項羽破釜沉舟 vs 凱撒渡乳泌康河

（海外伙伴們，還不來發聲？話都要給我說完了！） --------------------------------------------- Crossed the Rubicon but Turned Back If you were a 4-wheeler, you sure would know Rubicon Jeep Wrangler, top model of the 4WD make. Its name comes from world-famous Rubicon Jeep Trail in California where Jeep Jamboree is held every year. The Trail starts from Lake Tahoe, near town of Tahoma in west shore, westward to Loon Lake, northeast of town of Pollock Pines in Eldorado National Forest. Apparently, the Trail was named for the irrevocable commitment of the 4-wheeler once the vehicle starts the journey. My mountain bike guidebook says it's "ridable...need to push bike in sections..." We arrived at Tahoma trailhead in the morning of 9/5 to give it a try. It's steep with fist-sized rocks which roll and give you no traction when pedaling. After a mile or so, we gave up and turned back. Downhill was neither easy, the handlbar kept shaking and wheels splitting the rocks. Finally we got back to our vehicle and went north to Tahoe City. There we enjoyed the loop trail to Page Meadow and Alpine Meadow. Next day we drove back via Hwy 50 and Ice House Road to Loon Lake to see how the west-end of Rubicon Jeep Trail looks like. The trail along south shore of Loon Lake was already challenging enough. We turned back after 3 miles, even before the junction of Rubicon Trail. The first day of our Labor Day weekend plan, Friday of 9/4, had an short and easy ride. We started from Camp Richardson, climbed up to Angora Ridge Road, high above Fallen Leaf Lake, and downed a little to the quiet Angora Lake. Al -- P.S. If you forgot what you learn in school about "Rubicon", here's the reminder copied from Internet: ----------- "Crossing the Rubicon" RUBICON – Cross the rubicon: "(ru bi kan) a boundary or limit, which when crossed commits a person irrevocably. In 49 B.C., Julius Caesar led his army to the banks of the Rubicon, a small river that marked the boundary between Italy and Gaul (France) and which the Roman Senate had forbidden him to cross. 'The die is cast,' ("alea iacta est!") said Caesar, wading in, knowing full well that this step would mean civil war…" ........ From "Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions" by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999). -------------- It was 49 BC, in China was late West Han Dynasty, Emperor Yuan-Di's 1st Year of Yellow Dragon 漢元帝黃龍元年. The Senate in Rome ordered Caesar, then Governor of Gaul (France), to hand over his army to their control. He refused. Instead Caesar advanced on Italy but paused at the line that divided France and Italy - the River Rubicon. Roman law said that a governor was not allowed to leave his province. Caesar ignored this law, crossed the Rubicon and advanced to confront his enemies in Rome. The Senate considered this to be a treasonable offence but there was little they could do. Caesar had a very powerful and experienced army and his opponents were fragmented. General Pompey was killed in Egypt in 48 BC. -------------- In 208 BC, 1.6 century earlier than Caesar crossing the Rubicon, it was near the termination of Chin Emperor, Jr. 秦二世. General Hsiang Yu 項羽 of Chu crossed the River of Zhang 漳水 (in now Hebei Province) after he ordered his 50,000 soldiers to "break all woks and sink all boats" 破釜沉舟. His determination defeated Chin's army of 8 times in number. This is the historical "Battle of Giant Deer"鉅鹿之戰. Hsiang Yu later overthrew King Huai of Chu 楚懷王; so did Caesar strip power of Roman Senate. Hsiang Yu never made his dynasty but cut his own throat when besieged at Black River; Caesar did neither but was murdered in the Senate House.