Jing Ke (Chinese: 荊軻; pinyin: Jīng Kē; Wade-Giles: Ching K'o) was a guest residing in the estates of Dan, crown prince of Yan and renowned for his failed assassination of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang who reigned from 221 BC to 210 BC. His story is told in the chapter entitled Biography of the Assassins (刺客列傳) in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, or Shiji. Pinyin (拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Crown Prince Dan of Yan (Chinese: 燕太子丹) was the crown prince of the state of Yan during the Warring States Period in China. ... Jack Ruby murdered the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, in a very public manner. ... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC - September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First Emperor. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC - 221 BC - 220 BC 219 BC... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 215 BC 214 BC 213 BC 212 BC 211 BC - 210 BC - 209 BC 208 BC... Sima Qian (circa 145—90 BC) was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes (太史令) of the Han Dynasty. ... The Records of the Grand Historian or the Records of the Grand Historian of China was the magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor until his own time. ...

Jing Ke was introduced by Tian Guang to Dan the crown prince of Yan. Jing Ke was originally from Wei (衛, not 魏), which he left because he was not being recognised by the King of Wei. After travelling around, he arrived at Yan and made friends with Gao Jian Li and a butcher of dogs. Together they passed the days drinking and having fun. A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... State of Yan (small seal script, 220 BC) Yan (pinyin: yan1, simplified Chinese/traditional Chinese: 燕) was a state during the Western Zhao, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China. ... Gao Jian Li was a citizen of Yan & a player of the Zu (a type of musical instrument). ...

Dan was a friend of Zheng (who later became Qin Shi Huang) when they were both hostages in the State of Zhao. When Dan escaped from Zhao back to Yan, Qin's army moved towards the border with Yan. Yan's army was too weak to fight off the army of Qin. Instead of going to battle, Dan consulted with Tian Guang on a course of action, and decided to assassinate the king of Qin. Tian Guang, who was a friend of Jing Ke, recommended him to Dan to carry out the assassination. State of Zhao (small seal script, 220 BC) Zhao (pinyin: zhao4, simplified Chinese: 赵, traditional Chinese: 趙) was a Chinese state during the Warring States Period. ... The Qin empire in 210 BC, during the Qin Dynasty. ...

A Qin army general (Fan Yu Qi), who had lost favor with the king of Qin, was a guest at Dan's residence at that time. Having learned of his whereabouts, Jing Ke persuaded the general to commit suicide, as the king of Qin wanted his head. Together with the head and a map of Yan, Jing Ke had enough reasons to approach the king of Qin. State of Yan (small seal script, 220 BC) Yan (pinyin: yan1, simplified Chinese/traditional Chinese: 燕) was a state during the Western Zhao, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China. ...

Off onto his mission, at the river of Yi (the border of Zhao), Jing Ke reportedly shouted out this impromptu poem after a cup of wine with friends: "Piercing wind, freezing river of Yi. The hero fords, and he never returns!" This heroism, which reflects the general ideology of the society at that time, is recorded in Shiji.

Armed with a dagger covered with poison hidden in the case holding the map, Jing Ke and Qin Wu Yang represented Yan and met with the king of Qin. Qin Wu Yang was carrying the map case while Jing Ke was holding the head of general Fan. Qin Wu Yang became nervous and his face turned white. Seizing his chance, Jing Ke took the map case from Qin Qu Yang. While presenting the map to the king of Qin, he seized the dagger and plunged it towards the king of Qin while grasping his sleeve. For the typographical mark, see dagger (typography). ...

Jing Ke missed and in the struggle, the sleeve was torn off and the king of Qin escaped. As Jing Ke chased the king around the audience hall, the king of Qin tried hard to pull out his sword which was slung at his back. After being advised by a court official, the king of Qin managed to draw out his sword and seriously wounded Jing Ke with it. Jing Ke, knowing that his chances were slipping away, threw the dagger at the king and missed. Finally, the guards arrived and killed the assassin.

The Chinese film The Emperor and the Assassin (1999), featuring Gong Li and others, was based on these events. Jing Ke does not appear, however, in the film Hero, also about the attempted assassination of Qin Shihuangdi, although the events of that movie are loosely based on his story. Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... The Emperor and the Assassin (荊柯刺秦王) is a 1999 Chinese historical romance film made in the Peoples Republic of China. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Gong Li (Simplified Chinese: 巩俐; Traditional Chinese: 鞏俐; pinyin: ) (born December 31, 1965) is a Chinese film actress. ... Hero (Chinese: 英雄; pinyin: ) is a film first released in China on October 24, 2002. ... Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) (November or December 260 BC - September 10, 210 BC), personal name Zheng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BC to 221 BC, and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, ruling under the name First...

External links

• The Emperor and the Assassin (Jing ke ci Qin wang) the film (from IMDB.com)