Editing User:Sol Pacificus/Sandbox


==Biography==
What follows is the legend of Nie Zheng as recounted in [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Record of the Grand Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]]''.<ref name="Sima Assassins">Sima Qian. (94 BCE). "Biographies of Assassins". ''Records of the Grand Historian''. ''Chinese Text Project''. Accessed 27 June 2021. https://ctext.org/shiji/ci-ke-lie-zhuan.</ref>

===Legend===
Nie Zheng was originally from a small town called Zhi (within modern-day {{wiki|Jiyuan}}, {{wiki|Henan}}<ref name="Baike">[https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%81%B6%E6%94%BF/590679 聶政 （戰國時期刺客)]. ''{{wiki|Baidu Baike}}''. Accessed 9 April 2022.</ref>), but he fled to the {{wiki|Qi (state)|State of Qi}} with his mother and elder sister to escape reprisals after he committed a murder. There, he took on the vocation of a butcher.<ref name="Sima Assassins" />

A long time passed until one day Yan Zhongzi (嚴仲子), an official of {{wiki|Puyang}} who served {{wiki|Marquess Ai of Han}}, ran afoul of a minister named Xialei (俠累). Fearing that he would be executed, Zhongzi fled {{wiki|Han (state)|Han}} to roam the other states in search of help eliminating his rival back home. When he arrived in Qi, the locals shared rumours that Nie Zheng was a courageous knight who was hiding among butchers to elude some vendetta.<ref name="Sima Assassins" />

So Zhongzi went to Nie Zheng's residence and knocked at the door to make his request. Turned away several times, he resorted to appealing directly to Nie Zheng's mother instead with [[wine]]. As the vibe turned jubilant from alcohol, he brought out a copious sum of gold as a gift of blessings and respect to her. Nie Zheng was startled by the exuberant offer yet firmly refused it even while thanking him. When Zhongzi adamantly persisted, Nie Zheng explained, "''I am fortunate to have a mom though our family is poor. I moved in here and became a [[dog]] butcher so that night and day I am able to scrape up victuals to take care of my mother. I can provide for my loved one sufficiently, and I do not dare to warrant your benefaction''".<ref name="Sima Assassins" />

At this, Zhongzi moved aside from others' earshot, for he then told Nie Zheng this:<ref name="Sima Assassins" />
<blockquote>"''I have grievances'' [''awaiting recompense'']'', and I have travelled across numerous princely states. Having arrived in Qi, I personally happened to hear of how high is your respectful sense of justice. Thus I thought to forward this gold to you for the sake of your honour's grain expenses, so that I might be your respectful friend. How could I dare to have any further hopes or requests?''"</blockquote>

Whereupon Nie Zheng replied, "''That is why I diminished my ambitions and humiliated myself to live in the market slums as a butcher, merely wishing to take care of my mom. As long as mom is here, I, Zheng, cannot yet dare to commit my body to someone else.''" Still, Zhongzi fervently continued his display of accommodating courtesy, but Nie Zheng could not be swayed to accept the gift. In the end, the official-in-exile exceeded all decorum between host and guest and had to leave.<ref name="Sima Assassins" />

Another long time passed and eventually Nie Zheng's mother died. Once she had been buried and the mourning period had elapsed...

==Biography==
What follows is the legend of Jing Ke as recounted in [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Record of the Grand Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]]''.<ref name="Sima">Sima Qian. (94 BCE). "Biographies of Assassins". In ''Records of the Grand Historian''. ''Chinese Text Project''. Accessed 5 July 2023. https://ctext.org/shiji/ci-ke-lie-zhuan.</ref>

While Jing Ke was a native of {{wiki|Wey (state)|Wey}} (衛),<ref group="note" name="note1">The state Wèi (衛) is commonly spelled Wey in contravention of the {{wiki|Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin}} romanization standard to distinguish from the more prominent state {{wiki|Wei (state)|Wèi}} (魏) because the two polities' modern {{wiki|Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin}} pronunciations are homophonic. In ancient times, their pronunciations were distinct and remain so in some other Chinese languages today.</ref> his ancestors originally lived in {{wiki|Qi (state)|Qi}} and bore the surname Qing (慶), only later migrating to Wei.<ref name="Sima" /> He was a well-educated adept of the [[sword]], but although he taught its art to Lord Yuan of Wey (衛元君), the ruler neglected to put it to use. Afterwards, [[Qin dynasty|Qin]] conquered Wey and established {{wiki|Dong Commandery}} (東郡, lit. "East Commandery") in its place, whereupon Jing Ke fled to the northeast state of {{wiki|Yan}}.<ref name="Sima" />

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' {{Mo}}

==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}