Jing Ke (? - 227 BC), a member of the Wei Kingdom at the end of the Warring States Period.

Also known as Qingqing, Jingqing and Qingke. Entrusted by Prince Dan of Yan, he went to assassinate the King of Qin, but failed and was killed. Allusions about Jing Ke are included in Sima Qian's "Historical Records Volume 86 Biography of Assassins 26", and the allusion "The picture is poor and the dagger is seen" comes from this.

Life

1. Early years

It is said that Jing Ke was originally a descendant of the Qing family of Qi. He later moved to Weiguo and changed his surname to Jing. Jing Ke liked studying and fencing, and once lobbied Wei Yuanjun, but he was not used. Later, he traveled around the world and interacted with celebrities and heroes from all over the world. Once, he and Gai Nie were discussing swordsmanship in Yuci. The conversation did not agree, Gai Nie looked at him angrily, and the two broke up unhappy. He argued with Lu Goujian again in Handan. Lu Goujian rebuked him angrily and he left silently.

He went to Yan State again and made friends with the local dog butcher and Gao Jianli, who was good at building construction, and became close friends. Jing Ke was addicted to alcohol, and he and Gao Jianli drank in the market every day. When they were drunk, Gao Jianli was building a building, and Jing Ke sang, and he started to cry while singing, thinking that there was no confidant in the world. Tian Guang, a knight-errant of the Yan Kingdom, also got to know Jing Ke and thought he was not an ordinary person.

2. Receiving courtesy from Prince Dan

At that time, King Qin was about to attack Yan, and Prince Dan and Tian Guang of Yan discussed resisting Qin. Tian Guang said that he was old and could not achieve great things, and recommended Jing Ke to Prince Dan. Before Tian Guang left, Prince Dan said to him: "What I discussed with you is an extremely confidential plan. You must not spread it."

Tian Guang found Jing Ke and told Jing Ke that he had recommended him to the prince, and said: "Since the prince is not at ease with me, it means that I am not a chivalrous person trusted by the prince. Go and see him quickly." Prince Dan, and told him that Tian Guang was dead, indicating that I would never reveal the secret." So Jing Ke rushed to see Prince Dan, who cried bitterly when he learned that Tian Guang was dead. He said to Jing Ke: "Now that Qin has annexed the land, its desire has no end.

It will not stop its aggression until it annexes all the land in the world and makes all the princes in the sea surrender. Now Qin has destroyed South Korea. Annexed its territory, and sent troops to attack Chu in the south and Zhao in the north. Wang Jian led hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Zhang and Ye, and Li Xin attacked Taiyuan and Yunzhong. If Zhao could not resist, it would be Yan's turn.

The state of Yan is weak and unable to resist the state of Qin. The princes are afraid of the state of Qin and dare not join forces. I have a plan to send warriors to the state of Qin to lure them with huge profits. At this time, it is best to kidnap him and make him return the occupied land, just like what Cao Mo did to Qi Huan Gong. If this does not work, kill him. The Qin country will be without a master for a while, and there will be civil war. When the princes unite, they will definitely be able to defeat Qin.

But I don’t know who to send, so I ask Jing Qing to keep an eye on me.” Jing Ke thought for a long time and said, “This is a national event, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it.” I am qualified." The prince kowtowed hurriedly and requested again and again. Jing Ke then agreed, and the prince respected Jing Ke as his minister, arranged for him to live in the best house, greeted him every day, provided him with delicacies of the highest level (cattle, sheep, and hogs), and provided him with carriages, horses, and beauties to enjoy.

Prince Dan and Jing Ke are discussing the assassination of Qin Wangzheng. They must first please him and get close to him. If they present the map of Dukang of Yan State, Qin Wangzheng will be happy to receive him.

Prince Dan once served as a hostage in the Qin State. He knew that the King of Qin was so suspicious that even the warriors in front of the palace were not allowed to carry swords, and foreign envoys were not allowed to wear swords when they came to visit, so he had to hide the dagger in the map. Showing the map to the King of Qin. When the King of Qin was listening to the briefing attentively, he took the opportunity to assassinate the King of Qin. If the King of Qin's vital parts were not stabbed, he would not be killed. Therefore, the dagger was tempered with poison. As long as he scratched any part of the King of Qin's body, he would be poisoned and die. .

So Jing Ke went to Yuci of the State of Zhao to find Mrs. Xu (male, surnamed Xu, given name), a famous swordsmith, and cast a dagger that was quenched with highly poisonous daggers, which could be seen to seal the throat with blood.

Later Jing Ke said to Prince Dan: "Only a map of Dukang of Yan State may not be able to win the trust of the King of Qin. There must be a token. General Fan Yuqi, who escaped from Qin, was offered a reward by the King of Qin. Thousands of families from Qianjin City come to ask for his head. If I present General Fan's head and the map of Dukang of Yan State to the King of Qin, the King of Qin will definitely receive me, and I can repay you."

< p>Prince Dan said in surprise: "General Fan came to me when he was at the end of his rope. I can't kill him so treacherously. Please find another way.

"

Jing Ke knew that the prince could not bear it, so he met Fan Yuqi privately and said: "The Qin State persecuted the general too hard. His parents and clan were all killed, and he offered a reward of thousands of pounds and thousands of families came to get you. What should the general do? Fan Yuqi said: "Every time I think about this, I hate King Qin, but I really can't think of any good way."

