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{{Era|Organizations|Templars}} | {{Era|Organizations|Templars}}{{WP-REAL}} | ||
{{WP-REAL}} | {{Faction Infobox | ||
|image = Demon Fire China (4).jpg | |||
The '''Eight Tigers''' were a | |founder = [[Liu Jin]] | ||
|headquarters = [[Forbidden City]], [[Beijing]] | |||
|locations = [[China]] | |||
|parent = [[Shanghai Rite of the Templar Order|Chinese Templars]] {{c|1510 – 1532}} | |||
|active = 15th century – 1532<ref name="Vengeance">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Vengeance]]</ref> | |||
}} | |||
The '''Eight Tigers''' were a group of powerful [[eunuch]]s in the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] imperial court during the reign of the [[Zhu Houzhao|Zhengde Emperor]], almost all of whom were members of the [[Shanghai Rite of the Templar Order|Chinese Rite]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Rise to power=== | ===Rise to power=== | ||
Originally led by [[Liu Jin]], who | Originally led by [[Liu Jin]], who was not a Templar himself, the group leadership was taken over by [[Zhang Yong]] in 1510, when the latter betrayed Liu Jin by denouncing a plot against the Zhengde Emperor, leading to his execution via ''[[lingchi]]''.<ref name="Liu Jin DB">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Liu Jin]]</ref> | ||
[[File:AC Blade of Shao Jun - Eight Tigers.png|thumb|220px|left|Four of the Tigers: Gu Dayong, Qiu Ju, Zhang Yong, and Wei Bin]] | |||
After the heir-less Emperor died in 1521, the Tigers rose to power and planned to place their own puppet on the throne.<ref name="Scroll 4">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 4 (China)|Scroll 4]]</ref> During the interregnum, they learned that the Neo-Confucian philosopher and general [[Wang Yangming]] was an [[Assassins|Assassin]] and started to spy on him, identifying many of his allies. Due to the absence of a declared Emperor and the confusion that reigned in court, the Tigers believed it was the perfect moment to make their move against the Assassins and purge their enemies from [[Beijing]].<ref name="Scroll 5">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 5 (China)|Scroll 5]]</ref> | |||
After Zhengde was succeeded by the | However, the Tigers made a mistake and word of their plot leaked to the Imperial [[concubine]]s. One concubine, [[Shao Jun]], warned Wang Yangming,<ref name="Scroll 6">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 6 (China)|Scroll 6]]</ref> allowing him to call his best Assassins into the [[Forbidden City]] in an attempt to stop the Tigers; however, they were defeated.<ref name="Scroll 7">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 7 (China)|Scroll 7]]</ref> After the Zhengde Emperor was succeeded by his cousin, the [[Zhu Houcong|Jiajing Emperor]], the Tigers ruled in his stead and made important decisions while the Emperor spent his time in [[brothel]]s and palaces. They would even choose his consorts to better control him.<ref name="Scroll 9">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 9 (China)|Scroll 9]]</ref> | ||
During the [[Great Rites Controversy]], the Tigers sought to eliminate anyone who opposed their reign. The purge was overseen by Zhang Yong and executed by his minions: [[Wei Bin]], [[Qiu Ju]], and [[Ma Yongcheng]]. The Tigers hunted down Assassins all across China, forcing Wang Yangming to go into hiding<ref name="Scroll 10">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 10 (China)|Scroll 10]]</ref> and the Brotherhood's allies in the Forbidden City to evacuate the palace. Although some, like Shao Jun, managed to escape,<ref name="Scroll 7" /> others like [[Hong Liwei]] were not as fortunate and were either executed or sent to the [[Maijishan Grottoes]], a former Assassin stronghold which the Templars had converted into a secret prison for their enemies.<ref name="The Escape">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Escape (China)|The Escape]]</ref> | |||
By 1524, with the [[Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins|Chinese Assassins]] all but wiped out, the Tigers became confident that they controlled China and retreated to luxurious places to enjoy their new power and put another puppet in place. [[Yan Song]] was to be the public face of the administration while the Jiajing Emperor turned himself completely towards private affairs. In the shadows, the Tigers continued to hunt the few surviving Assassins in China and started a search for various [[Isu]] [[Piece of Eden|artifacts]], all the while also consolidating their grip over the country.<ref name="Scroll 12">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 12 (China)|Scroll 12]]</ref> | |||
Hearing that the Assassin [[Mentor]] [[Zhu Jiuyuan]] and his apprentice Shao Jun had left the country to seek aid from the Brotherhood in [[Italy]],<ref name="Scroll 13">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 13 (China)|Scroll 13]]</ref> the Tigers sent [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] to kill them, resulting in the Mentor's death.<ref name="Scroll 14">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 14 (China)|Scroll 14]]</ref> Shao Jun, however, managed to escape and was trained by the [[Italian Brotherhood of Assassins|Italian Assassins]]' renowned former Mentor [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]].<ref name="Embers">''[[Assassin's Creed: Embers]]''</ref> | |||
