, be careful not to fight; see only that they do not get east. In fifteen days I shall certainly settle the land of Liang and rejoin you, general." He then went and struck Chenliu, Waihuang, and Suiyang, and brought them down. Han did indeed offer battle to the Chu army again and again, and the Chu army did not come out; men were sent to insult them for five or six days, until the grand marshal grew angry and took his troops across the Si River. When his soldiers were half across, Han struck them and greatly defeated the Chu army, taking all the gold, jade, goods, and treasure of the state of Chu. Jiu, the grand marshal, and Xin, the chief clerk, both cut their throats on the bank of the Si. Xiang Yu reached Suiyang, heard that the Marquis of Haichun had been broken, and led his troops back. The Han army was then besieging Zhongli Mo east of Xingyang; when Xiang Yu arrived, they all withdrew to the defensible ground.

Han Xin, having broken Qi, sent a man to say: "Qi borders upon Chu, and my authority is light. If I am not made acting king, I fear I shall not be able to settle Qi." The King of Han wished to attack him. The Marquis of Liu said, "Better to take the occasion and establish him, so that he will hold the place for himself." So he sent Zhang Liang with the seal and its ribbon to set up Han Xin as King of Qi.

Xiang Yu, hearing that Long Ju's army had been broken, took fright, and sent Wu She, a man of Xuyi, to persuade Han Xin. Han Xin would not listen.

Chu and Han had long confronted each other without a decision. The able-bodied men suffered from campaigning, and the old and the weak were worn out with hauling provisions. The King of Han and Xiang Yu (項羽) came to the two sides of the ravine at Guangwu and spoke together. Xiang Yu wished to challenge the King of Han to single combat. The King of Han counted up Xiang Yu's offenses, saying: "At the beginning Xiang Yu and I together received the command of King Huai, who said that whoever first entered and settled Guanzhong should be king over it. Xiang Yu broke the agreement and made me king in Shu and Han. That is the first offense. Xiang Yu falsely used orders to kill the Chief Commander Qingzi and exalted himself. That is the second offense. When Xiang Yu had already rescued Zhao he should have returned and reported; instead he took it upon himself to coerce the troops of the feudal lords and enter the Pass. That is the third offense. King Huai's agreement was that on entering Qin there should be no violence and no plunder; Xiang Yu burned the palaces of Qin, dug open the tomb of the First Emperor of Qin, and privately took its goods and treasure. That is the fourth offense. Further, he forcibly killed Ziying, the king of Qin who had surrendered. That is the fifth offense. By deceit he buried alive two hundred thousand young men of Qin at Xin'an and made kings of their generals. That is the sixth offense. Xiang Yu made all his own generals kings of good lands, while he moved and drove out the former lords, so that subjects vied with one another in revolt and treason. That is the seventh offense. Xiang Yu drove Emperor Yi out of Pengcheng and made it his own capital; he took away the land of the King of Han (韓) and joined Liang and Chu under his own kingship, giving himself much. That is the eighth offense. Xiang Yu sent men to assassinate Emperor Yi in secret south of the Yangtze. That is the ninth offense. To be a subject and yet assassinate one's lord, to kill those who have already surrendered, to govern without fairness, to hold an agreement without good faith — this the world cannot tolerate. It is great treason and utter lawlessness. That is the tenth offense. I lead a righteous army together with the feudal lords to punish the cruel and the wicked, and I can have branded convicts strike Xiang Yu down. Why should I trouble myself to fight you in single combat!"

Xiang Yu was enraged, and with a concealed crossbow shot and hit the King of Han. The King of Han was wounded in the chest, but he clutched at his foot and said, "The brigand has hit my toe!" The King of Han lay ill of the wound. Zhang Liang (張良) insistently begged him to rise and go about comforting the army, so as to settle the soldiers and not let Chu take the advantage of a victory over Han. The King of Han went out and toured the army; his sickness grew grave, and so he rode swiftly into Chenggao.

When he had recovered he went west into the Pass and came to Yueyang, where he inquired after the elders and set out wine, and hung up on a stake in the market of Yueyang the head of Xin, the former King of Sai. He stayed four days, then went back to the army and encamped at Guangwu. Troops came out of Guanzhong in still greater numbers.

At this time Peng Yue (彭越) was leading troops in the land of Liang, coming and going to harass the Chu forces and cutting off their grain. Tian Heng went and joined him. Xiang Yu struck repeatedly at Peng Yue and the others, and Xin, the King of Qi, also advanced and attacked Chu. Xiang Yu grew afraid, and made an agreement with the King of Han to divide the world down the middle: what lay west of the Hong Canal would be Han, and what lay east of the Hong Canal would be Chu. King Xiang gave back the King of Han's father and mother, wife and children. In the camp all cried, "Ten thousand years!" Then they parted and went their separate ways.

Xiang Yu broke off and went back east. The King of Han wished to draw off and return west, but he used the plan of the Marquis of Liu and Chen Ping, and advanced his troops in pursuit of Xiang Yu. He halted his army south of Yangxia and set a time to meet Xin, the King of Qi, and Peng Yue, Marquis of Jiancheng, and strike the Chu army together. He reached Guling, but they did not meet him. Chu struck the Han army and greatly defeated it. The King of Han went back inside his walls, dug deep trenches, and held them. He used Zhang Liang's plan, and thereupon Han Xin and Peng Yue both came. When Liu Jia had entered the land of Chu and besieged Shouchun, and the King of Han had been beaten at Guling, he sent an envoy to summon Zhou Yin, the grand marshal, who raised the troops of Jiujiang and went to meet King Wu; on the march they put Chengfu to the sword, and then, with Sui He, Liu Jia, and the feudal lords of Qi and Liang, all assembled in a great gathering at Gaixia. King Wu, that is Bu, was set up as King of Huainan.

In the fifth year Gaozu, together with the troops of the feudal lords, struck the Chu army and fought the decisive battle with Xiang Yu at Gaixia. The Marquis of Huaiyin commanded three hundred thousand and faced them himself; General Kong held the left, General Fei the right, the emperor was behind them, and the Marquis of Jiang and General Chai were behind the emperor. Xiang Yu's soldiers were about a hundred thousand. Huaiyin engaged first, had the worse of it, and fell back. General Kong and General Fei then loosed their attack; the Chu troops had the worse of it, and the Marquis of Huaiyin pressed them again, and they were utterly beaten at Gaixia. When Xiang Yu's soldiers heard the Han army singing the songs of Chu, they thought that Han had taken all the land of Chu, and Xiang Yu broke and fled; and so his troops were utterly beaten. Guan Ying, the general of cavalry, was sent to pursue and kill Xiang Yu at Dongcheng; eighty thousand heads were taken, and the land of Chu was overrun and settled. Lu held firm for Chu and would not fall. The King of Han led the troops of the feudal lords north and showed the elders of Lu the head of Xiang Yu, and then Lu surrendered. So Xiang Yu was buried at Gucheng under the title of Duke of Lu. Returning, he came to Dingtao, rode into the fortified camp of the King of Qi, and took away his army.

In the first month the feudal lords, together with the generals and ministers, jointly asked that the King of Han be honored as emperor. The King of Han said: "I have heard that the title of emperor is held by the worthy. Empty words and hollow talk are not a thing to hold to. I dare not take the position of emperor." His assembled officials all said: "The Great King rose from lowliness and obscurity, punished the violent and rebellious, and pacified the four seas; whenever a man had merit you at once cut off land and enfeoffed him as king or marquis. If the Great King does not take the honored title, all will doubt and disbelieve. Your servants will hold to this on pain of death." The King of Han declined three times, and then, unable to refuse, said: "If you gentlemen are certain it is expedient, let it be for the good of the state." On the jiawu day he took the position of emperor on the north bank of the Si River.

The emperor said that Emperor Yi had left no heir. Han Xin, King of Qi, was practiced in the customs of Chu, and was transferred to be King of Chu, with his capital at Xiapi. Peng Yue, Marquis of Jiancheng, was set up as King of Liang, with his capital at Dingtao. Xin, the former King of Han (韓), was made King of Han, with his capital at Yangdi. Wu Rui, King of Hengshan, was transferred to be King of Changsha, with his capital at Linxiang. Mei Xuan, a general of the Lord of Po, had merit and had followed the army in through the Wu Pass; therefore the Lord of Po was rewarded for it. Bu, King of Huainan, Zang Tu, King of Yan, and Ao, King of Zhao, all remained as before.

