To fight or act alone; to accomplish something single-handedly, without assistance or support.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu's Chu army was the most powerful, but in their struggle against the Han army, they gradually declined. In 202 BC, Xiang Yu was besieged by the Han army at Gaixia. Xiang Yu's forces were few, and they had run out of provisions.
That night, Chu songs drifted from the Han camps, and Xiang Yu sang sorrowfully, "My strength could uproot mountains and overshadow the world, but the times are against me. My steed, Wuzhui, won't run. If my horse won't run, what can we do? Yu Ji, oh Yu Ji, what are we to do?"
In the middle of the night, Xiang Yu broke through the encirclement, and by the time he reached Dongcheng, only twenty-eight soldiers remained, while thousands of pursuers were hot on their heels. Xiang Yu declared, "I started my rebellion eight years ago and fought over seventy battles, never suffering a defeat. Today, it is Heaven's will to destroy me!"
When he reached Wujiang, the local official had a boat capable of carrying one person and one horse, but Xiang Yu said, "Initially, eight thousand of my young followers crossed the river with me. Today, I am the only one returning. How can I face the elders of Jiangdong?"
In the end, Xiang Yu slit his own throat by the Wujiang River. Wang Zun, a poet from the Five Dynasties, wrote: "After military defeat, broken bows, and shattered prestige, Xiang Yu, single-handedly, fought his way out of the encirclement. Jiangdong was already visible, yet he could not return. Though the hero is gone, his face of shame remains."