[[ | |||
===Revenge of the Assassins=== | |||
[[File:The Escape China (4).jpg|thumb|250px|Gao Feng questioning Shao Jun during her imprisonment]] | |||
Shao Jun returned to China in 1526 to rebuild her Brotherhood. Reuniting with Wang Yangming, they began exacting revenge on the Tigers, tracking them one after the other. Using the [[Precursor box]] given to her by Ezio, Shao Jun tricked the Tiger [[Gao Feng]] into imprisoning her in the Maijishan Grottoes. She escaped her cell, freed Hong Liwei, retrieved the remaining Assassin scrolls, and killed Gao Feng.<ref name="The Escape" /> Meanwhile, Wang Yangming eliminated [[Ma Yongcheng]], who served the Tigers as a torturer, though the Assassins failed to retrieve the box.<ref name="The Return">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Return]]</ref> | |||
Zhang Yong | Later that year, an [[Kotetsu's father|Assassin spy]] in [[Macau]] learned that the Precursor box had been given to the Tiger and [[Slavery|slaver]] [[Gu Dayong]] and managed to inform Yangming before he was discovered and captured by the Templars. Shao Jun infiltrated Dayong's stronghold and freed the spy at the request of his young son, [[Kotetsu]], though he soon succumbed to injuries he had received while being tortured.<ref name="Port">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[Port]]</ref> Vowing revenge on Dayong, Shao Jun assassinated the Tiger and retrieved the box,<ref name="The Slaver">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Slaver]]</ref> though in retaliation, Qiu Ju ordered that the port of Macau be set [[1526 Macau fires|ablaze]], resulting in many civilian casualties.<ref name="Consequences">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Consequences (China)|Consequences]]</ref> | ||
In 1529, Shao Jun and Wang Yangming tracked Wei Bin, Zhang Yong's second-in-command, to [[Nan'an]].<ref name="The Search">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Search]]</ref> While Shao Jun infiltrated the Tiger's stronghold and killed him,<ref name="The Snake">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Snake]]</ref> Yangming went to meet with a contact for information on the Precursor box. Aware of Yangming's intentions, Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju ambushed him during the meeting<ref name="Reunion">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[Reunion (manga)|Reunion]]</ref> and killed him, recovering the box.<ref name="Hunted">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Hunted]]</ref> After Shao Jun arrived too late to save her Mentor, Qiu Ju attempted to kill her as well, but was stopped by a [[Scholar|monk]] from a nearby [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temple, who ordered the Templars to leave.<ref name="Funeral Pyre">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[Funeral Pyre]]</ref> | |||
[[File:Vengeance China (5).jpg|left|thumb|250px|Shao Jun and Zhang Yong's confrontation atop the Great Wall]] | |||
Upon their discovery of Shao Jun's friendship with [[Zhang Qijie|Empress Zhang]] in 1530, the remaining Tigers used her to lure the last Chinese Assassin into a trap.<ref name="An Old Friend">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[An Old Friend]]</ref> However, their plan was in vain for Shao Jun managed to kill Qiu Ju in combat and Zhang Yong was forced to escape, leaving a fire in his wake which nearly destroyed the Imperial Palace.<ref name="Demon Fire">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[Demon Fire]]</ref> He then sent the Precursor box to other Templars outside China to keep it out of the Assassins' hands.<ref name="Vengeance" /> | |||
In 1532, Zhang Yong, desperate to maintain his grip on power, allied himself with the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] and their leader [[Altan Khan]] and offered to help them invade China.<ref name="The Betrayal">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Betrayal]]</ref> However, before he could open the gates of the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] and start the invasion, Shao Jun and Kotetsu interfered and helped the Ming [[soldier]]s to thwart the Mongol attack.<ref name="The Great Wall">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[The Great Wall]]</ref> Shao Jun then assassinated Zhang Yong, marking the end of the Tigers and of Templar influence in China.<ref name="Vengeance" /> | |||
==Members== | ==Members== | ||
*[[Liu Jin]] (leader | *[[Liu Jin]] (leader; ? – 1510) | ||
*[[Zhang Yong]] (leader | *[[Zhang Yong]] (leader; 1510 – 1532) | ||
*[[Gao Feng]] | *[[Gao Feng]] | ||
*[[Ma Yongcheng]] | *[[Ma Yongcheng]] {{c|The Butcher}} | ||
*[[ | *[[Gu Dayong]] {{c|The Slaver}} | ||
*[[Qiu Ju]] | *[[Qiu Ju]] {{c|The Demon}} | ||
*[[Wei Bin]] | *[[Wei Bin]] {{c|The Snake}} | ||
*[[Luo Xiang]] | *[[Luo Xiang]] | ||
==Behind the | ==Behind the scenes== | ||