The empire was greatly settled. Gaozu made Luoyang his capital, and all the feudal lords submitted as his subjects. Huan, the former King of Linjiang, had revolted from Han for Xiang Yu's sake; Lu Wan and Liu Jia were ordered to besiege him, and he did not fall. After several months he surrendered, and he was put to death at Luoyang.

In the fifth month the troops were all dismissed and went home. The sons of the feudal states who were in Guanzhong were exempted from service for twelve years; those who went home were exempted for six years, and were fed for one year.

Gaozu set out wine in the Southern Palace at Luoyang. Gaozu said: "You ranked marquises and generals, let none of you dare hide anything from me; all speak the truth of the matter. Why is it that I gained the empire? Why is it that the house of Xiang lost the empire?" Gao Qi and Wang Ling answered: "Your Majesty is offhand and insulting toward men, while Xiang Yu was benevolent and loved men. Yet when Your Majesty sent men to attack cities and take territory, whatever they brought to surrender you gave to them, sharing profit with the empire. Xiang Yu was jealous of the worthy and envious of the able; he harmed those who had merit and suspected those who were worthy; when he won a battle he credited no man with the merit, and when he took land he gave no man the profit of it. This is why he lost the empire." Gaozu said: "You know the one thing, but not the other. In devising plans within the tent and deciding the victory a thousand li away, I am not the equal of Zifang. In holding the state firm, comforting the people, supplying provisions, and keeping the grain roads unbroken, I am not the equal of Xiao He (蕭何). In joining together an army of a million, sure of victory when he gives battle and sure of taking what he attacks, I am not the equal of Han Xin (韓信). These three are all men of outstanding gifts, and I was able to use them: that is why I took the empire. Xiang Yu had his one Fan Zeng and could not use him: that is why he was taken by me."

Gaozu wished to make Luoyang his capital for good. Liu Jing, a man of Qi, argued against it, and then the Marquis of Liu urged the emperor to go in and make his capital within the Pass. That same day Gaozu had his carriage yoked, went in, and made his capital in Guanzhong. In the sixth month there was a great amnesty throughout the empire.

In the tenth month Zang Tu, King of Yan, rebelled and attacked and took the land of Dai. Gaozu commanded in person and struck him, and captured Zang Tu, King of Yan. He then set up the grand commandant Lu Wan (盧綰) as King of Yan, and sent the chancellor Kuai with troops to attack Dai.

That autumn Li Ji rebelled. Gaozu led troops in person and struck him, and Li Ji fled. This Li Ji had been a general of the house of Xiang. When the house of Xiang was defeated, Li Ji was Lord of Chen; he did not follow Xiang Yu, but fled and surrendered to Gaozu, and Gaozu made him a marquis in Yingchuan. When Gaozu came to Luoyang he took up the register of full marquises and summoned them, and Li Ji grew frightened, and therefore rebelled.

In the sixth year Gaozu paid his respects to the Venerable Sire once every five days, following the rite of father and son in a family. The steward of the Venerable Sire's household said to him: "Heaven has not two suns; the earth has not two kings. Now, though Gaozu is your son, he is the lord of men; and though the Venerable Sire is his father, he is a subject. How can the lord of men be made to bow to a subject? If it goes on so, his awe and weight will not carry." Afterward, when Gaozu came to pay his respects, the Venerable Sire held a broom and walked backward as he met him at the gate. Gaozu was greatly startled and got down to support him. The Venerable Sire said: "The emperor is the lord of men. How should the law of the empire be thrown into confusion for my sake?" Thereupon Gaozu honored the Venerable Sire with the title of Grand Supreme Emperor. In his heart he approved the steward's words, and bestowed on him five hundred catties of gold.

In the twelfth month a man sent up a report of treasonous doings, accusing Xin, the King of Chu, of plotting rebellion. The emperor asked those about him, and they vied with one another in wishing to attack him. He used Chen Ping's plan, and made a pretense of traveling to Yunmeng, assembling the feudal lords at Chen. When Xin, the King of Chu, came out to meet him, he seized him there and then. That day there was a great amnesty throughout the empire. Tian Ken offered his congratulations, and thereupon said to Gaozu: "Your Majesty has taken Han Xin, and you also govern the land of Qin. Qin is a state of commanding ground, girded by the barriers of the river and the mountains, hung apart from the rest by a thousand li. Against a million men bearing halberds, Qin has the strength of two against a hundred. Its ground gives every advantage, and when it sends troops down upon the feudal lords it is like pouring water from a jar on the roof of a high house. As for Qi, in the east it has the abundance of Langye and Jimo, in the south the firmness of Mount Tai, in the west the barrier of the muddy Yellow River, and in the north the profit of the Bohai Sea. Its land is two thousand li square. Against a million men bearing halberds, hung apart from the rest by a thousand li, Qi has the strength of two against ten. So these two are the eastern and the western Qin. No one but a son or brother of your own blood should be made king of Qi." Gaozu said, "Good," and bestowed five hundred catties of yellow gold.

More than ten days later he enfeoffed Han Xin as Marquis of Huaiyin, and divided his land into two states. Gaozu said that the general Liu Jia had repeatedly won merit, and made him King of Jing, king over the land east of the Huai. His younger brother Jiao was made King of Chu, king over the land west of the Huai. His son Fei was made King of Qi, king over more than seventy cities; all the people who could speak the tongue of Qi were assigned to Qi. Then he assessed merits, split tallies with the ranked marquises, and carried out the enfeoffments. Xin, King of Han (韓), was moved to Taiyuan.

In the seventh year the Xiongnu attacked Xin, King of Han, at Mayi, and Xin thereupon joined with them in plotting rebellion at Taiyuan. Manqiu Chen of Baitu and Wang Huang set up Zhao Li, a former general of Zhao, as king, and rebelled. Gaozu went in person to strike them. It happened to be cold weather, and two or three in ten of the soldiers lost fingers to the frost. He came at last to Pingcheng. The Xiongnu surrounded us at Pingcheng, and only after seven days did they break off and withdraw. He ordered Fan Kuai (樊噲) to remain and settle the land of Dai, and set up his elder brother Liu Zhong as King of Dai.

In the second month Gaozu went from Pingcheng by way of Zhao and Luoyang and came to Chang'an. The Changle Palace was completed, and from the chancellor downward the officials moved their seat of government to Chang'an.

In the eighth year Gaozu struck eastward at the remaining rebel bands of Xin, King of Han, at Dongyuan.

The chancellor Xiao was building the Weiyang Palace, and set up the eastern gate-tower, the northern gate-tower, the front hall, the armory, and the great granary. When Gaozu returned and saw how very grand the palace and its towers were, he was angry and said to Xiao He: "The empire has been in an uproar and has suffered war for several years, and success or failure is still not known. Why is this building of palaces beyond all measure?" Xiao He said: "It is just because the empire is not yet settled that we may take the occasion to finish the palaces. Moreover the Son of Heaven makes the four seas his household; without grandeur and splendor there is nothing to give weight to his authority, and it should be such that later ages have nothing to add to it." At this Gaozu was pleased.

When Gaozu went to Dongyuan he passed through Boren. Guan Gao, the chancellor of Zhao, and others plotted to assassinate Gaozu; Gaozu's heart was stirred with misgiving, and therefore he did not stay. Liu Zhong, King of Dai, abandoned his state and fled, returning of his own accord to Luoyang; he was deposed and made Marquis of Heyang.

In the ninth year the affair of Guan Gao, chancellor of Zhao, and the others came to light, and their kindred to the third degree were exterminated. Ao, King of Zhao, was deposed and made Marquis of Xuanping. In that year the noble houses — the Zhao, Qu, Jing, and Huai of Chu, and the Tian of Qi — were moved into Guanzhong.

The Weiyang Palace was completed. Gaozu held a great court for the feudal lords and his assembled officials, and set out wine in the front hall of Weiyang. Gaozu raised a jade cup, stood up, and drank long life to the Grand Supreme Emperor, saying: "In the beginning my father always held that I was a good-for-nothing who could not manage an estate, and no match for my second brother in industry. Now, whose achievement is the greater, mine or my second brother's?" The officials in the hall all cried, "Ten thousand years!" and there was great laughter and merriment.

In the tenth month of the tenth year, Qing Bu, King of Huainan; Peng Yue, King of Liang; Lu Wan, King of Yan; Liu Jia, King of Jing; Liu Jiao, King of Chu; Liu Fei, King of Qi; and Wu Rui, King of Changsha, all came to court at the Changle Palace. In spring and summer there was nothing to record.

