Chu general who crushed the Qin armies, then lost the empire to 刘邦 and killed himself by the Wu River. The idioms 破釜沉舟 and 四面楚歌 come from his life, and the opera 霸王别姬 shows his farewell to his consort 虞姬.
Xiang Yu was defeated by Liu Bang at Gaixia, and in the end he killed himself beside the Wu River.
Tips
culture
Behind the idioms: 破釜沉舟 recalls his order to smash the cooking pots and sink the boats before a battle, so his men could only win or die; 四面楚歌 recalls the songs of Chu he heard all around his camp at 垓下, which made him fear that Chu itself had fallen to the enemy.
history
He called himself 西楚霸王, 'Hegemon-King of Western Chu', and 霸王 on its own usually means him. His last song at Gaixia begins 力拔山兮气盖世, 'my strength could pull up mountains, my spirit overtopped the world'.
