After the great peasant uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu defeated Qin, declared himself Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and enfeoffed eighteen kings. However, believing himself meritorious, he neglected benevolent governance, relying solely on military force, lost the people's support, and gradually declined from prosperity.
In 202 BCE, Xiang Yu's army was besieged at Gaixia by Han forces, running out of food and reinforcements. One night, songs from the Chu region drifted in from all directions. Xiang Yu exclaimed in shock, "Has Liu Bang captured all of Chu? Why are there so many Chu people singing?" Hearing their native tunes, his soldiers believed their homeland had fallen. Overcome with homesickness, they wept, dropped their weapons, and fled. In truth, this was Liu Bang's stratagem: he had captured some Chu people and ordered them to sing, with Han soldiers joining in. Since most of Xiang Yu's troops were from Chu, this tactic shattered their morale. Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Xiang Yu"
Xiang Yu, seeing no hope of victory, led a small force southward in a desperate breakout, with Liu Bang's army in hot pursuit. Reaching the banks of the Wu River, he looked up to the sky and sighed deeply—a great river ahead, enemies behind, and all his might had failed him against Liu Bang. Just then, the local ferryman rowed a small boat ashore and urged him, "Though Jiangdong is small, with a thousand li of land and hundreds of thousands of people, it can still be your base. Cross quickly, my lord—I alone have a boat here, and the Han army cannot pursue you across the river."
Xiang Yu laughed bitterly and said, "If Heaven itself wills my death, what use would crossing the river be? Besides, eight thousand warriors from Jiangdong followed me across the river to battle, and now not a single one has returned. Even if the elders of Jiangdong took pity on me and forgave me, honoring me as their king, how could I face them? Even if they said nothing, could I live with myself?"
Xiang Yu, the Conqueror, gently stroked his battle-scarred steed, then handed the reins to the ferryman. "This is a fine horse," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "It has been with me through countless campaigns. I cannot bear to see it die with me. Let it serve you instead." As he watched the boat carry his beloved mount away, tears welled in his eyes. Yu Ji was gone, his horse was leaving, and his glorious reputation was now flowing away like water.
As Liu Bang's pursuers closed in, Xiang Yu turned and fought hand-to-hand, his sword flashing as hundreds of Han soldiers fell in an instant, though he himself was gravely wounded. He cast one last look across the river, where his elders and countrymen awaited, yet he could not bear to return in shame.
With a sword flash like a rainbow, Xiang Yu raised his blade and ended his own life.
Later, the idiom "having no face to see the elders east of the river" came to describe the shame of facing one's hometown folks.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Xiang Yu"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "无面目见江东父老" came to describe how the shame of facing one's hometown folks.