In the seventh month the Grand Supreme Emperor died in the palace at Yueyang. The King of Chu and the King of Liang both came to escort the funeral. The prisoners of Yueyang were pardoned. The town of Liyi was renamed Xinfeng.

In the eighth month Chen Xi (陳豨), chancellor of state of Zhao, rebelled in the land of Dai. The emperor said: "Xi once served as my envoy and was of very good faith. The land of Dai is urgent to me, and so I enfeoffed Xi as a ranked marquis and set him as chancellor of state to guard Dai; and now he joins Wang Huang and the rest in plundering the land of Dai! The officials and people of Dai are not guilty. Let the officials and people of Dai be pardoned." In the ninth month the emperor went east in person to strike him. When he reached Handan the emperor was glad and said: "Xi has not gone south to hold Handan and make a barrier of the Zhang River; by this I know that he can do nothing." Hearing that Xi's generals had all formerly been merchants, the emperor said: "I know how to deal with them." So he baited Xi's generals with much gold, and many of Xi's generals surrendered.

In the eleventh year, while Gaozu was at Handan and had not finished putting down Xi and the rest, Xi's general Hou Chang was ranging about with more than ten thousand men, Wang Huang was encamped at Quni, and Zhang Chun crossed the Yellow River and attacked Liaocheng. Han sent the general Guo Meng, together with the generals of Qi, to strike them, and they greatly defeated them. The grand commandant Zhou Bo (周勃) went in by way of Taiyuan and settled the land of Dai. He came to Mayi; Mayi would not fall, and he attacked and destroyed it.

Xi's general Zhao Li held Dongyuan. Gaozu attacked it, and it would not fall. After a month and more the soldiers on the wall cursed Gaozu, and Gaozu was angry. When the city surrendered he ordered that those who had cursed be brought out and beheaded, and that those who had not cursed be spared. Then he divided off the part of Zhao north of the mountains and set up his son Heng as King of Dai, with his capital at Jinyang.

In spring Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin, plotted rebellion within the Pass, and his kindred to the third degree were exterminated.

In summer Peng Yue, King of Liang, plotted rebellion; he was deposed and moved to Shu. When he wished to rebel again, his kindred to the third degree were then exterminated. The emperor's son Hui was set up as King of Liang, and his son You as King of Huaiyang.

In autumn, the seventh month, Qing Bu, King of Huainan, rebelled. Eastward he annexed the land of Liu Jia, King of Jing, and northward he crossed the Huai; Jiao, King of Chu, fled into Xue. Gaozu went in person to strike him, and set up his son Chang as King of Huainan.

In the twelfth year, in the tenth month, Gaozu had struck Bu's army at Huizhui; Bu fled, and he ordered a detached general to pursue him.

Gaozu turned back for home, and passing through Pei he stayed there. He set out wine in the palace at Pei, called in all his old friends, the elders, and the young men, and let the wine flow freely. He called up the boys of Pei and got a hundred and twenty of them, and taught them a song. When the wine was at its height Gaozu struck the zhu zither and made a song of his own, singing:

A great wind rises — the clouds fly scattering;
my might laid over all within the seas — I come home to my native place;
where shall I get brave men to guard the four quarters!

He had the boys all join in and learn it. Then Gaozu rose and danced; his heart was stirred and wounded, and tears ran down in several streaks. He said to the fathers and elder brothers of Pei: "The wanderer grieves for his native place. Though I have my capital within the Pass, when after ten thousand years my soul and spirit will still take joy in thinking of Pei. Moreover, from the time I was Lord of Pei I punished the violent and rebellious and so came to possess the empire. Let Pei be my own bath-town estate: let its people be exempted, and let them, generation after generation, have nothing to render." The fathers and elder brothers of Pei, the mothers and aunts, and the old friends drank happily day after day in the greatest delight, telling old tales for laughter and pleasure. After more than ten days Gaozu wished to leave, and the fathers and elders of Pei insisted on his staying. Gaozu said: "My followers are very many, and my fathers and elders cannot provide for them." Then he left. The county of Pei emptied, and all went to the west of the town with offerings. Gaozu halted and stayed again, spreading tents and drinking for three days. The fathers and elders of Pei all bowed their heads to the ground and said: "Pei has had the good fortune to be exempted, but Feng has not been exempted; may Your Majesty take pity on it." Gaozu said: "Feng is where I was born and grew up, and I could never forget it. It is only that it went over to Wei against me on account of Yong Chi." The fathers and elders of Pei pressed their request, and so he exempted Feng as well, on the same footing as Pei. Thereupon he appointed Liu Pi, Marquis of Pei, as King of Wu.

The Han generals struck Bu's army separately, north and south of the Tao River, and greatly defeated it in both places; they pursued and caught Bu and beheaded him at Poyang.

Fan Kuai, leading a separate force, settled Dai and beheaded Chen Xi at Dangcheng.

In the eleventh month Gaozu came from Bu's army to Chang'an. In the twelfth month Gaozu said: "The First Emperor of Qin, King Yin of Chu (that is, Chen She), King Anxi of Wei, King Min of Qi, and King Daoxiang of Zhao are all cut off and without descendants. Give each of them ten households to tend their tombs, twenty households for the emperor of Qin, and five households for Wuji, the prince of Wei." As for the officials and people of the land of Dai who had been carried off by Chen Xi and Zhao Li, they were all pardoned. A surrendered general of Chen Xi said that when Xi rebelled, Lu Wan, King of Yan, had sent men to Xi's camp and taken part in the secret plot. The emperor sent the Marquis of Biyang to fetch Wan, and Wan pleaded illness. When the Marquis of Biyang returned he reported in full that there were grounds for saying Wan had rebelled. In the second month Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo were sent with troops to strike Wan, King of Yan, and the officials and people of Yan who had joined in the revolt were pardoned. The emperor's son Jian was set up as King of Yan.

When Gaozu was striking Bu he was hit by a stray arrow, and on the road he fell ill. When the illness grew grave, Empress Lü fetched a good physician. The physician came in for the audience, and Gaozu questioned him. The physician said, "The illness can be treated." At this Gaozu abused and cursed him, saying: "I in cotton clothes took up a three-foot sword and won the empire. Was that not the mandate of Heaven? My span lies with Heaven; even Bian Que would be no help!" So he would not let him treat the illness, but gave him fifty catties of gold and dismissed him. Afterward Empress Lü asked: "When Your Majesty is gone after a hundred years, if the chancellor of state Xiao should die, who is to be made to take his place?" The emperor said: "Cao Shen will do." She asked who after him, and the emperor said: "Wang Ling will do. But Ling is somewhat blunt and simple, and Chen Ping can assist him. Chen Ping has intelligence and to spare, but it is hard to lay the whole burden on him alone. Zhou Bo is weighty and solid and has little polish, but the man who will bring peace to the house of Liu is certainly Bo; he may be made grand commandant." Empress Lü asked again who after that, and the emperor said: "What comes after that is not something you will live to know either."

Lu Wan with several thousand horsemen was staying below the frontier barriers, watching and waiting, hoping that the emperor would recover from his illness so that he might come in himself and make his apology.

On the jiachen day of the fourth month, Gaozu died in the Changle Palace. For four days the mourning was not announced. Empress Lü plotted with Shen Yiji, saying: "The generals were once registered commoners along with the emperor, and now they face north as his subjects; they have always been discontented at it. Now they are to serve a young lord. Unless every one of their clans is exterminated, the empire will not be at peace." Someone heard of this and told General Li. General Li went to see Shen Yiji and said: "I hear that the emperor is dead, that for four days the mourning has not been announced, and that there is a wish to put the generals to death. If this is truly so, the empire is in danger. Chen Ping and Guan Ying are holding Xingyang with a hundred thousand men, and Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo have settled Yan and Dai with two hundred thousand. If these hear that the emperor is dead and that the generals are all to be executed, they will certainly join their troops together and turn homeward to attack Guanzhong. With the great ministers rebelling within and the feudal lords revolting without, ruin may be awaited on tiptoe." Shen Yiji went in and reported this, and so on the dingwei day the mourning was announced, and there was a great amnesty throughout the empire.

When Lu Wan heard that Gaozu had died, he fled and went over to the Xiongnu.

On the bingyin day he was buried. On the jisi day the heir apparent was established, and he went to the temple of the Grand Supreme Emperor. The assembled officials all said: "Gaozu rose from lowliness and obscurity; he set right a disordered age and turned it back to the correct; he pacified the empire. He is the Grand Progenitor of Han, and his merit is the highest." They presented him with the honored title of Emperor Gao. The heir apparent succeeded to the title of emperor: he is Emperor Xiaohui. Orders were given that the commanderies, the kingdoms, and the feudal lords should each set up a temple to Gaozu and sacrifice there at the seasons of the year.

