Emperor Yi of Chu (died 206 BC), also known as
King Huai II of Chu, personal name
Xiong Xin, was the ruler of the
Chu state in the late
Qin dynasty. He was a grandson of
King Huai of Chu. In 223 BC, during the
Warring States period, the Chu state was conquered by the
Qin state, which unified the various Chinese feudal states in
a series of wars and established the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. In 209 BC, when rebellions broke out throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty, the Chu state was revived as an insurgent state against Qin imperial rule. Xiong Xin was discovered by
Xiang Liang, a rebel leader who descended from a famous Chu general (Xiang Yan), and installed on the Chu throne as "King Huai II of Chu". However, Xiong Xin was merely a puppet ruler because power was concentrated in Xiang Liang's hands, and was later passed on to Xiang Liang's nephew,
Xiang Yu, after Xiang Liang was killed in battle. In 206 BC, the Qin dynasty was overthrown by the rebels, after which Xiang Yu, who was the
de facto leader of all the rebel forces, divided the former Qin Empire into the
Eighteen Kingdoms. He promoted King Huai II to a more "honourable" title – Emperor Yi of Chu – and made him the nominal
sovereign ruler over all the Eighteen Kingdoms. Xiang Yu then had Emperor Yi relocated to Chen County (郴縣; in present-day
Chenzhou,
Hunan) and secretly ordered
Ying Bu to assassinate the emperor during the journey.