Centuries before Arnold Schwarzenegger
was blowing dudes away as the terminator,
there was a man in ancient china
sent on a mission to kill a king.
He was known as ..... “the assassinator”.
Get ready folks heads are about to roll,
introducing .... Jing Ke!
In the 3rd century BC
during the crazy warring states period,
a young prince named Dan was captured by King Ying Zheng.
King Zheng's Qin Army, had amassed
an incredible amount of power and was on the path
to crushing his enemies and officially
take control over all of China.
He was remembered by traditional Chinese historians
as a horrible tyrant,
who destroyed countless academic literature
and sentenced intellectuals to death
by being burned or buried alive.
After escaping captivity Prince Dan
returned to his homeland of Yan
and began devising a plan to put an end
to King named Ying ...... of Qin.
Damn it that almost rhymed.
In order for his assassination mission to work,
Prince Dan required someone of great skill and unwavering devotion.
He enlisted help from Master Tian Guang,
A man known for having a great tactical mind,
as well as being exceptionally skilled with a blade.
The master believed that the plan could work
but he was too old to carry out the mission
instead, to take on the mission he recommended
his favourite drinking buddy the great Jing Ke.
Jing Ke was an avid scholar and skilled swordsman,
who despite his highly regarded skillset
had been unable to successfully start a career for himself.
After his hometown was invaded
by King Zheng's Army,
he spent his life travelling around China
drinking and doing odd jobs.
Master Tian Guang informed Jing Ke
of the Princes assassination plan
and then .... to show his loyalty to the Prince,
cut his own throat and die ....
Yeah, I'm not sure why he did that either .......
After their meeting, Jing Ke and Prince Dan decided
that the only way to get close enough to the King
was to pretend that Jing Ke was a traitor
and supply maps documenting
where Prince Dan's military were stationed.
They planned to conceal a thin blade hidden in the maps
so that as Jing was about to hand over the maps,
he could strike.
To further solidify his cover story,
Jing Ke met with a General, who had defected from the King's Army
and ACTUALLY managed to convince him to kill himself
so Jing could present his head to King Zhung.
With the General's head in hand,
Jing Ke and two of his friends set off to kill the King.
Upon their arrival in the Qin court,
Jing Ke presented the General's head to the King
and began unrolling the map.
As no-one was allowed to carry weapons in the court chambers,
this was the perfect time to strike.
Jing Ke reached for the King
but the King fell backwards because of his sudden movement.
He then proceeded to chase the King
around the court for a while until
the Royal Doctor threw his medical bag at Jing,
knocking him to the ground.
The King's attendants then finally came to their senses
and executed Jing Ke.
And .... well that's pretty much the entire story
King Zhung sent his troops to crush the other states,
and became the first Emperor of China.
As Emperor he joined together much of The Great Wall,
and even survived another two assassination attempts.
When the King died many years later,
he was buried in his tomb which is home
to the world famous Terracotta Warrior Army.
So if Jing Ke's attempt to kill the man who
would become the first Emperor of China failed,
why is he recognised as somewhat
of a national hero?
Seriously, there are movies, poetry, comics, shrines
and even video games about Jing Ke.
Well, it is partly about his extreme loyalty and
willingness to sacrifice himself
for the perceived greater good,
another reason is that it has been a story often used
throughout Chinese History as a means of inspiring
resistance to authority, showing that even through failure
against tyranny can be remembered throughout history
For me though, I just think it's another fascinating story
of Chinese History that in this case,
comes to a comically abrupt end.
So,thank you so much for watching another one of my videos,
As always, don't forget to like, comment and definitely subscribe.
If you would like to see another of my Chinese History videos,
check out this one
where we find out whether or not Disney's version of Mulan
is actually better than the original.
Once again, thank you so much for watching,
I’m WooKong, and ......... GOOD BYE.