In the fifth year of Emperor Xiaohui, remembering how Gaozu had grieved and rejoiced over Pei, he made the palace at Pei into the original temple of Gaozu. The hundred and twenty boys whom Gaozu had taught the song were all made to play the wind music, and whenever afterward there was a vacancy it was at once filled.

Emperor Gao had eight sons. The eldest, born of a secondary consort, was Fei, King Daohui of Qi; next Emperor Xiaohui, the son of Empress Lü; next Ruyi, King Yin of Zhao, the son of Lady Qi; next Heng, King of Dai, who was afterward set up as Emperor Xiaowen, the son of Empress Dowager Bo; next Hui, King of Liang, who in the time of Empress Dowager Lü was moved to be King Gong of Zhao; next You, King of Huaiyang, who in the time of Empress Dowager Lü was moved to be King You (幽) of Zhao; next Chang, King Li of Huainan; next Jian, King of Yan.

Appraisal (評論)

The Grand Historian says: The government of Xia was wholehearted good faith. When good faith decayed, the common people grew rustic and coarse; therefore the men of Yin took it up again with reverence. When reverence decayed, the common people turned to ghosts and spirits; therefore the men of Zhou took it up again with refinement. When refinement decayed, the common people grew shallow and insincere; and for curing shallowness there is nothing like good faith. The way of the Three Kings is like a turning circle: it ends and begins again. Between Zhou and Qin it may be said that refinement had decayed. The government of Qin did not change this, but on the contrary made its punishments and laws harsh. Was that not a blunder? Therefore when Han arose it took over an exhausted age and altered it, so that the people were not wearied: it gained the ordering thread of Heaven. Court was held in the tenth month. For his carriage and robes, the yellow canopy and the yak-tail standard on the left. He was buried at Changling.

Colophon

This file was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library, translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The chapter runs from anecdotal narrative in its early sections into a tighter annal form once Gaozu's reign as emperor begins; his 'Great Wind' song, sung to the boys of Pei near the chapter's end, is set as verse with its line breaks preserved, and the deathbed exchange with Empress Lü over who should succeed Xiao He as chancellor is kept as direct dialogue.

No live search for prior translations could be made when this file was prepared. Burton Watson's Records of the Grand Historian (1961; 1993) and William H. Nienhauser Jr. and colleagues' The Grand Scribe's Records (1994–2002) are known to cover this chapter and are named here as controls-in-existence; neither was fetched or consulted in making this translation. No claim of firstness is made for this Good Works Translation.

A note on names: like the Xiang Yu chapter it complements, this chapter tracks Liu Bang's rank as it changes in the source — he is the Duke of Pei, then the King of Han, before 'Gaozu,' a posthumous temple designation, is used retrospectively throughout, following the source's own practice; his father is rendered 'the Venerable Sire' (太公) until his formal title as Grand Supreme Emperor is granted.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 史記 卷8

Classical Chinese text in the Chinese Wikisource transcription, with the Sanjia commentary set in 〔 〕 as the transcription carries it. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above; the commentary is not translated.

劉邦

高祖，沛豐邑中陽里人，姓劉氏，字季。父曰太公，母曰劉媼。其先劉媼嘗息大澤之陂，夢與神遇。是時雷電晦冥，太公往視，則見蛟龍於其上。已而有身，遂產高祖。

高祖為人，隆準而龍顏，美須髯，左股有七十二黑子。仁而愛人，喜施，意豁如也。常有大度，不事家人生產作業。及壯，試為吏，為泗水亭長，廷中吏無所不狎侮，好酒及色。常從王媼、武負貰酒，醉臥，武負、王媼見其上常有龍，怪之。高祖每酤留飲，酒讎數倍。及見怪，歲竟，此兩家常折券棄責。

高祖常繇咸陽，縱觀，觀秦皇帝，喟然太息曰：「嗟乎，大丈夫當如此也！」

單父人呂公善沛令，避仇從之客，因家沛焉。沛中豪桀吏聞令有重客，皆往賀。蕭何為主吏，主進，令諸大夫曰：「進不滿千錢，坐之堂下。」高祖為亭長，素易諸吏，乃紿為謁曰「賀錢萬」，實不持一錢。謁入，呂公大驚，起，迎之門。呂公者，好相人，見高祖狀貌，因重敬之，引入坐。蕭何曰：「劉季固多大言，少成事。」高祖因狎侮諸客，遂坐上坐，無所詘。酒闌，呂公因目固留高祖。高祖竟酒，後。呂公曰：「臣少好相人，相人多矣，無如季相，願季自愛。臣有息女，願為季箕帚妾。」酒罷，呂媼怒呂公曰：「公始常欲奇此女，與貴人。沛令善公，求之不與，何自妄許與劉季？」呂公曰：「此非兒女子所知也。」卒與劉季。呂公女乃呂后也，生孝惠帝、魯元公主。

高祖為亭長時，常告歸之田。呂后與兩子居田中耨，有一老父過請飲，呂后因餔之。老父相呂后曰：「夫人天下貴人。」令相兩子，見孝惠，曰：「夫人所以貴者，乃此男也。」相魯元，亦皆貴。老父已去，高祖適從旁舍來，呂后具言客有過，相我子母皆大貴。高祖問，曰：「未遠。」乃追及，問老父。老父曰：「鄉者夫人嬰兒皆似君，君相貴不可言。」高祖乃謝曰：「誠如父言，不敢忘德。」及高祖貴，遂不知老父處。

高祖為亭長，乃以竹皮為冠，令求盜之薛治之，時時冠之，及貴常冠，所謂「劉氏冠」乃是也。

高祖以亭長為縣送徒酈山，徒多道亡。自度比至皆亡之，到豐西澤中，止飲，夜乃解縱所送徒。曰：「公等皆去，吾亦從此逝矣！」徒中壯士願從者十餘人。高祖被酒，夜徑澤中，令一人行前。行前者還報曰：「前有大蛇當徑，願還。」高祖醉，曰：「壯士行，何畏！」乃前，拔劍擊斬蛇。蛇遂分為兩，徑開。行數里，醉，因臥。後人來至蛇所，有一老嫗夜哭。人問何哭，嫗曰：「人殺吾子，故哭之。」人曰：「嫗子何為見殺？」嫗曰：「吾，白帝子也，化為蛇，當道，今為赤帝子斬之，故哭。」人乃以嫗為不誠，欲告之，嫗因忽不見。後人至，高祖覺。後人告高祖，高祖乃心獨喜，自負。諸從者日益畏之。

秦始皇帝常曰「東南有天子氣」，於是因東游以厭之。高祖即自疑，亡匿，隱於芒、碭山澤巖石之閒。呂后與人俱求，常得之。高祖怪問之。呂后曰：「季所居上常有雲氣，故從往常得季。」高祖心喜。沛中子弟或聞之，多欲附者矣。

秦二世元年秋，陳勝等起蘄，至陳而王，號為「張楚」。諸郡縣皆多殺其長吏以應陳涉。沛令恐，欲以沛應涉。掾、主吏蕭何、曹參乃曰：「君為秦吏，今欲背之，率沛子弟，恐不聽。願君召諸亡在外者，可得數百人，因劫眾，眾不敢不聽。」乃令樊噲召劉季。劉季之眾已數十百人矣。

於是樊噲從劉季來。沛令後悔，恐其有變，乃閉城城守，欲誅蕭、曹。蕭、曹恐，踰城保劉季。劉季乃書帛射城上，謂沛父老曰：「天下苦秦久矣。今父老雖為沛令守，諸侯并起，今屠沛。沛今共誅令，擇子弟可立者立之，以應諸侯，則家室完。不然，父子俱屠，無為也。」父老乃率子弟共殺沛令，開城門迎劉季，欲以為沛令。劉季曰：「天下方擾，諸侯并起，今置將不善，壹敗塗地。吾非敢自愛，恐能薄，不能完父兄子弟。此大事，願更相推擇可者。」蕭、曹等皆文吏，自愛，恐事不就，後秦種族其家，盡讓劉季。諸父老皆曰：「平生所聞劉季諸珍怪，當貴，且卜筮之，莫如劉季最吉。」於是劉季數讓。眾莫敢為，乃立季為沛公。祠黃帝，祭蚩尤於沛庭，而釁鼓旗，幟皆赤。由所殺蛇白帝子，殺者赤帝子，故上赤。於是少年豪吏如蕭、曹、樊噲等皆為收沛子弟二三千人，攻胡陵、方與，還守豐。

