The Feast at Swan Goose Gate, also known as the Banquet at Hongmen, Hongmen Banquet, Hongmen Feast and other similar renditions, was a historical event that took place in 206 BC at Swan Goose Gate () outside

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

, the capital of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

. Its location in present-day China is roughly at Hongmenbao Village, Xinfeng Town, Lintong District,

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

. The main parties involved in the banquet were

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

and

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

, two prominent leaders of insurgent forces who rebelled against the Qin dynasty from 209 BC to 206 BC. The Feast is often memorialised in Chinese history, fiction and popular culture. It was one of the highlights of the

power struggle A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...

between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu leading to the outbreak of the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention (), also known as the Chu–Han War (), was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 BCE, the empir ...

, a violent

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

for supremacy over China which concluded with Xiang Yu's defeat and death at the Battle of Gaixia, followed by Liu Bang's establishment of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

with himself as its founding emperor.

Background

Between 209 BC and 206 BC, rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty. Some of these insurgent forces claimed to be restoring the former six states which were annexed by the

Qin state Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

in a series of wars from 230 BC to 221 BC. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were two prominent leaders who emerged from among the rebels. In 208 BC, Xiang Yu and his uncle

Xiang Liang Xiang Liang (; died 208 BC) was a Chinese military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin dynasty between 209 and 208 BC. He is best known as an uncle of Xiang Yu, the rival of the Han dynasty's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Ban ...

installed King Huai II as the nominal ruler of the Chu state while they were the ones who controlled the Chu army. In late 208 BC, Xiang Liang was killed in action at the Battle of Dingtao so the Chu army came under King Huai II's control. King Huai II sent Xiang Yu and Liu Bang to lead two separate armies to attack the Qin heartland of

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

, and promised that whoever entered that region first would be made King of Guanzhong. In late 207 BC, Liu Bang's army conquered

Wu Pass Wu Pass or Wuguan was one of four strategic mountain passes along the southern border of the ancient state of Qin and the north western border of Chu. Wuguan is a modern-day town in Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province Shaanxi is a province ...

and seized control of Guanzhong and the Qin capital

(present-day

). The last Qin emperor, Ziying, surrendered to Liu Bang, marking the end of the Qin dynasty. After occupying Xianyang, Liu Bang gave strict orders to his men, forbidding them from looting and pillaging the city and harming the civilian populace. Liu Bang also sent troops to garrison at

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan was a fortified gateway that commanded the strategic mountain pass between the Yellow River and Qinling Mountains, forming the main choke point on the only land corridor between the Central Plain and the Guanzhong reg ...

to block Xiang Yu from entering Guanzhong. Around the time, Xiang Yu's army had just defeated a Qin army led by Zhang Han at the

Battle of Julu The Battle of Julu () was fought in Julu (in present-day Pingxiang County, Xingtai, Hebei, China) in 207 BC primarily between forces of the Qin dynasty and the insurgent state of Chu. The Qin commander was Zhang Han, while the Chu leader w ...

. When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, he was displeased to hear that Liu Bang had already occupied Guanzhong, so he attacked and conquered the pass, pushing on to west of the Xi River (; a tributary of the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records ...

flowing through present-day Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi). Liu Bang and his army were based in Bashang (; also known as White Deer Plain (); about 10 km southeast of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi) then. The strengths of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's armies at the time were estimated to be 400,000 and 100,000 respectively.

Prelude

Cao Wushang (), a defector from Liu Bang's side, secretly sent a messenger to Xiang Yu to inform him that Liu Bang was planning to declare himself King of Guanzhong in accordance with King Huai II's earlier promise, while Ziying would serve as Liu Bang's chancellor. Cao Wushang also added that Liu Bang had seized all the riches of Xianyang for himself. Xiang Yu was furious when he heard this and planned to attack Liu Bang. Xiang Yu's adviser, Fan Zeng, felt that Liu Bang posed a threat to his lord so he urged Xiang Yu to eliminate Liu Bang as soon as possible. One of Xiang Yu's uncles,

Xiang Bo Xiang Bo (; died 192 BC), formally the Marquis of Yeyang (), was a Chinese noble of the early Han dynasty. Early life Xiang Bo's given name was Chan () but he went by his courtesy name Bo (), hence he was known as Xiang Bo. He was from Xiaxiang ...

, shared a close friendship with Liu Bang's adviser Zhang Liang. Xiang Bo feared for his friend's life so he sneaked to Liu Bang's camp to warn Zhang Liang about the peril he was in, telling Zhang Liang to flee. Liu Bang was shocked when Zhang Liang related the news to him, and he sought advice from Zhang Liang to resolve the crisis. Zhang Liang instructed Liu Bang to enlist the help of Xiang Bo to reduce Xiang Yu's suspicions. Liu Bang met Xiang Bo and treated him like an honoured guest, flattering Xiang Bo and pretending to arrange for a marriage between his son and Xiang Bo's daughter while asking Xiang Bo to help him speak to Xiang Yu. When Xiang Bo returned to Xiang Yu's camp later, he assured his nephew that Liu Bang had no ill intentions, and conveyed Liu Bang's message that he was willing to submit to Xiang Yu.

