Unexpectedly, Han Xin disobeyed [1],
Ten thousand troops descended upon Licheng. [2]
The King of Qi's fury reached three thousand zhang, [3]
He arrested the drunkard [4] and cooked him alive.
Province). He initially served Xiang Yu and later Liu Bang, where he was appointed a general.
After the Han Dynasty was established, he was granted the title of King of Chu. Together
with Xiao He and Zhang Liang, he was known as one of the Three Heroes of the Early Han
Dynasty. Later, someone accused him of treason and he was demoted to Marquis of Huaiyin.
He was also accused of colluding with Chen Xi to rebel in Chang'an and was killed by
Empress Lü. Unexpectedly, Han Xin disobeyed: refers to the time when Han Xin, then a
general under Liu Bang, led his troops eastward to attack Qi. Li Shiqi, who was employed by
Liu Bang, persuaded the King of Qi to surrender first. Unexpectedly, Han Xin still led his
troops to attack Qi. The King of Qi thought that Li Shiqi was deceiving him with a delaying
tactic and threw Li Shiqi into a cauldron and boiled him to death.
[2] Xia, to capture. Licheng, the former site is now in the suburbs of Jinan City, Shandong
Province.
[3] The King of Qi refers to Tian Guang. Tian Guang (?-203 BC) was a native of Di (formerly
Gaoqing, Shandong Province), and a descendant of the Qi royal family during the Warring
States Period. His father Tian Rong and uncle Tian Heng followed his brother Tian Fu in
rebelling against the Qin Dynasty at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Tian Xiu proclaimed himself
the King of Qi, but was defeated and killed in battle by the Qin army. After the fall of the Qin
Dynasty, Tian Rong defeated the three newly appointed Kings of Qi by Xiang Yu and
proclaimed himself the King of Qi. He was soon killed by Xiang Yu. As a result, Tian Heng
appointed Tian Guang as the King of Qi. Tian Guang was later captured and killed by Han

8 Chairman Mao had always been fond of Li Bai's poetry, but did not agree with the ideas expressed in his
'Liang Fu Yin'. Chairman Mao believed that the main reason for the surrender of the King of Qi was Liu Bang's
strategic planning and Han Xin's military pressure, and that the role played by Li Shiqi was actually very limited
and not at all praiseworthy. Li Bai’s poem ignores political and military macro-strategies and exalts aspiring to
become an official and exaggerating one’s own prowess, things that Chairman Mao had always opposed. Mao
then added four lines to Li Bai's 'Liang Fu Yin' to make the poem more historically accurate.



General Han Xin. Fire means anger. Three thousand zhang (feet) is an extreme expression of
anger.
[4] Wine and food refers to Shiqi (?-203 BC), a native of Gaoyang Township, Chenliu (now Qi
County, Henan Province) during the Qin and Han Dynasties. He was poor and worked as a
gatekeeper in his village. People called him a madman. During the peasant war at the end of
the Qin Dynasty, he joined Liu Bang and offered a plan to conquer Chenliu. He was granted
the title of Lord Guangye. During the Chu-Han War, he persuaded King Tian Guang of Qi to
return to Han and decided to withdraw the defense. Han Xin followed Kuai Tong's plan and
took the opportunity to attack Qi. Tian Guang thought he was betrayed by Li Shiqi and boiled
him to death.

--- Notes

[1] Han Xin (?-196 BC) was a native of Huaiyin (now southwest of Huaiyin City, Jiangsu