秦二世二年，陳涉之將周章軍西至戲而還。燕、趙、齊、魏皆自立為王。項氏起吳。秦泗川監平將兵圍豐，二日，出與戰，破之。命雍齒守豐，引兵之薛。泗州守壯敗於薛，走至戚，沛公左司馬得泗川守壯，殺之。沛公還軍亢父，至方與，（周市來攻方與）未戰。陳王使魏人周市略地。周市使人謂雍齒曰：「豐，故梁徙也。今魏地已定者數十城。齒今下魏，魏以齒為侯守豐。不下，且屠豐。」雍齒雅不欲屬沛公，及魏招之，即反為魏守豐。沛公引兵攻豐，不能取。沛公病，還之沛。沛公怨雍齒與豐子弟叛之，聞東陽甯君、秦嘉立景駒為假王，在留，乃往從之，欲請兵以攻豐。是時秦將章邯從陳，別將司馬夷將兵北定楚地，屠相，至碭。東陽甯君、沛公引兵西，與戰蕭西，不利。還收兵聚留，引兵攻碭，三日乃取碭。因收碭兵，得五六千人。攻下邑，拔之。還軍豐。聞項梁在薛，從騎百餘往見之。項梁益沛公卒五千人，五大夫將十人。沛公還，引兵攻豐。

從項梁月餘，項羽已拔襄城還。項梁盡召別將居薛。聞陳王定死，因立楚後懷王孫心為楚王，治盱臺。項梁號武信君。居數月，北攻亢父，救東阿，破秦軍。齊軍歸，楚獨追北，使沛公、項羽別攻城陽，屠之。軍濮陽之東，與秦軍戰，破之。

秦軍復振，守濮陽，環水。楚軍去而攻定陶，定陶未下。沛公與項羽西略地至雍丘之下，與秦軍戰，大破之，斬李由。還攻外黃，外黃未下。

項梁再破秦軍，有驕色。宋義諫，不聽。秦益章邯兵，夜銜枚擊項梁，大破之定陶，項梁死。沛公與項羽方攻陳留，聞項梁死，引兵與呂將軍俱東。呂臣軍彭城東，項羽軍彭城西，沛公軍碭。

章邯已破項梁軍，則以為楚地兵不足憂，乃渡河，北擊趙，大破之。當是之時，趙歇為王，秦將王離圍之鉅鹿城，此所謂河北之軍也。

秦二世三年，楚懷王見項梁軍破，恐，徙盱臺都彭城，并呂臣、項羽軍自將之。以沛公為碭郡長，封為武安侯，將碭郡兵。封項羽為長安侯，號為魯公。呂臣為司徒，其父呂青為令尹。

趙數請救，懷王乃以宋義為上將軍，項羽為次將，范增為末將，北救趙。令沛公西略地入關。與諸將約，先入定關中者王之。

當是時，秦兵彊，常乘勝逐北，諸將莫利先入關。獨項羽怨秦破項梁軍，奮，願與沛公西入關。懷王諸老將皆曰：「項羽為人彊悍猾賊。項羽嘗攻襄城，襄城無遺類，皆阬之，諸所過無不殘滅。且楚數進取，前陳王、項梁皆敗。不如更遣長者扶義而西，告諭秦父兄。秦父兄苦其主久矣，今誠得長者往，毋侵暴，宜可下。今項羽彊悍，今不可遣。獨沛公素寬大長者，可遣。」卒不許項羽，而遣沛公西略地，收陳王、項梁散卒。乃道碭至成陽，與杠裏秦軍夾壁，破（魏）［秦］二軍。楚軍出兵擊王離，大破之。

沛公引兵西，遇彭越昌邑，因與俱攻秦軍，戰不利。還至栗，遇剛武侯，奪其軍，可四千餘人，并之。與魏將皇欣、魏申徒武蒲之軍并攻昌邑，昌邑未拔。西過高陽。酈食其（謂）［為］監門，曰：「諸將過此者多，吾視沛公大人長者。」乃求見說沛公。沛公方踞床，使兩女子洗足。酈生不拜，長揖，曰：「足下必欲誅無道秦，不宜踞見長者。」於是沛公起，攝衣謝之，延上坐。食其說沛公襲陳留，得秦積粟。乃以酈食其為廣野君，酈商為將，將陳留兵，與偕攻開封，開封未拔。西與秦將楊熊戰白馬，又戰曲遇東，大破之。楊熊走之滎陽，二世使使者斬以徇。南攻潁陽，屠之。因張良遂略韓地轘轅。

當是時，趙別將司馬卬方欲渡河入關，沛公乃北攻平陰，絕河津。南，戰雒陽東，軍不利，還至陽城，收軍中馬騎，與南陽守齮戰犨東，破之。略南陽郡，南陽守齮走，保城守宛。沛公引兵過而西。張良諫曰：「沛公雖欲急入關，秦兵尚眾，距險。今不下宛，宛從後擊，彊秦在前，此危道也。」於是沛公乃夜引兵從他道還，更旗幟，黎明，圍宛城三匝。南陽守欲自剄。其舍人陳恢曰：「死未晚也。」乃踰城見沛公，曰：「臣聞足下約，先入咸陽者王之。今足下留守宛。宛，大郡之都也，連城數十，人民眾，積蓄多，吏人自以為降必死，故皆堅守乘城。今足下盡日止攻，士死傷者必多；引兵去宛，宛必隨足下後：足下前則失咸陽之約，後又有彊宛之患。為足下計，莫若約降，封其守，因使止守，引其甲卒與之西。諸城未下者，聞聲爭開門而待，足下通行無所累。」沛公曰：「善。」乃以宛守為殷侯，封陳恢千戶。引兵西，無不下者。至丹水，高武侯鰓、襄侯王陵降西陵。還攻胡陽，遇番君別將梅鋗，與皆，降析、酈。遣魏人甯昌使秦，使者未來。是時章邯已以軍降項羽於趙矣。

初，項羽與宋義北救趙，及項羽殺宋義，代為上將軍，諸將黥布皆屬，破秦將王離軍，降章邯，諸侯皆附。及趙高已殺二世，使人來，欲約分王關中。沛公以為詐，乃用張良計，使酈生、陸賈往說秦將，啗以利，因襲攻武關，破之。又與秦軍戰於藍田南，益張疑兵旗幟，諸所過毋得掠鹵，秦人喜，秦軍解，因大破之。又戰其北，大破之。乘勝，遂破之。

漢元年十月，沛公兵遂先諸侯至霸上。秦王子嬰素車白馬，系頸以組，封皇帝璽符節，降軹道旁。諸將或言誅秦王。沛公曰：「始懷王遣我，固以能寬容；且人已服降，又殺之，不祥。」乃以秦王屬吏，遂西入咸陽。欲止宮休舍，樊噲、張良諫，乃封秦重寶財物府庫，還軍霸上。召諸縣父老豪桀曰：「父老苦秦苛法久矣，誹謗者族，偶語者棄市。吾與諸侯約，先入關者王之，吾當王關中。與父老約，法三章耳：殺人者死，傷人及盜抵罪。餘悉除去秦法。諸吏人皆案堵如故。凡吾所以來，為父老除害，非有所侵暴，無恐！且吾所以還軍霸上，待諸侯至而定約束耳。」乃使人與秦吏行縣鄉邑，告諭之。秦人大喜，爭持牛羊酒食獻饗軍士。沛公又讓不受，曰：「倉粟多，非乏，不欲費人。」人又益喜，唯恐沛公不為秦王。

或說沛公曰：「秦富十倍天下，地形彊。今聞章邯降項羽，項羽乃號為雍王，王關中。今則來，沛公恐不得有此。可急使兵守函谷關，無內諸侯軍，稍徵關中兵以自益，距之。」沛公然其計，從之。十一月中，項羽果率諸侯兵西，欲入關，關門閉。聞沛公已定關中，大怒，使黥布等攻破函谷關。十二月中，遂至戲。沛公左司馬曹無傷聞項王怒，欲攻沛公，使人言項羽曰：「沛公欲王關中，令子嬰為相，珍寶盡有之。」欲以求封。亞父勸項羽擊沛公。方饗士，旦日合戰。是時項羽兵四十萬，號百萬。沛公兵十萬，號二十萬，力不敵。會項伯欲活張良，夜往見良，因以文諭項羽，項羽乃止。沛公從百餘騎，驅之鴻門，見謝項羽。項羽曰：「此沛公左司馬曹無傷言之。不然，籍何以生此！」沛公以樊噲、張良故，得解歸。歸，立誅曹無傷。

