Beauty Yu

Not to be confused with Saint Yu Ji from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Beauty Yu (虞美人, pinyin: Yú Měirén, romanji: Gu Bijin) is a new playable character in Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2. She is best known as Xiang Yu's treasured lover who followed him near the end of his struggles with the rising Han Dynasty.

Her height for her Dynasty Warriors appearance is 168 cm (5'6").

Dynasty Warriors
She co-stars in the Supremacy King chapter. When her lover was resurrected into the mortal realm, she was raised as well. Although she previously ended her life to avoid being a hindrance to him, she swears to always be near him in their second chance at life. Yearning for the ties they had in their past life, she begs Shi Huangdi to endow her with his supernatural powers and arms herself to fight in the battlefield.

As Xiang Yu falls against the united Three Kingdoms, she attempts to guard her beloved. In the end, they both fall to the coalition's strength. While Xiang Yu thinks he has failed her, she is happy to once again be in his arms. They peacefully return to the afterlife together.

Rise of The Phoenix
She is briefly mentioned as in the English version as "Empress Yu" and is held hostage at one point by Liu Bang. Xiang Yu accepts a treaty to split the land with Liu Bang in two in exchange for her safety. She also stars in an event when Xiang Yu first laid eyes on her. Enchanted by her beauty, he immediately declares his love for her.

Personality
Beauty Yu rarely displays her emotions and acts passively to others, granting her a mysterious and noble sense of beauty. She openly expresses herself to her precious lover, reserving her gentle smiles for him. Devoted to her lover, she doesn't hesitate to sacrifice everything for him.

Voice Actors

 * Hiromi Konno - Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2

Historical Information
Yu Ji was Xiang Yu's only known lover. While popularized in fiction and modern folklore, her actual name and origins are unclear. The Book of Han states that Xiang Yu was never willing to leave her side as he brought her with him in his campaigns. Her main mention in historical records is limited to Xiang Yu's famous Song of Gaixia, alternatively called the Song of Simian Chu, which was reportedly composed after his staggering defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. His poem is as follows (translation taken from Wikipedia):


 * 力拔山兮氣蓋世.
 * My strength plucked up the hills,
 * My might shadowed the world;


 * 時不利兮騅不逝.
 * But the times were against me,
 * And Dapple (war horse named Zhui) runs no more;


 * 騅不逝兮可奈何！
 * When Dapple runs no more,
 * What then can I do?


 * 虞兮虞兮奈若何！
 * Ah, Yu, my Yu,
 * What will your fate be?

After repeating his lines to his lover and men, they were moved to tears. She has no further appearances in the Book of Han or Records of the Grand Historian, but many novels, poetic compositions, theatrical plays, and other tales were written for her.

A tomb named after her stands at modern Lingbi County, Anhui province.

Popular Tales
During the Northern Song Dynasty, she was named Consort Yu due to a composition writing about her grave by Su Shi. In his tale, he addressed her as "Yu Ji" and wrote about Xiang Yu's distress in the possibility of leaving her. From this time period, there is also the famous tale in which she performed a sword dance after hearing the Song of Gaixia. To avoid being a further hindrance to her lover, she committed suicide by impaling herself during her performance. Before doing so, she reportedly sang the following verse to counter her lover's poem (translation taken from Wikipedia):


 * 漢兵已略地，
 * The Han army has conquered our land;


 * 四面楚歌聲.
 * We are surrounded by Chu songs;


 * 大王義氣盡，
 * My lord's spirits are low;


 * 賤妾何聊生.
 * Why then should I live?

According to legend, the spot where she was buried after her suicide bloomed with bright red flowers. Thus, the field poppy is also commonly known to be named after her, either as Yu Meiren Cao or the simplified Yu Meiren, in China. Tales regarding her beauty began more recently during the Qing Dynasty, which state that her looks could cut through the chaos surrounding her lover. Her status as a tragic figure have many residents in China argue that she could be a liable candidate for the Four Great Beauties, sometimes replacing Diao Chan's spot.

Xiang Yu's devotion to her is also known in the Tales of the Heike. They were mentioned by Taira no Shigehira after he listened to a sorrowful biwa performance from the maiden Senju no Mae. He sympathized with her strife and quoted the Song of Gaixia. Later, he refused to have her talents go to waste and offered her to become his maid.

Gallery
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