In the ninth lunar month of 208 BC, at the Battle of Dingtao, the Qin general Zhang Han defeated a force from the insurgent Chu state led by Xiang Liang. Zhang Han then led the Qin … See more

Xiang Yu sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead 20,000 men to cross the Yellow River and reinforce Julu, and they won a few skirmishes. In the twelfth month of 208 BC, Xiang Yu personally led an … See more

After his defeat, Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang to ask for reinforcements and supplies. The eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the Qin emperor Qin Er Shi and falsely accused Zhang Han of military failure and conspiring with the rebels. The … See more

In the 11th month of 207 BC, Xiang Yu led his army to the city of Xin'an (新安; in present-day Yima, Henan) and made camp. He perceived the 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers as disloyal and suspected that they might start a mutiny, so he had them all buried alive at … See more

Although Xiang Yu had the 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive, he spared the three generals Zhang Han, Sima Xin and Dong Yi. The three were later respectively appointed as "King of Yong", "King of Sai" and "King of Dai" when Xiang Yu … See more

Some chengyu (Chinese idioms) and proverbs originated from the events in the Battle of Julu, including:
• "Breaking cauldrons and sinking boats" (破釜沉舟); in modern usage, used similarly to the English "to cross the Rubicon" or "to reach the point of … See more

• Timeline of the Chu–Han Contention See more