項羽遂西，屠燒咸陽秦宮室，所過無不殘破。秦人大失望，然恐，不敢不服耳。

項羽使人還報懷王。懷王曰：「如約。」項羽怨懷王不肯令與沛公俱西入關，而北救趙，後天下約。乃曰：「懷王者，吾家項梁所立耳，非有功伐，何以得主約！本定天下，諸將及籍也。」乃詳尊懷王為義帝，實不用其命。

正月，項羽自立為西楚霸王，王梁、楚地九郡，都彭城。負約，更立沛公為漢王，王巴、蜀、漢中，都南鄭。三分關中，立秦三將：章邯為雍王，都廢丘；司馬欣為塞王，都櫟陽；董翳為翟王，都高奴。楚將瑕丘申陽為河南王，都洛陽。趙將司馬卬為殷王，都朝歌。趙王歇徙王代。趙相張耳為常山王，都襄國。當陽君黥布為九江王，都六。懷王柱國共敖為臨江王，都江陵。番君吳芮為衡山王，都邾。燕將臧荼為燕王，都薊。故燕王韓廣徙王遼東。廣不聽，臧荼攻殺之無終。封成安君陳餘河閒三縣，居南皮。封梅鋗十萬戶。

四月，兵罷戲下，諸侯各就國。漢王之國，項王使卒三萬人從，楚與諸侯之慕從者數萬人，從杜南入蝕中。去輒燒絕棧道，以備諸侯盜兵襲之，亦示項羽無東意。至南鄭，諸將及士卒多道亡歸，士卒皆歌思東歸。韓信說漢王曰：「項羽王諸將之有功者，而王獨居南鄭，是遷也。軍吏士卒皆山東之人也，日夜跂而望歸，及其鋒而用之，可以有大功。天下已定，人皆自寧，不可復用。不如決策東鄉，爭權天下。」

項羽出關，使人徙義帝。曰：「古之帝者地方千里，必居上游。」乃使使徙義帝長沙郴縣，趣義帝行，群臣稍倍叛之，乃陰令衡山王、臨江王擊之，殺義帝江南。項羽怨田榮，立齊將田都為齊王。田榮怒，因自立為齊王，殺田都而反楚；予彭越將軍印，令反梁地。楚令蕭公角擊彭越，彭越大破之。陳餘怨項羽之弗王己也，令夏說說田榮，請兵擊張耳。齊予陳餘兵，擊破常山王張耳，張耳亡歸漢。迎趙王歇於代，復立為趙王。趙王因立陳餘為代王。項羽大怒，北擊齊。

八月，漢王用韓信之計，從故道還，襲雍王章邯。邯迎擊漢陳倉，雍兵敗，還走；止戰好畤，又復敗，走廢丘。漢王遂定雍地。東至咸陽，引兵圍雍王廢丘，而遣諸將略定隴西、北地、上郡。令將軍薛歐、王吸出武關，因王陵兵南陽，以迎太公、呂后於沛。楚聞之，發兵距之陽夏，不得前。令故吳令鄭昌為韓王，距漢兵。

二年，漢王東略地，塞王欣、翟王翳、河南王申陽皆降。韓王昌不聽，使韓信擊破之。於是置隴西、北地、上郡、渭南、河上、中地郡；關外置河南郡。更立韓太尉信為韓王。諸將以萬人若以一郡降者，封萬戶。繕治河上塞。諸故秦苑囿園池，皆令人得田之，正月，虜雍王弟章平。大赦罪人。

漢王之出關至陜，撫關外父老，還，張耳來見，漢王厚遇之。

二月，令除秦社稷，更立漢社稷。

三月，漢王從臨晉渡，魏王豹將兵從。下河內，虜殷王，置河內郡。南渡平陰津，至雒陽。新城三老董公遮說漢王以義帝死故。漢王聞之，袒而大哭。遂為義帝發喪，臨三日。發使者告諸侯曰：「天下共立義帝，北面事之。今項羽放殺義帝於江南，大逆無道。寡人親為發喪，諸侯皆縞素。悉發關內兵，收三河士，南浮江漢以下，願從諸侯王擊楚之殺義帝者。」

是時項王北擊齊，田榮與戰城陽。田榮敗，走平原，平原民殺之。齊皆降楚。楚因焚燒其城郭，系虜其子女。齊人叛之。田榮弟橫立榮子廣為齊王，齊王反楚城陽。項羽雖聞漢東，既已連齊兵，欲遂破之而擊漢。漢王以故得劫五諸侯兵，遂入彭城。項羽聞之，乃引兵去齊，從魯出胡陵，至蕭，與漢大戰彭城靈壁東睢水上，大破漢軍，多殺士卒，睢水為之不流。乃取漢王父母妻子於沛，置之軍中以為質。當是時，諸侯見楚彊漢敗，還皆去漢復為楚。塞王欣亡入楚。

呂后兄周呂侯為漢將兵，居下邑。漢王從之，稍收士卒，軍碭。漢王乃西過梁地，至虞。使謁者隨何之九江王布所，曰：「公能令布舉兵叛楚，項羽必留擊之。得留數月，吾取天下必矣。」隨何往說九江王布，布果背楚。楚使龍且往擊之。

漢王之敗彭城而西，行使人求家室，家室亦亡，不相得。敗後乃獨得孝惠，六月，立為太子，大赦罪人。令太子守櫟陽，諸侯子在關中者皆集櫟陽為衛。引水灌廢丘，廢丘降，章邯自殺。更名廢丘為槐里。於是令祠官祀天地四方上帝山川，以時祀之。興關內卒乘塞。

是時九江王布與龍且戰，不勝，與隨何閒行歸漢。漢王稍收士卒，與諸將及關中卒益出，是以兵大振滎陽，破楚京、索閒。

三年，魏王豹謁歸視親疾，至即絕河津，反為楚。漢王使酈生說豹，豹不聽。漢王遣將軍韓信擊，大破之，虜豹。遂定魏地，置三郡，曰河東、太原、上黨。漢王乃令張耳與韓信遂東下井陘擊趙，斬陳餘、趙王歇。其明年，立張耳為趙王。

漢王軍滎陽南，筑甬道屬之河，以取敖倉。與項羽相距歲餘。項羽數侵奪漢甬道，漢軍乏食，遂圍漢王。漢王請和，割滎陽以西者為漢。項王不聽。漢王患之，乃用陳平之計，予陳平金四萬斤，以閒疏楚君臣。於是項羽乃疑亞父。亞父是時勸項羽遂下滎陽，及其見疑，乃怒，辭老，願賜骸骨歸卒伍，未至彭城而死。

漢軍絕食，乃夜出女子東門二千餘人，被甲，楚因四面擊之。將軍紀信乃乘王駕，詐為漢王，誑楚，楚皆呼萬歲，之城東觀，以故漢王得與數十騎出西門遁。令御史大夫周苛、魏豹、樅公守滎陽。諸將卒不能從者，盡在城中。周苛、樅公相謂曰：「反國之王，難與守城。」因殺魏豹。

漢王之出滎陽入關，收兵欲復東。袁生說漢王曰：「漢與楚相距滎陽數歲，漢常困。願君王出武關，項羽必引兵南走，王深壁，令滎陽成皋閒且得休。使韓信等輯河北趙地，連燕齊，君王乃復走滎陽，未晚也。如此，則楚所備者多，力分，漢得休，復與之戰，破楚必矣。」漢王從其計，出軍宛葉閒，與黥布行收兵。

項羽聞漢王在宛，果引兵南。漢王堅壁不與戰。是時彭越渡睢水，與項聲、薛公戰下邳，彭越大破楚軍。項羽乃引兵東擊彭越。漢王亦引兵北軍成皋。項羽已破走彭越，聞漢王復軍成皋，乃復引兵西，拔滎陽，誅周苛、樅公，而虜韓王信，遂圍成皋。

漢王跳，獨與滕公共車出成皋玉門，北渡河，馳宿修武。自稱使者，晨馳入張耳、韓信壁，而奪之軍。乃使張耳北益收兵趙地，使韓信東擊齊。漢王得韓信軍，則復振。引兵臨河，南饗軍小修武南，欲復戰。郎中鄭忠乃說止漢王，使高壘深塹，勿與戰。漢王聽其計，使盧綰、劉賈將卒二萬人，騎數百，渡白馬津，入楚地，與彭越復擊破楚軍燕郭西，遂復下梁地十餘城。

