At the end of the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC), the State of Chu and the State of Han fought for control of the country. It is said that ordinary men placed in extraordinary circumstances can accomplish great deeds. Great strategists of old understood this fact, and took care to place their men in these situations to bring the best out of them, and likewise took care to deprive their enemies of this situational advantage whenever they could. At no time is this more important when one is about to vanquish one’s enemy; a job 9o% done is not done, and a slight mishap toward the end could undo all of one’s past victories and successes. Such was the case during the endgame stages of the struggle between Han and Chu around 202 BC.
Han armies had all but secured victory over Chu, trapping Xiang Yu, Chu’s leader, and what was left of his army at Gaixia. A lesser strategist may have been content with simply awaiting the eventual last charge that Chu would make to attempt to break out of its entrapment. However, Zhang Liang,Han’s strategist, knew that Xiang Yu was a fierce warrior, a beast of a man whose battlefield prowess was such that mere mention of his name struck fear into the hearts of men.
Zhang knew that Xiang’s troops, cornered and hungry, could be stirred by their leader’s charisma and determination for one last fight, while his own troops, slightly complacent with victory in plain sight, would be vulnerable in this last battle. Victory for Han was far from certain in Zhang’s mind, and he devised a plan to weaken the wills of Chu’s soldiers.
As Han troops were preparing for their charge, they sang folksongs of Chu, which rang off the mountains on all four sides of the surrounded Chu troops. Zhang had ordered his own troops to sing Chu’s songs in an effort to stir up nostalgia among Xiang’s troops and weaken their will to fight. Xiang himself, on hearing the songs of Chu, realized that his time was running short.
‘Songs of Chu on all sides’ now is a Chinese proverb used to describe and a situation that is desperate beyond hope and a defeat is clear.
Shima Qian described what happened at Gaixia in the ‘Records of Grant Historian’:
Xiang Yu’s army at Gaixia, with only a handful of troops and running out of supplies, was hemmed in by the men of Han and the other states. At night he heard the songs of Chu on all sides around him. ‘Has Han already captured Chu?’ he asked in dismay, ‘They have so many men of Chu with them.’
He rose that night to drink in his tent. With him was the lovely Lady Yu, who followed wherever he went, and Zhui, the swift steed which he always rode. Now Xiang Yu chanted a tragic air, setting words to himself:
My strength can uproot mountains,
My spirit puts the world at my feet;
But the times are against me,
And Zhui can gallop nor more.
When Zhui gallop no more,
What can I do?
Oh, lady, my dear lady,
What is to become of Lady Yu?
He sang this song several times and Lady Yu joined in. Tears rolled down his cheeks, while all his followers wept and bowed their heads in sorrow.
.
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秦末，楚汉争霸。据说，人在困境，最大潜力才能被发挥。大策略家都懂得这一点，会尽量把他的人员放在非寻常环境中以达到最好效果，同时确保敌人不会在相同的情况中得到好处。在胜败关键时刻，这就显得更重要了。行百里者半九十，小小差错，就会功亏一篑了。公元前202年楚汉争霸时，就出现了这种情况。
汉军队只要打败楚军就胜利了。他们把楚王项羽所剩军队团团包围在垓下。对一个普通的战略家而言，只需静待楚军突围，就可一举歼灭。
但是，汉策略家张良知道项羽是个勇士，他在战场上的威力，他的名字就足以令人闻而丧胆。张良知道项羽的军队被困缺粮，很容易被他们那具有魅力与决心的领袖激励而奋起最后一战；而汉军却因胜利在望而有点自满，这在最后一战就是致命弱点。在张良在心中，汉军的胜利还不肯定，所以他就拟订了一个软化楚军的计划。
就在汉军准备攻击时，他们开始唱楚国的歌曲，充满了山地，在被团团包围了的楚军的四面。张良下令他的军队唱楚歌来引起楚军思想情怀，削弱他们的战斗力。当项羽听到楚歌是，他知道他的时间不多了。
‘四面楚歌’就成为用来形容绝望的情况，失败以不可避免的一句成语。
西汉史学家司马迁《史记•项羽本纪》记载当时在垓下的情况：
项王军壁垓下，兵少食尽，汉军及诸侯兵围之数重。夜闻汉军四面皆楚歌，项王乃大惊，曰：‘汉皆已得楚乎？是何楚人之多也。’
项王则夜起，饮帐中。有美人名虞，常幸从；骏马名骓，常骑之。于是项王乃悲歌慷慨，自为诗曰：‘力拔山兮气盖世，时不利兮骓不逝。骓不逝兮可奈何！虞兮虞兮奈若何！’
歌数阕，美人和（hè 第四声 附和，应和）之。项王泣数行下。左右皆泣，莫能仰视。
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