Jing Ke
Jing Ke († 227 BC ; Chinese 荊軻 , Pinyin Jīng Kē , W.-G. Ching K'o ) was a person of ancient Chinese history and is still known today for his failed assassination attempt on the First Emperor of China Qin Shihuangdi . His story is told in the chapter "Biography of the Assassins" (刺客 列傳) in Sima Qian's historical work Shiji .
Jing Ke came from Wei (衛) state but led a vagabond life. In Yan State , he made friends with the dog slaughterer Gao Jianli and spent the days drinking and playing with him.
Dan, a friend of Zheng (later Qin Shihuangdi), felt threatened by Qin's army and decided to kill Zheng. Tian Guang, a friend of Jing Ke's, recommended that Dan let Jing Ke carry out the assassination. Jing Ke persuaded the disgraced Qin general Fan Yuqi, who had sought refuge with Dan, to commit suicide so that he could hand over fans head to King Zheng.
With the severed head and a map of Yan State, Jing Ke hoped to gain access to Zheng. On his way to the Qin capital, Jing Ke called his friends the famous words “ 风 潇潇 兮 ， 易水寒 ， 壮士 一去不复返 ” (German: “Despite the cutting wind and ice-cold water, the hero crosses over and does not turn back “) To.
With the map in which Qin Wuyang had hidden a poisoned dagger and the head of General Fan Yuqi, Jing Ke received an audience with King Zheng. When Qin Wuyang became nervous, Jing Ke took the card and presented it to King Zheng. On this occasion he took up the dagger and stabbed the king, but missed it and tore off only one sleeve. Zheng picked up his sword, but it was an overly long ceremonial weapon that he couldn't get out of its sheath. Jing Ke drove him through the audience hall until he managed to draw his sword. Now he stabbed Jing Ke eight times, who, in desperation, threw his dagger at the king, but the king got stuck in a pillar.
None of his subjects came to the king's aid at first, because it was strictly forbidden to enter the throne area without the king's express order and also because - due to his paranoia - nobody in his vicinity was allowed to carry a weapon. In the end, it was the personal doctor who struck Jing Ke down with his medicine bag. Then finally the bodyguard intervened and killed Jing Ke.
filming
The Chinese film "The Emperor and His Assassin" from 1999 with Gong Li in a leading role builds on this report from Shiji.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jing, Ke |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Assassin of China's First Emperor Qin Shihuang |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 227 BC Chr. |