淮陰已受命東，未渡平原。漢王使酈生往說齊王田廣，廣叛楚，與漢和，共擊項羽。韓信用蒯通計，遂襲破齊。齊王烹酈生，東走高密。項羽聞韓信已舉河北兵破齊、趙，且欲擊楚，則使龍且、周蘭往擊之。韓信與戰，騎將灌嬰擊，大破楚軍，殺龍且。齊王廣奔彭越。當此時，彭越將兵居梁地，往來苦楚兵，絕其糧食。

四年，項羽乃謂海春侯大司馬曹咎曰：「謹守成皋。若漢挑戰，慎勿與戰，無令得東而已。我十五日必定梁地，復從將軍。」乃行擊陳留、外黃、睢陽，下之。漢果數挑楚軍，楚軍不出，使人辱之五六日，大司馬怒，度兵汜水。士卒半渡，漢擊之，大破楚軍，盡得楚國金玉貨賂。大司馬咎、長史欣皆自剄汜水上。項羽至睢陽，聞海春侯破，乃引兵還。漢軍方圍鐘離眛於滎陽東，項羽至，盡走險阻。

韓信已破齊，使人言曰：「齊邊楚，權輕，不為假王，恐不能安齊。」漢王欲攻之。留侯曰：「不如因而立之，使自為守。」乃遣張良操印綬立韓信為齊王。

項羽聞龍且軍破，則恐，使盱臺人武涉往說韓信。韓信不聽。

楚漢久相持未決，丁壯苦軍旅，老弱罷轉馕。漢王項羽相與臨廣武之閒而語。項羽欲與漢王獨身挑戰。漢王數項羽曰：「始與項羽俱受命懷王，曰先入定關中者王之，項羽負約，王我於蜀漢，罪一。秦項羽矯殺卿子冠軍而自尊，罪二。項羽已救趙，當還報，而擅劫諸侯兵入關，罪三。懷王約入秦無暴掠，項羽燒秦宮室，掘始皇帝冢，私收其財物，罪四。又彊殺秦降王子嬰，罪五。詐阬秦子弟新安二十萬，王其將，罪六。項羽皆王諸將善地，而徙逐故主，令臣下爭叛逆，罪七。項羽出逐義帝彭城，自都之，奪韓王地，并王梁楚，多自予，罪八。項羽使人陰弒義帝江南，罪九。夫為人臣而弒其主，殺已降，為政不平，主約不信，天下所不容，大逆無道，罪十也。吾以義兵從諸侯誅殘賊，使刑餘罪人擊殺項羽，何苦乃與公挑戰！」項羽大怒，伏弩射中漢王。漢王傷匈，乃捫足曰：「虜中吾指！」漢王病創臥，張良彊請漢王起行勞軍，以安士卒，毋令楚乘勝於漢。漢王出行軍，病甚，因馳入成皋。

病愈，西入關，至櫟陽，存問父老，置酒，梟故塞王欣頭櫟陽市。留四日，復如軍，軍廣武。關中兵益出。

當此時，彭越將兵居梁地，往來苦楚兵，絕其糧食。田橫往從之。項羽數擊彭越等，齊王信又進擊楚。項羽恐，乃與漢王約，中分天下，割鴻溝而西者為漢，鴻溝而東者為楚。項王歸漢王父母妻子，軍中皆呼萬歲，乃歸而別去。

項羽解而東歸。漢王欲引而西歸，用留侯、陳平計，乃進兵追項羽，至陽夏南止軍，與齊王信、建成侯彭越期會而擊楚軍。至固陵，不會。楚擊漢軍，大破之。漢王復入壁，深塹而守之。用張良計，於是韓信、彭越皆往。及劉賈入楚地，圍壽春，漢王敗碧陵，乃使使者召大司馬周殷舉九江兵而迎（之）武王，行屠城父，隨（何）劉賈、齊梁諸侯皆大會垓下。立武王布為淮南王。

五年，高祖與諸侯兵共擊楚軍，與項羽決勝垓下。淮陰侯將三十萬自當之，孔將軍居左，費將軍居右，皇帝在後，絳侯、柴將軍在皇帝後。項羽之卒可十萬。淮陰先合，不利，卻。孔將軍、費將軍縱，楚兵不利，淮陰侯復乘之，大敗垓下。項羽卒聞漢軍之楚歌，以為漢盡得楚地，項羽乃敗而走，是以兵大敗。使騎將灌嬰追殺項羽東城，斬首八萬，遂略定楚地。魯為楚堅守不下。漢王引諸侯兵北，示魯父老項羽頭，魯乃降。遂以魯公號葬項羽穀城。還至定陶，馳入齊王壁，奪其軍。

正月，諸侯及將相相與共請尊漢王為皇帝。漢王曰：「吾聞帝賢者有也，空言虛語，非所守也，吾不敢當帝位。」群臣皆曰：「大王起微細，誅暴逆，平定四海，有功者輒裂地而封為王侯。大王不尊號，皆疑不信。臣等以死守之。」漢王三讓，不得已，曰：「諸君必以為便，便國家。」甲午，乃即皇帝位汜水之陽。

皇帝曰義帝無後。齊王韓信習楚風俗，徙為楚王，都下邳。立建成侯彭越為梁王，都定陶。故韓王信為韓王，都陽翟。徙衡山王吳芮為長沙王，都臨湘。番君之將梅鋗有功，從入武關，故德番君。淮南王布、燕王臧荼、趙王敖皆如故。

天下大定。高祖都雒陽，諸侯皆臣屬。故臨江王驩為項羽叛漢，令盧綰、劉賈圍之，不下。數月而降，殺之雒陽。

五月，兵皆罷歸家。諸侯子在關中者復之十二歲，其歸者復之六歲，食之一歲。

高祖置酒雒陽南宮。高祖曰：「列侯諸將無敢隱朕，皆言其情。吾所以有天下者何？項氏之所以失天下者何？」高起、王陵對曰：「陛下慢而侮人，項羽仁而愛人。然陛下使人攻城略地，所降下者因以予之，與天下同利也。項羽妒賢嫉能，有功者害之，賢者疑之，戰勝而不予人功，得地而不予人利，此所以失天下也。」高祖曰：「公知其一，未知其二。夫運籌策帷帳之中，決勝於千里之外，吾不如子房。鎮國家，撫百姓，給餽馕，不絕糧道，吾不如蕭何。連百萬之軍，戰必勝，攻必取，吾不如韓信。此三者，皆人傑也，吾能用之，此吾所以取天下也。項羽有一范增而不能用，此其所以為我擒也。」

高祖欲長都雒陽，齊人劉敬說，乃留侯勸上入都關中，高祖是日駕，入都關中。六月，大赦天下。

十月，燕王臧荼反，攻下代地。高祖自將擊之，得燕王臧荼。即立太尉盧綰為燕王。使丞相噲將兵攻代。

其秋，利幾反，高祖自將兵擊之，利幾走。利幾者，項氏之將。項氏敗，利幾為陳公，不隨項羽，亡降高祖，高祖侯之潁川。高祖至雒陽，舉通侯籍召之，而利幾恐，故反。

六年，高祖五日一朝太公，如家人父子禮。太公家令說太公曰：「天無二日，土無二王。今高祖雖子，人主也；太公雖父，人臣也。柰何令人主拜人臣！如此，則威重不行。」後高祖朝，太公擁篲，迎門卻行。高祖大驚，下扶太公。太公曰：「帝，人主也，柰何以我亂天下法！」於是高祖乃尊太公為太上皇。心善家令言，賜金五百斤。

十二月，人有上變事告楚王信謀反，上問左右，左右爭欲擊之。用陳平計，乃偽遊雲夢，會諸侯於陳，楚王信迎，即因執之。是日，大赦天下。田肯賀，因說高祖曰：「陛下得韓信，又治秦中。秦，形勝之國，帶河山之險，縣隔千里，持戟百萬，秦得百二焉。地勢便利，其以下兵於諸侯，譬猶居高屋之上建瓴水也。夫齊，東有瑯邪、即墨之饒，南有泰山之固，西有濁河之限，北有勃海之利。地方二千里，持戟百萬，縣隔千里之外，齊得十二焉。故此東西秦也。非親子弟，莫可使王齊矣。」高祖曰：「善。」賜黃金五百斤。

