Shimian Maifu, or Ambush on All Sides, is a famous piece of long lute music with grand and splendid contents and strong and unique style, which is rarely seen in classical music. This music was composed according to decisive campaign in Gaixia between Chu and Han armies in 202 B.C. Han army deployed the ambushes around Chu soldiers and totally defeated Chu, forcing Xiang Yu, head of Chu, to kill himself in the Wujiang River.

The Gaixia decisive campaign is a famous war in China's history. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang stood up to fight against Qin. Under the strong attacks of insurgences from the farmers, the Qin Dynasty was toppled. Then, the Han army led by Liu Bang and the Chu army led by Xiang Yu started wars against each other for power. As of 202 B.C., the war lasted several years. Because of his overconfidence and hesitation in making decisions, Xiang Yu lost many good opportunities to devour the Han army. Liu Bang rescued himself several times from difficulties and continued the war. During the Gaixia campaign, Liu Bang encircled Xiang Yu's 100,000 soldiers with his 300,000 soldiers. One night, Zhang Liang, a general of Han army, played the flute and his soldiers sang Chu songs, making Chu soldiers feel that they had no way out. Xiang Yu was forced to flee away with his 800 cavalrymen, and was chased by 5,000 Han cavalrymen. The final fight happened beside the Wujiang River. Xiang Yu was impossible to win, so many soldiers and committed suicide. The Han army achieved a glorious victory.