Jing Ke

Jing Ke was a Yan-state assassin who attempted to kill King Zheng of Qin in 227 BCE. His failed mission became a celebrated episode in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian.

Assassination of the King of Qin by Jing Ke: Jing Ke’s failed 227 BCE attempt to assassinate King Zheng of Qin at the Qin court. The central event associated with Jing Ke, reconstructed from Sima Qian’s account.
Warring States period: The era of competing Chinese states conventionally dated from 475 to 221 BCE. The struggle between Yan and Qin formed the political setting for Jing Ke’s mission.
Farewell to Yi River: The departure scene in which Jing Ke sets out from Yan toward the Qin court, accompanied by a famous song. The farewell turns the mission’s beginning into a scene of foreboding heroism.
Nie Zheng: A Warring States assassin who killed a powerful official in the state of Han and then died by suicide. Unlike Jing Ke, Nie Zheng completed his intended killing.
King Zheng of Qin: The ruler of Qin who unified China as its first emperor, known posthumously as Qin Shi Huang. He was Jing Ke’s intended victim and escaped the attack.
Qin's wars of unification: The campaigns by which Qin conquered rival states and unified China between 230 and 221 BCE. Qin’s advance toward Yan made the assassination attempt an act of desperate resistance.
Jing Ke's Song: A brief song traditionally attributed to Jing Ke as he departed for his mission against King Zheng. Its image of the Yi River freezing expresses the mission’s grim resolve.
Zhuan Zhu: A Warring States assassin who killed King Liao of Wu with a dagger concealed inside a fish. His successful attack contrasts with Jing Ke’s failed attempt at the Qin court.
Yan state: A state in northeastern China during the Zhou dynasty’s Warring States period. Jing Ke’s mission was organized in Yan as Qin threatened the remaining states.
Sima Qian: A Han dynasty historian who compiled the Records of the Grand Historian. His biography of the assassins shaped the enduring account of Jing Ke.

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