论黥布之悲剧

On the Tragedy of Qing Bu's Life

黥布的悲剧有两重性。一是他唯利是图、“为身不顾后”[1 ] ( P2 6 0 5) 的性格悲剧。项羽、韩信、黥布分别代表了三种不同的战将类型。二是他从战场上的英雄到身为世大谬的悲剧命运。黥布的悲剧命运固然有其主观方面的原因 ,而根本原因是汉初政权稳固之后刘邦开始剪锄功臣 ,铲灭异姓王而分封同姓王 。

Respectively different from Xiang Yu and Han Xin, Qing Bu appeared to be another type of field commanders. His tragedy had dual nature. One was the tragedy of his personality: as a self seeking man, he never had any regard for the benefits of posterity when pursuing more personal gains. The other was the tragedy of his fate-the fate that shoved him from the glorious peak of a war hero down to the despairing depth of shame and humiliation. It is indisputable that Qing Bu himself should take part of the blame for such a tragical fate. If we probe more deeply into that period of history, however, we may find that he was basically the victim of the very situation of the early Han Dynasty. After his dictatorship successfully established, the emperor Liu Bang proceeded to further consolidate it by uprooting the veteran generals and statesmen, exterminating the princes that were not members of the loyal family, and meanwhile granting titles and territories to his own family members. As a result, Qing Bu's tragedy became inevitable.