Jing Ke said: "Now there is a plan that can relieve Yan's worries and avenge the general. How about it?" Fan Yuqi asked what his plan was? Jing Ke said: "I hope to get the general's head to present to the King of Qin. The King of Qin will definitely come to receive me happily. At this time, I grabbed his sleeve with my left hand and stabbed his chest with the dagger with my right hand. What does the general think? "

Fan Yuqi knew he could take revenge, so he resolutely committed suicide. When the prince heard about this, he hurried over, lay down on the body and cried bitterly, put his head in a box and affixed a seal.

Yan People did not dare to look at Qin Wuyang, a state-owned warrior, who was appointed as Jing Ke's deputy. After a long time, Jing Ke still didn't do it. Prince Dan thought that Jing Ke had regretted it, so he said, "Does Jing Qing have anything else?" Ideas? I request that Qin Wuyang be allowed to go to Qin first. Jing Ke was furious and rebuked the prince: "Why is the prince so impatient?" The reason I stayed was to wait for my friends. Since the prince urges us, let’s leave now. ”

Soon Jing Ke and Qin Wuyang set off for the state of Qin. The prince and his guests all wore white clothes to bid farewell to Jing Ke on the north bank of Yishui River. At the edge of Yishui River, they worshiped the God of Roads and were about to hit the road. Gao Jianli attacked When he was building, Jing Ke sang with him in a different tune: "The wind is rustling and the water is cold. A strong man will never return once he is gone." "Used to sing with the sound of feathers. History books say that when Gao Jianli was building a building, Jing Ke sang so tragically that the listeners' eyes were filled with anger and all their fingers were raised.

3. Assassination of the King of Qin

After Jing Ke arrived in Qin, he bribed the concubine Meng Jia, one of the favored ministers of the King of Qin. Meng Jia first said to the King of Qin: "The King of Yan is very afraid of you and does not dare to lead troops to resist. He is willing to lead the entire country to surrender and become a county. Small officials in the county can guard the ancestral temple of the late king. I was too frightened to say anything, so I sent an envoy to present Fan Yuqi's head and the map of Dukang of Yan State. "The King of Qin was overjoyed, so he put on court clothes and hosted nine guests to receive Yan's envoy.

Jing Ke held the box containing Fan Yuqi's head, and Qin Wuyang followed behind holding a map. When they arrived at the palace, Qin Wuyang's face suddenly became frightened, and the officials were surprised. Jing Ke looked back at Qin Wuyang and said with a smile: "The barbarians in the north have never seen the majesty of the emperor, so they are afraid. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. "

The King of Qin said to Jing Ke: "Bring the map that Qin Wuyang brought. "Jing Ke brought the map, and the King of Qin opened it. The map was poor and the dagger was visible. Jing Ke grabbed the sleeve of the King of Qin with his left hand, and stabbed the King of Qin with the dagger with his right hand. The King of Qin was shocked. He broke his sleeve and stood up to draw his sword, but the sword was too long. He couldn't pull it out. Jing Ke chased the King of Qin, and the King of Qin fled around the pillars. The ministers were all in panic, and the warriors were all in the palace. They couldn't go to the palace without an edict.

At this time, the doctor Xia Wuji handed Jing Ke a medicine bag. Throwing it away, Jing Ke stretched out his hand to block it, and all the ministers shouted: "The king carries the sword on his back. "The King of Qin took advantage of this moment to turn his sword behind his back and pull it out, then turned around and cut off Jing Ke's left leg. Jing Ke fell to the ground and threw the dagger at the King of Qin, but it missed and only hit the copper pillar.

The King of Qin asked Jing Ke struck eight swords in a row. Jing Ke knew he had failed. He leaned on the pillar and smiled and said to the King of Qin: "The reason why I didn't succeed is because I wanted to capture you alive and force you to return the lands of the princes. "The warrior rushed up to the palace and killed Jing Ke. King Qin didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Extended information:

Memorial of the tomb site

Jing Ke's tomb, a saying After Jing Ke was killed in the south of Chaoge City, his body was hastily buried near Xianyang. Later, the Qi people were moved by his heroic deeds and secretly moved his body back to Chaoge for burial. There is a stone tablet in the temple with the words "Take his bones and bury him in his hometown". Unfortunately, it no longer exists.

According to the "Dictionary of Chinese Celebrities and Scenic Spots", Jing Ke's tomb is "in the south of Qi County." One kilometer north of the Zhishan River, the tomb is a pyramid-shaped mound, six meters high, covering an area of ??about 30 square meters. There is a Guanyintang temple to the north of the tomb, and the inscription on the temple also records the words "Jingke's tomb, south of the temple"." 18th Republic of China In 1929 AD, Li Daosan, the principal of Qixian Normal School, robbed the tomb. There was water in it and it was quite cold.

Li stole an ancient sword from it, which was three feet long and mottled with patina. After wiping it. The cold light was approaching, and Li Daosan took the sword as his own, and his whereabouts are unknown. It is said that it was not far southwest of Li Hutong Village, Jishan Town, Juancheng County, Heze City, Shandong Province, where Jing Ke was killed in an attempted assassination of the King of Qin and was buried here.

It is said that there is a tomb of Jingke on Jingke Mountain in the west of Yi County, Hebei Province. It is said that in Xianyang, Shaanxi, there is the tomb of Jing Ke.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Jing Ke