Several members of the Eight Tigers | The Eight Tigers are historical characters first introduced as the main group of antagonists in the 2015 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]''. They later appeared in the game's 2019 manga adaptation, ''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'', where their role is largely unchanged, although the story does feature several alterations, such as Qiu Ju being to one to kill Wang Yangming instead of Zhang Yong, and Shao Jun failing to retrieve the Precursor box from the Templars in Macau. The manga also includes the first mention of the group's eighth member, [[Luo Xiang]], who passed away several decades before the story's events.<ref name="ABTO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[The Assassin Brotherhood and The Templar Order]]</ref> | ||
Although both the game and the manga portray the Eight Tigers as influencing the Jiajing Emperor and playing a major role in the Great Rites Controversy, historically, most of the Tigers had already died or retired from the Imperial court by the time of the Jiajing Emperor's ascension to the throne.<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|Eight Tigers}}</ref> | |||
Several members of the Eight Tigers have beards. While a eunuch loses his ability to secrete male hormones, which is essential for beards to grow, a eunuch’s beard grown before being neutered can still be kept, such as in the example of {{Wiki|Tong Guan}}, a prominent eunuch during the Song Dynasty. However, the majority became eunuchs at a very young age, which is too early for a beard to grow. Zhang Yong, according to historical records, became a eunuch at an age of 10, which is highly unlikely for him to have such a beard. | |||
==Appearances== | ==Appearances== | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' {{1st}} | *''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' {{1st}} | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rebellion]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Echoes of History]] – Chinese Chronicles'' {{Mo}} | |||
===Non-canonical appearances=== | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Desert Threat]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty]]'' | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}} | ||
{{Templars nav}} | {{Templars nav}} | ||
{{ACC}} | {{ACC}} | ||
{{ACBoSJ}} | |||
{{ACMS}} | |||
[[fr:Huit Tigres]] | |||
[[zh:八虎]] | |||
[[Category:Organizations]] | |||
[[Category:Templar Order]] | |||
[[Category:Chinese Templars]] | |||
[[Category:Templar-affiliated groups]] | [[Category:Templar-affiliated groups]] | ||
[[Category:Eunuchs]] | [[Category:Eunuchs]] | ||
Latest revision as of 01:49, 28 October 2025
The Eight Tigers were a group of powerful eunuchs in the Ming imperial court during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, almost all of whom were members of the Chinese Rite of the Templar Order.
History[edit | edit source]
Rise to power[edit | edit source]
Originally led by Liu Jin, who was not a Templar himself, the group leadership was taken over by Zhang Yong in 1510, when the latter betrayed Liu Jin by denouncing a plot against the Zhengde Emperor, leading to his execution via lingchi.[2]
After the heir-less Emperor died in 1521, the Tigers rose to power and planned to place their own puppet on the throne.[3] During the interregnum, they learned that the Neo-Confucian philosopher and general Wang Yangming was an Assassin and started to spy on him, identifying many of his allies. Due to the absence of a declared Emperor and the confusion that reigned in court, the Tigers believed it was the perfect moment to make their move against the Assassins and purge their enemies from Beijing.[4]
However, the Tigers made a mistake and word of their plot leaked to the Imperial concubines. One concubine, Shao Jun, warned Wang Yangming,[5] allowing him to call his best Assassins into the Forbidden City in an attempt to stop the Tigers; however, they were defeated.[6] After the Zhengde Emperor was succeeded by his cousin, the Jiajing Emperor, the Tigers ruled in his stead and made important decisions while the Emperor spent his time in brothels and palaces. They would even choose his consorts to better control him.[7]
During the Great Rites Controversy, the Tigers sought to eliminate anyone who opposed their reign. The purge was overseen by Zhang Yong and executed by his minions: Wei Bin, Qiu Ju, and Ma Yongcheng. The Tigers hunted down Assassins all across China, forcing Wang Yangming to go into hiding[8] and the Brotherhood's allies in the Forbidden City to evacuate the palace. Although some, like Shao Jun, managed to escape,[6] others like Hong Liwei were not as fortunate and were either executed or sent to the Maijishan Grottoes, a former Assassin stronghold which the Templars had converted into a secret prison for their enemies.[9]
By 1524, with the Chinese Assassins all but wiped out, the Tigers became confident that they controlled China and retreated to luxurious places to enjoy their new power and put another puppet in place. Yan Song was to be the public face of the administration while the Jiajing Emperor turned himself completely towards private affairs. In the shadows, the Tigers continued to hunt the few surviving Assassins in China and started a search for various Isu artifacts, all the while also consolidating their grip over the country.[10]
