Is “Whether Xiang Yu counts as an emperor in official histories” true?
The Records of the Grand Historian, in the 'Basic Annals of Xiang Yu,' places Xiang Yu in the Basic Annals, alongside emperors, and at the end praises him: 'Government issued from Yu, and he was styled Hegemon-King; although his position did not last, there has been none like him since ancient times.' The History of Han does not grant this status: Xiang Yu is combined with Chen Sheng into a single biography, 'The Biographies of Chen Sheng and Xiang Ji,' demoted from Basic Annals to biographies. Yet the appraisal is almost copied verbatim from the Records of the Grand Historian, even retaining the reproach 'Heaven destroyed me, not the crime of using arms.' The comment was not changed, but the status was.
The Records of the Grand Historian places Xiang Yu in the Basic Annals alongside emperors, while the History of Han demotes him to a biography, yet the appraisal is almost copied unchanged.
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