後十餘日，封韓信為淮陰侯，分其地為二國。高祖曰將軍劉賈數有功，以為荊王，王淮東。弟交為楚王，王淮西。子肥為齊王，王七十餘城，民能齊言者皆屬齊。乃論功，與諸列侯剖符行封。徙韓王信太原。

七年，匈奴攻韓王信馬邑，信因與謀反太原。白土曼丘臣、王黃立故趙將趙利為王以反，高祖自往擊之。會天寒，士卒墮指者什二三，遂至平城。匈奴圍我平城，七日而後罷去。令樊噲止定代地。立兄劉仲為代王。

二月，高祖自平城過趙、雒陽，至長安。長樂宮成，丞相已下徙治長安。

八年，高祖東擊韓王信餘反寇於東垣。

蕭丞相營作未央宮，立東闕、北闕、前殿、武庫、太倉。高祖還，見宮闕壯甚，怒，謂蕭何曰：「天下匈匈苦戰數歲，成敗未可知，是何治宮室過度也？」蕭何曰：「天下方未定，故可因遂就宮室。且夫天子四海為家，非壯麗無以重威，且無令後世有以加也。」高祖乃說。

高祖之東垣，過柏人，趙相貫高等謀弒高祖，高祖心動，因不留。代王劉仲棄國亡，自歸雒陽，廢以為合陽侯。

九年，趙相貫高等事發覺，夷三族。廢趙王敖為宣平侯。是歲，徙貴族楚昭、屈、景、懷、齊田氏關中。

未央宮成。高祖大朝諸侯群臣，置酒未央前殿。高祖奉玉卮，起為太上皇壽，曰：「始大人常以臣無賴，不能治產業，不如仲力。今某之業所就孰與仲多？」殿上群臣皆呼萬歲，大笑為樂。

十年十月，淮南王黥布、梁王彭越、燕王盧綰、荊王劉賈、楚王劉交、齊王劉肥、長沙王吳芮皆來朝長樂宮。春夏無事。

七月，太上皇崩櫟陽宮。楚王、梁王皆來送葬。赦櫟陽囚。更命酈邑曰新豐。

八月，趙相國陳豨反代地。上曰：「豨嘗為吾使，甚有信。代地吾所急也，故封豨為列侯，以相國守代，今乃與王黃等劫掠代地！代地吏民非有罪也。其赦代吏民。」九月，上自東往擊之。至邯鄲，上喜曰：「豨不南據邯鄲而阻漳水，吾知其無能為也。」聞豨將皆故賈人也，上曰：「吾知所以與之。」乃多以金啗豨將，豨將多降者。

十一年，高祖在邯鄲誅豨等未畢，豨將侯敞將萬餘人游行，王黃軍曲逆，張春渡河擊聊城。漢使將軍郭蒙與齊將擊，大破之。太尉周勃道太原入，定代地。至馬邑，馬邑不下，即攻殘之。

豨將趙利守東垣，高祖攻之，不下。月餘，卒罵高祖，高祖怒。城降，令出罵者斬之，不罵者原之。於是乃分趙山北，立子恒以為代王，都晉陽。

春，淮陰侯韓信謀反關中，夷三族。

夏，梁王彭越謀反，廢遷蜀；復欲反，遂夷三族。立子恢為梁王，子友為淮陽王。

秋七月，淮南王黥布反，東并荊王劉賈地，北渡淮，楚王交走入薛。高祖自往擊之。立子長為淮南王。

十二年，十月，高祖已擊布軍會甀，布走，令別將追之。

高祖還歸，過沛，留。置酒沛宮，悉召故人父老子弟縱酒，發沛中兒得百二十人，教之歌。酒酣，高祖擊筑，自為歌詩曰：「大風起兮雲飛揚，威加海內兮歸故鄉，安得猛士兮守四方！」令兒皆和習之。高祖乃起舞，慷慨傷懷，泣數行下。謂沛父兄曰：「游子悲故鄉。吾雖都關中，萬歲後吾魂魄猶樂思沛。且朕自沛公以誅暴逆，遂有天下，其以沛為朕湯沐邑，復其民，世世無有所與。」沛父兄諸母故人日樂飲極驩，道舊故為笑樂。十餘日，高祖欲去，沛父兄固請留高祖。高祖曰：「吾人眾多，父兄不能給。」乃去。沛中空縣皆之邑西獻。高祖復留止，張飲三日。沛父兄皆頓首曰：「沛幸得復，豐未復，唯陛下哀憐之。」高祖曰：「豐吾所生長，極不忘耳，吾特為其以雍齒故反我為魏。」沛父兄固請，乃并復豐，比沛。於是拜沛侯劉濞為吳王。

漢將別擊布軍洮水南北，皆大破之，追得斬布鄱陽。

樊噲別將兵定代，斬陳豨當城。

十一月，高祖自布軍至長安。十二月，高祖曰：「秦始皇帝、楚隱王陳涉、魏安釐王、齊緡王、趙悼襄王皆絕無後，予守冢各十家，秦皇帝二十家，魏公子無忌五家。」赦代地吏民為陳豨、趙利所劫掠者，皆赦之。陳豨降將言豨反時，燕王盧綰使人之豨所，與陰謀。上使辟陽侯迎綰，綰稱病。辟陽侯歸，具言綰反有端矣。二月，使樊噲、周勃將兵擊燕王綰，赦燕吏民與反者。立皇子建為燕王。

高祖擊布時，為流矢所中，行道病。病甚，呂后迎良醫，醫入見，高祖問醫，醫曰：「病可治。」於是高祖嫚罵之曰：「吾以布衣提三尺劍取天下，此非天命乎？命乃在天，雖扁鵲何益！」遂不使治病，賜金五十斤罷之。已而呂后問：「陛下百歲後，蕭相國即死，令誰代之？」上曰：「曹參可。」問其次，上曰：「王陵可。然陵少憨，陳平可以助之。陳平智有餘，然難以獨任。周勃重厚少文，然安劉氏者必勃也，可令為太尉。」呂后復問其次，上曰：「此後亦非而所知也。」

盧綰與數千騎居塞下候伺，幸上病愈自入謝。

四月甲辰，高祖崩長樂宮。四日不發喪。呂后與審食其謀曰：「諸將與帝為編戶民，今北面為臣，此常怏怏，今乃事少主，非盡族是，天下不安。」人或聞之，語酈將軍。酈將軍往見審食其，曰：「吾聞帝已崩，四日不發喪，欲誅諸將。誠如此，天下危矣。陳平、灌嬰將十萬守滎陽，樊噲、周勃將二十萬定燕、代，此聞帝崩，諸將皆誅，必連兵還鄉以攻關中。大臣內叛，諸侯外反，亡可翹足而待也。」審食其入言之，乃以丁未發喪，大赦天下。

盧綰聞高祖崩，遂亡入匈奴。

丙寅，葬。己巳，立太子，至太上皇廟。群臣皆曰：「高祖起微細，撥亂世反之正，平定天下，為漢太祖，功最高。」上尊號為高皇帝。太子襲號為皇帝，孝惠帝也。令郡國諸侯各立高祖廟，以歲時祠。

及孝惠五年，思高祖之悲樂沛，以沛宮為高祖原廟。高祖所教歌兒百二十人，皆令為吹樂，後有缺，輒補之。

高帝八男：長庶齊悼惠王肥；次孝惠，呂后子；次戚夫人子趙隱王如意；次代王恒，已立為孝文帝，薄太后子；次梁王恢，呂太后時徙為趙共王；次淮陽王友，呂太后時徙為趙幽王；次淮南厲王長；次燕王建。

評論

太史公曰：夏之政忠。忠之敝，小人以野，故殷人承之以敬。敬之敝，小人以鬼，故周人承之以文。文之敝，小人以僿，故救僿莫若以忠。三王之道若循環，終而復始。周秦之閒，可謂文敝矣。秦政不改，反酷刑法，豈不繆乎？故漢興，承敝易變，使人不倦，得天統矣。朝以十月。車服黃屋左纛。葬長陵。

【索隱述贊】高祖初起，始自徒中。言從泗上，即號沛公。嘯命豪傑，奮發材雄。彤雲鬱碭，素靈告豐。龍變星聚，蛇分徑空。項氏主命，負約棄功。王我巴蜀，實憤於衷。三秦既北，五兵遂東。氾水即位，咸陽築宮。威加四海，還歌大風。

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (article 史記/卷008, revision of 27 July 2024), inspected from a witness copy captured on 22 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header, navigation links, license templates, and modern contributors' footnotes have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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