Hearing that the Assassin Mentor Zhu Jiuyuan and his apprentice Shao Jun had left the country to seek aid from the Brotherhood in Italy,[11] the Tigers sent mercenaries to kill them, resulting in the Mentor's death.[12] Shao Jun, however, managed to escape and was trained by the Italian Assassins' renowned former Mentor Ezio Auditore.[13]
Revenge of the Assassins[edit | edit source]
.jpg)
Shao Jun returned to China in 1526 to rebuild her Brotherhood. Reuniting with Wang Yangming, they began exacting revenge on the Tigers, tracking them one after the other. Using the Precursor box given to her by Ezio, Shao Jun tricked the Tiger Gao Feng into imprisoning her in the Maijishan Grottoes. She escaped her cell, freed Hong Liwei, retrieved the remaining Assassin scrolls, and killed Gao Feng.[9] Meanwhile, Wang Yangming eliminated Ma Yongcheng, who served the Tigers as a torturer, though the Assassins failed to retrieve the box.[14]
Later that year, an Assassin spy in Macau learned that the Precursor box had been given to the Tiger and slaver Gu Dayong and managed to inform Yangming before he was discovered and captured by the Templars. Shao Jun infiltrated Dayong's stronghold and freed the spy at the request of his young son, Kotetsu, though he soon succumbed to injuries he had received while being tortured.[15] Vowing revenge on Dayong, Shao Jun assassinated the Tiger and retrieved the box,[16] though in retaliation, Qiu Ju ordered that the port of Macau be set ablaze, resulting in many civilian casualties.[17]
In 1529, Shao Jun and Wang Yangming tracked Wei Bin, Zhang Yong's second-in-command, to Nan'an.[18] While Shao Jun infiltrated the Tiger's stronghold and killed him,[19] Yangming went to meet with a contact for information on the Precursor box. Aware of Yangming's intentions, Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju ambushed him during the meeting[20] and killed him, recovering the box.[21] After Shao Jun arrived too late to save her Mentor, Qiu Ju attempted to kill her as well, but was stopped by a monk from a nearby Buddhist temple, who ordered the Templars to leave.[22]
.jpg)
Upon their discovery of Shao Jun's friendship with Empress Zhang in 1530, the remaining Tigers used her to lure the last Chinese Assassin into a trap.[23] However, their plan was in vain for Shao Jun managed to kill Qiu Ju in combat and Zhang Yong was forced to escape, leaving a fire in his wake which nearly destroyed the Imperial Palace.[24] He then sent the Precursor box to other Templars outside China to keep it out of the Assassins' hands.[1]
In 1532, Zhang Yong, desperate to maintain his grip on power, allied himself with the Mongols and their leader Altan Khan and offered to help them invade China.[25] However, before he could open the gates of the Great Wall and start the invasion, Shao Jun and Kotetsu interfered and helped the Ming soldiers to thwart the Mongol attack.[26] Shao Jun then assassinated Zhang Yong, marking the end of the Tigers and of Templar influence in China.[1]
Members[edit | edit source]
- Liu Jin (leader; ? – 1510)
- Zhang Yong (leader; 1510 – 1532)
- Gao Feng
- Ma Yongcheng (The Butcher)
- Gu Dayong (The Slaver)
- Qiu Ju (The Demon)
- Wei Bin (The Snake)
- Luo Xiang
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
The Eight Tigers are historical characters first introduced as the main group of antagonists in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. They later appeared in the game's 2019 manga adaptation, Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, where their role is largely unchanged, although the story does feature several alterations, such as Qiu Ju being to one to kill Wang Yangming instead of Zhang Yong, and Shao Jun failing to retrieve the Precursor box from the Templars in Macau. The manga also includes the first mention of the group's eighth member, Luo Xiang, who passed away several decades before the story's events.[27]
Although both the game and the manga portray the Eight Tigers as influencing the Jiajing Emperor and playing a major role in the Great Rites Controversy, historically, most of the Tigers had already died or retired from the Imperial court by the time of the Jiajing Emperor's ascension to the throne.[28]
Several members of the Eight Tigers have beards. While a eunuch loses his ability to secrete male hormones, which is essential for beards to grow, a eunuch’s beard grown before being neutered can still be kept, such as in the example of Tong Guan, a prominent eunuch during the Song Dynasty. However, the majority became eunuchs at a very young age, which is too early for a beard to grow. Zhang Yong, according to historical records, became a eunuch at an age of 10, which is highly unlikely for him to have such a beard.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
- Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)
- Echoes of History – Chinese Chronicles (mentioned only)
Non-canonical appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm
- Assassin's Creed: The Desert Threat
- Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty
References[edit | edit source]
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