Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Xu Zhinian was very efficient; he arranged to meet the person two days later.

Zheng Huaiyuan, from the Institute of History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, studies the history of the Qin and Han dynasties. He has published more than 30 papers in core journals and is considered one of the most solid scholars among the middle generation in the field.

The meeting place was an old teahouse in Xidan. When Chen Mo arrived, Zheng Huaiyuan was already sitting inside.

He was in his early forties, with a round face, slightly overweight, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a gray cashmere sweater, looking like a high school math teacher, quite different from the historical researchers Chen Mo had imagined.

On the table sat a pot of Biluochun tea and a well-worn copy of the Records of the Grand Historian.

"You must be Chen Mo?"

Zheng Huaiyuan stood up, shook hands, and looked him up and down: "Thinner than on TV."

"I've been exercising a bit more lately."

"Sit down and have some tea."

Zheng Huaiyuan poured him a glass.

"Zhi Nian told me that you are going to play Xiang Yu in 'National Treasure' and want to do your homework in advance. To be honest, I was quite surprised. Usually, when actors ask us to chat, it's a task assigned by the production team. You are the first one who took the initiative to ask us to chat."

"I wasn't well-prepared for playing Xiang Yu last time, and I relied on instinct in many parts. I don't want to rely on instinct again this time."

"So what would you like to talk about?"

"When we talk about Xiang Yu, we don't talk about the play or how to portray him; we just talk about what kind of person he was and why he made those choices."

Zheng Huaiyuan pushed up his glasses and smiled.

"We could talk about this for three days and three nights straight, where would you like to begin?"

"The Feast at Hongmen".

Why?

"Everyone says that the Feast at Hongmen was Xiang Yu's biggest mistake. Letting Liu Bang go was tantamount to letting go of the world. But I always feel that this statement is too simplistic. Xiang Yu was not stupid. He couldn't possibly not know that Liu Bang was a threat. He must have had his reasons for choosing to let him go. I want to know what those reasons were."

Zheng Huaiyuan's eyes lit up. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and leaned forward slightly.

"This question of yours has been debated in academia for many years, and there are three main interpretations."

"The first explanation is that Xiang Yu was arrogant and self-willed, felt that Liu Bang was not worthy of being his opponent, and was too lazy to kill him. This is the most popular explanation, and also the laziest one."

"The second reason is that Xiang Yu valued loyalty. Liu Bang was nominally the King of Guanzhong appointed by King Huai of Chu, and was considered a colleague of Xiang Yu. At the Feast at Hongmen, Liu Bang humbled himself and apologized. Killing him on the spot would be a breach of trust, which Xiang Yu could not do."

"The third one is the one I personally prefer."

Zheng Huaiyuan paused for a moment.

"Whether or not to kill Liu Bang at the Feast at Hongmen was not a military issue at that point in time; it was a political one."

Chen Mo put down his teacup and listened attentively.

"When the Feast at Hongmen took place, Xiang Yu had just finished the Battle of Julu, and his power shook the world. An allied army of 400,000 vassal lords had submitted to him. He was the strongest person at that time, without exception."

"What is the first thing he needs to do in this position? Stabilize the alliance and keep all the lords under his control."

"If he killed Liu Bang at the Feast at Hongmen, what would the other lords think? If he could kill Liu Bang today, he could kill me tomorrow, and the alliance would immediately fall apart."

"So Xiang Yu released Liu Bang not because he was stupid or out of loyalty, but because he made a political judgment. He believed that maintaining the stability of the alliance was more important than eliminating a potential threat."

Chen Mo leaned back in his chair.

"So, was his judgment wrong?"

"From the perspective of the result, it was of course wrong, but if you put yourself in his position at the time, his judgment was not absurd."

Zheng Huaiyuan picked up the teapot and poured tea for himself and Chen Mo, then continued.

"After the Battle of Julu, he had 400,000 troops, while Liu Bang only had 100,000. With such an overwhelming difference in troop strength, no normal person would consider Liu Bang a fatal threat. What Xiang Yu truly lost was not the decision at the Hongmen Banquet, but the result of a series of strategic mistakes that followed."

Zheng Huaiyuan took a sip of tea.

"But the root of these mistakes lies in his character. He was too straightforward. In battle, one can charge forward without hesitation, but in politics, one needs to be roundabout, to compromise, to calculate, and to endure. Xiang Yu could not endure, nor did he care to endure. He believed that the world should be won by fighting, not by scheming. This kind of character makes one an invincible warrior on the battlefield, but in politics, it is suicide."

Chen Mo remained silent for a while.

"So Xiang Yu didn't lose to Liu Bang."

"He lost because of his own personality." Zheng Huaiyuan nodded. "He was never born to be an emperor. He was a pure general, suitable for conquering the world, not for ruling it. The tragedy is that he conquered it, but he couldn't sit still."

The two discussed everything from the Feast at Hongmen to the enfeoffment of the feudal lords, from the Battle of Pengcheng to the Siege of Gaixia. At each point, Zheng Huaiyuan provided a deeper analysis than the common understanding.

Chen Mo didn't say much throughout the whole process; his notebook was full of notes.

We chatted for nearly three hours, and the tea was refilled four times.

When they said goodbye, Zheng Huaiyuan stood at the entrance of the teahouse and watched him stuff the notebook into his bag. Suddenly, he asked a question.

"From which angle do you plan to cut this time?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"Last time I played Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King; this time I want to play Xiang Ji."

What's the difference between Xiang Yu and Xiang Yu?

"The title of 'Overlord' was given to him by the people of the world, and Xiang Ji was the name given to him by his uncle. One is a symbol, and the other is a person. Last time, I played the most dazzling and tragic moments of that symbol on the stage of history. This time, I want the audience to see what the person under the symbol looks like."

Zheng Huaiyuan looked at him for several seconds and then nodded.

"If you can really portray it, then it's not just acting; it's a reinterpretation of the character Xiang Yu. I've done twenty years of research and written thirty papers, but I've never dared to say that I've reinterpreted Xiang Yu."

"That's because you're using a pen," Chen Mo chuckled. "I'm using my body. The tools are different, so my courage is different too."

Zheng Huaiyuan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Interesting, you're quite an interesting young man."

The two shook hands, and Chen Mo turned and left.

When I stepped out of the teahouse, it was snowing lightly. The snow in Yanjing at the end of January was so fine that it felt like grains of salt, and it stung a little when it hit my face.

He stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi, and took out his phone to check it.

Shen Yu sent a message.

"The production team has confirmed that the recording will be on February 15th at Yangshi Studio. You need to join the team three days in advance for coordination, arriving on the 12th."

Chen Mo replied with two words.

"receive."

There are still two weeks left.

He had to pull Xiang Ji out of Sima Qian's bamboo slips, wipe away the dust of two thousand years, and let him stand in the public eye again.

Chen Mo was filled with mixed emotions.

The role of Xiang Yu was his comeback victory.

This is the role that brought him back into the public eye.

After that, his career became increasingly successful.

It can be said that Xiang Yu was his benefactor.

Now, because of Xiang Yu, he has come into contact with Yang Shi. If he can play Xiang Yu well this time, his career will definitely reach new heights.

I really need to find some time to kowtow to Xiang Yu.