本文以楚漢之爭時期（西元前206年─西元前202年）的霸王項羽當年究竟死於何地的爭論為由頭，從歷史地理、邏輯修辭、史學∕文學語法以及民間藝術與戲劇等不同維度，對司馬遷《史記》中「項羽之死｣的敘事文本進行批判性審讀分析，得出不同於傳統和主流認知的若干判斷和結論。例如，《史記》中「霸王別姬｣、「江邊對話｣等情節，並非歷史真實的發生，而屬故事傳說；後世人津津樂道的項羽「不肯過江東｣，乃作者司馬遷的藝術編撰；《史記》實際寫了兩個項羽，一個是基於史料的「真｣項羽，另一個是司馬遷筆下的藝術形象，等等。本文堅信，司馬遷的《史記》並不滿足於記錄史實，也不僅以成敗論英雄，更不以為統治君王提供執政借鑒為最高追求。作為思想者和提問人，司馬遷通過眾多傳主人物的生平和命運，欲究天人之際、通古今之變，以探問人生的價值意義以及人性的多面與複雜。他將歷史記述和文學書寫融合得渾然一體了無隔膜，「項羽之死｣正是一個典型和精彩的實例。本文並非「正統｣歷史研究或文學評論，其主要目的在於通過案例解剖來提倡和推廣批判性閱讀和思維方法，故而跳出一般學術文章範式，通過懸置問題來引導和連綴全篇敘述，以期讀者在輕鬆有趣的閱讀中獲得啟發。

This article, initiated due to the current disputes over the place of death of Hsiang Yu who was the Overlord in the Chu-Han period (206-202 B.C.), makes a critical review and analysis of the narrative text of "Hsiang Yu's Death" in Sih-Ma Chian's Records of the Historian from the perspectives of historical geography, logics, rhetoric, historical research, literary criticism, folk art and drama, etc., and comes to a number of conclusions different from the related traditional and mainstream points of view. For example, "Farewell to My Concubine" and “The Riverside Dialogue" in Records of the Historian are not the true occurrence of history but presumably oral stories or legends; “Hsiang Yu refuses to cross the Yangtze River", which later generations indulge in talking about, is almost certainly the artistic creation of Sih-Ma Chian; and there are actually two different personas of Hsiang Yu written in his biography, one is the real person based on historical materials, the other is the artistic image by the author, and more. This article contends that in Records of the Historian Sih-Ma Chian does not want to merely meet the requirements of truthfully recording historical facts, nor to take the success or failure of characters as the only standard of judgment and provide ruling reference for the ruling monarch as the highest pursuit. He persistently explores the value and significance of life and the multi-faceted nature of human being through presenting the various lives and destinies of the people in their biographies. A thinker and questioner in nature, he also tries to find out where the borderline lies between the human efforts and the Will of Heaven, and what the regular patterns of social and historical changes over time are. Therefore, historical records and literary writing blend without separation in his book, with “Hsiang Yu’s Death” being such a good example. This article neither abides by the normal pattern of academic papers, nor sticks to norms of the historiography or literary criticism. In essence, it aims at demonstrating and promoting the critical reading and thinking, by using questions as guidance integrating the narrative of different subjects throughout, in order to provide the reader with entertaining inspirations in mode of thinking as well as research methodology.