Feast

The following day, Liu Bang brought about 100 men with him to meet Xiang Yu at Swan Goose Gate (), where Xiang Yu had prepared a banquet. Liu Bang explained that he had managed to enter Guanzhong first because of sheer luck, and apologised to Xiang Yu for robbing him of his glory while extolling Xiang Yu's valour in battle. Liu Bang also explained that the misunderstanding was caused by vile words from someone plotting to sow discord between him and Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then pointed out that it was Cao Wushang who told him about Liu Bang's supposed intentions. He invited Liu Bang to partake in the banquet. The main parties involved in the feast were seated in the following arrangement: Xiang Yu and

faced east; Fan Zeng faced south; Liu Bang faced north; Zhang Liang faced west. According to custom, the east-facing seat was the most respectable place, usually reserved for the guest, while the south-facing seat was reserved for the lord or host, while his subjects would face north. The seating arrangement indicated that Xiang Yu merely treated Liu Bang as a subject, while Liu Bang, in taking the north-facing seat, had shown that he was willing to submit to Xiang Yu.余英時：〈說鴻門宴的的坐次〉，頁184-195。 During the banquet, Fan Zeng made signals and hinted many times to Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang, but Xiang Yu ignored him. Fan Zeng then summoned Xiang Yu's cousin Xiang Zhuang, instructing him to pretend to perform a

sword dance Weapon dances incorporating swords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of Solo dance, solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic dance, Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa, Asia and Europe. Some traditions use ...

to entertain the guests and find an opportunity to assassinate Liu Bang. Xiang Zhuang started dancing after Xiang Yu approved, but Xiang Bo offered to join the performance and he blocked Xiang Zhuang with his body whenever the latter thrust his sword towards Liu Bang. In the meantime, Zhang Liang left the feast and went outside to summon Fan Kuai, Liu Bang's brother-in-law by

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

, and returned to his seat after giving some instructions. Fan Kuai then burst into the banquet area uninvited, dressed in full armour and armed with his sword and shield, interrupting the sword dance and glaring at Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu was initially startled by Fan Kuai's party-crashing, but soon became impressed by his bravado and asked for his name, calling him a "brave warrior". Xiang Yu then ordered his men to serve wine to Fan Kuai, who gulped it down, and then offered Fan Kuai a cut of meat (a pork shoulder), who placed the meat on his shield and used his sword to cut off chunks and eat. Xiang Yu was even more impressed and asked Fan Kuai if he wanted more wine, but Fan Kuai confronted him with a lengthy speech about Liu Bang's virtues and accomplishments, stating how it would be unjust for Xiang Yu to try kill Liu Bang, but also implicitly affirming that his lord would not challenge Xiang Yu's authority. Xiang Yu did not respond to the accusation, but instead invited Fan Kuai to join the banquet.

Liu Bang's escape

Later in the feast, Liu Bang excused himself that he needed to use the

latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...

, so he left the banquet with Fan Kuai. Shortly after, Xiang Yu sent Chen Ping to call Liu Bang back to the feast. Liu Bang felt that he should still bid Xiang Yu farewell out of courtesy, but Fan Kuai opposed his decision and suggested they should leave before it was too late. Fan Kuai was essentially reminding Liu Bang that their lives were still at Xiang Yu's mercy and they should escape as soon as they had a chance. He then chose a horse for Liu Bang to ride, and Liu escaped with Fan Kuai,

Xiahou Ying Xiahou Ying (; died 172 BC), posthumously known as Marquis Wen of Ruyin, was a Chinese official who served under Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, and two of his successors. A friend of Liu Bang, he first joine ...

, Jin Jiang () and

Ji Xin Ji Xin (; died 204 BC), Posthumous name, posthumously known as Marquis Zhonglie of Xingyang (), was a military officer serving under Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. He is best known for h ...

accompanying him on foot. Before his escape, Liu Bang gave Zhang Liang a pair of jade tablets and a pair of jade measuring cups, telling him to present them as gifts to Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng respectively. Zhang Liang returned to his seat and presented the gifts while apologising on Liu Bang's behalf for leaving without bidding farewell, giving an excuse that Liu Bang was already too drunk to continue participating in the feast. Xiang Yu accepted the jade tablets but Fan Zeng threw the jade cups to the ground and hacked them to pieces with his sword, predicting that Liu Bang would take away the empire from Xiang Yu one day. After returning to his camp, Liu Bang had Cao Wushang executed for his treachery.

Aftermath

Fan Zeng's prediction came true in 202 BC as Xiang Yu eventually lost to Liu Bang in the

for supremacy over China from 206 BC to 202 BC. Xiang Yu committed suicide after his defeat at the Battle of Gaixia, while Liu Bang established the

and became its founding emperor.

Cultural references

In Chinese culture, the term '' Hongmen Yan '' (鴻門宴 "Feast at Swan Goose Gate") is used figuratively to refer to a trap or a situation ostensibly joyous but in fact treacherous. Another idiom that relates to the event is "Xiang Zhuang performs a sword dance; his aim is on the Duke of Pei" (), which refers to somebody making a veiled attack on another person. The Chinese title of the 2011 film '' White Vengeance'' is a reference to the Feast at Hong Gate, while the plot itself is based on this historical incident and other events in the

. The 2012 Chinese film '' The Last Supper'' is also based on similar source materials.

References

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

. ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', vols. 7, 8. *

Ban Gu Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...

et al. ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', vol. 1. *

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', a monumental work of history. B ...