Xiang Liang Xiang Liang ( died 208 BC ) was a military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin Dynasty . Early life . Xiang Liang was a native of Xiaxiang ( 下相 ; present - day Suqian , Jiangsu ) and was a descendant of a family who served the Chu state in the Warring States period for generations . Xiang Liang ' s father Xiang Yan ( 項燕 ) was a famous military commander , who led the Chu army to resist the invading Qin forces led by Wang Jian , and was killed in action in 223 BC when Qin annexed Chu . After the fall of Chu , Xiang Liang and his brothers became commoners and lived under the Qin Dynasty for years . When Xiang Liang ' s elder brother Xiang Chao ( 項超 ) died , Xiang Liang took Xiang Chao ' s son Xiang Yu under his care . Xiang Liang doted on Xiang Yu and had his nephew instructed in scholarly arts and swordsmanship , but Xiang Yu did not master what he was taught and Xiang Liang was very displeased with his nephew . When Xiang Yu expressed interest in military strategy , Xiang Liang tried to educate him but Xiang Yu stopped learning after grasping the main concepts , for he believed that learning them was only treating warfare like a game of chess . Xiang Liang gave up on his nephew eventually , who showed no sign of motivation or apparent talent apart from his great strength , and he let Xiang Yu decide his own destiny . Rebellion against the Qin Dynasty . Once , Xiang Liang killed someone and he fled with his family to Wu ( 吳 ; present - day southern Jiangsu ) to evade the authorities . At that time , Qin Shi Huang was on an inspection tour in that area and Xiang Liang watched the emperor ' s procession pass by together with his nephew . Xiang Yu said , " I can replace him . " ( 彼可取而代之 ) . Xiang Liang was shocked and immediately covered his nephew ' s mouth with his hand . Since then , Xiang Liang began to see his nephew in a different light . Xiang Liang became an influential man in Wu due to his noble lineage and he became a representative for the people when dealing with the local authorities . He also made use of his fame and popularity to rally a group of supporters and secretly build up a militia . In 209 BC , during the reign of Qin Er Shi , peasant rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin Dynasty , plunging China into a state of anarchy . Of these uprisings , the most early one ( the Daze Village Uprising ) was led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang . Yin Tong , the Administrator of Kuaiji ( 會稽 ; present - day Shaoxing , Zhejiang ) , wanted to start a rebellion as well , so he invited Xiang Liang to meet him and discuss their plans . However , the Xiangs killed Yin instead and Xiang Liang initiated the rebellion himself and rallied about 8000 men to support him . Xiang Liang proclaimed himself Administrator of Kuaiji and appointed Xiang Yu as a general . Xiang Liang led his men across the Yangtze River later and built his new base at Xiapi ( 下邳 ; present - day Pizhou , Jiangsu ) . At that time , some other rebel forces pledged allegiance to him , further increasing the size of his army to between 60 , 000 to 70 , 000 . In 208 BC , following the advice of Fan Zeng , Xiang Liang sent his men to search for Xiong Xin , the grandson of King Huai I of Chu , and enthroned Xiong as " King Huai II of Chu " . The king was actually a puppet ruler under Xiang Liang ' s control then , and was used by Xiang to rally support from people eager to help him overthrow the Qin Dynasty and restore the former Chu state . Xiang Liang scored some victories against the Qin armies in a few battles . Death . In 208 BC , Xiang Liang led his army to attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han at the Battle of Dingtao . However , he underestimated the enemy and was killed in action . When Zhang Han was defeated later by Xiang Yu in the Battle of Julu , Xiang Yu had the 200 , 000 surrendered Qin soldiers buried alive as a sacrifice to his late uncle ' s spirit .