Writing is only good for recording names. Swordsmanship defeats one man — that's not worth learning. I want to learn what defeats ten thousand.

彼可取而代也。

Xiang Yu

Military Strategists

Xiang Yu

The 'Hegemon-King of Western Chu' whose raw military genius made him the most feared commander of ancient China's civil wars (232-202 BCE). Xiang Yu won every battle but lost the war — his career is history's definitive case study in how tactical brilliance without political strategy leads to ultimate defeat.

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Source: 史記 項羽本紀Verified

Xiang Yu's Other Quotes

Heaven destroys me — it is not a failure of warfare.

Learning to write is merely enough to record one's name. The sword defeats but a single foe and is not worth mastering. I shall study the art of defeating ten thousand.

My strength uproots mountains, my spirit overshadows the world.

Related Quotes

He who defends everything defends nothing.

-- Frederick II of Prussia

Imagination rules the world.

-- Napoleon

Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious gifts that heaven gave to man.

-- Miguel de Cervantes

Whoever strives with all his might, that man we can redeem.

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The greatest joy of a conqueror is to drive his enemies before him, to seize their horses and treasure, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

-- Genghis Khan

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.

-- Alexander the Great