Wang Yangming

"Take some rest, little sister. Together, we will free our land from the Templars and their pawns, Zhang Yong and his Tigers. We will rebuild our Brotherhood."

―Wang Yangming assuring Shao Jun, 1526.

Wang Yangming (王陽明; 1472 – 1529), born Wang Shouren (王守仁), courtesy name Bo'an (伯安), was a Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educator, and general of the Ming dynasty of China. He was also the Mentor of the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins.

Biography

Life as an Assassin

Secretly a Master Assassin, Wang rose to become an important minister of the Empire and always worked for the benefit of the Assassin cause. In 1506, he clashed with Liu Jin, an affluential eunuch who served as the leader of the Eight Tigers. After being insulted by Wang, Liu had him expelled from court and shunned from Beijing.

In 1510, Wang briefly returned to the Imperial capital in disguise and witnessed Liu Jin's execution via lingchi, after the eunuch had been betrayed by his own lieutenant Zhang Yong and implicated on charges of treason. During the execution, Wang made the acquaintance of a five-year-old Imperial concubine named Shao Jun, to whom he introduced himself simply as "Yangming".

Following Liu Jin's death, Wang became governor of Jiangxi and was renowned for his military exploits. He eventually returned to court after the death of the Zhengde Emperor in 1521, only to witness its takeover by the Eight Tigers, all of whom were members of the Chinese Rite of the Templar Order.

During this time, Wang was contacted by Shao Jun, now a teenager, who had discovered his secret identity and warned him of the Tigers' plot to destroy the Brotherhood. The Mentor called his best Assassins into the Forbidden City in an attempt to eliminate the Tigers before they could strike, but they were defeated.

Decline of the Brotherhood

Following their failed attempt to stop the Tigers, many of the captured Assassins were tortured and killed via lingchi, accompanied by anyone suspected of aiding the Brotherhood and even some innocents in order to spread fear and paranoia. This led Wang to order a full retreat of all his agents and possible allies from the Forbidden City, including Shao Jun.

For a while, Wang led the Brotherhood in Beijing, hoping to find a weakness in the Tigers' organization and take them down before they could completely steal Imperial power. During this time, he trained Shao Jun in the arts and philosophy of the Assassins, until she reached the level of Initiate, calling her "little sister". The Mentor often used her talents in gathering information critical to his operations.

Eventually, in 1524, the Tigers launched the Great Rites Controversy to eliminate all those who opposed their reign, including any remaining Assassins in China. This forced Wang, who was one of the Tigers' most well-known opponents, to disappear in order to escape the purge. A new Mentor, Zhu Jiuyuan, was appointed in his place, though he would die only a few months later, while traveling to Italy alongside Shao Jun to seek the aid of Ezio Auditore, the famed Mentor of the Italian Brotherhood.

Shao Jun's return

"I already warned you about those feelings, Shao Jun. I know your quest for vengeance fits with the goals of the Brotherhood, but you cannot put your heart into such endeavors."

―Wang warning Shao Jun, 1529.

Wang aiding Shao Jun in her endeavors

Shao Jun's time in Italy proved fruitful, as Ezio gifted her a small box, which he instructed her to open only if she lost her way. Following her return to China in 1526, Shao Jun sought out Wang and showed him the box, which was empty. Recognizing the box as bearing Precursor origins, Wang understood that Ezio had chosen to hide the artifact's true nature from Shao Jun and decided to do the same, telling her that the empty box was a metaphor for her journey; the only way to "fill" it was by fulfilling her destiny.

Following this, Wang and Shao Jun, as the only Assassins left in China worthy of the name, embarked on a quest to rebuild their Brotherhood by eliminating the Eight Tigers. The Mentor advised his student to use the Precursor box as bait to lure out the Tigers, which she did. While Jun was captured by the Templar Gao Feng and killed him after escaping her imprisonment, Wang tracked down and assassinated Ma Yongcheng.

Following Shao Jun's escape from the Maijishan Grottoes, a former Assassin stronghold which the Templars had converted into a prison, Wang picked up his student in a carriage. Although Jun had failed to retrieve the Precursor box from the Templars in time, the Mentor told her not to worry as they would find an opportunity to recover it in time. The two Assassins then decided to help Hong Liwei, an eunuch and Assassin informant that Jun had rescued from the Maijishan Grottoes. They traveled to a small village housing a few surviving members of their Brotherhood, who looked after Liwei.

Wang and Shao Jun sailing into Macau

After some time passed, Wang was contacted by one of his agents in Macau, who informed him that the Precursor box was in the possession of Yu Dayong, a Tiger and slaver who based his operation in the city. Wang sailed Shao Jun into Macau, allowing her to infiltrate Dayong's stronghold, assassinate the Templar and recover the box.

However, in retaliation for his fellow Tiger's murder and the theft of the box, Qiu Ju ordered that the port of Macau be set ablaze, resulting in many civilian casualties. Although Shao Jun managed to escape the fire and regrouped with Wang, this major loss of innocent lives deeply traumatized her.

Death

"Shifu, I'm sorry... I was too slow. I should have reached you sooner. I could have stopped Zhang Yong. I could have protected the box. What good is to take revenge if I keep losing those I care for? I could have saved you..."

―Shao Jun apologizing to her deceased Mentor, 1529.

For the next three years, Wang continued his hunt of the Eight Tigers alone, leaving Shao Jun at their hideout in the countryside to meditate on the events in Macau and recover from her trauma. However, he had little success in his search and eventually returned to the village in January 1529, where he was surprised to find Jun in the same place he had left her.

After heading to a barn to talk in private, Shao Jun expressed how the deaths caused by what she perceived as her own negligence still weighed heavy on her mind. Wang tried to reason with her, reminding her of Ezio Auditore's words that Assassins do not fight for revenge, but instead for the freedom of humanity. When Jun asked if her actions in Macau reflected that goal, Wang reminded her of the day he had rescued her from the Imperial Palace and claimed that her old friend, Zhang Qijie, may require her help.

Zhang Yong stabbing Wang

Following this, Wang revealed that one of his contacts in Nan'an had offered to help them uncover the secrets of the Precursor box, and that Wei Bin, one of the Tigers, was also in the city. While Shao Jun assassinated the Templar, Wang went to meet with his contact, only to be ambushed by Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju, who had caught wind of the Mentor's intentions. Although Wang managed to fend off the Templars' soldiers for a time, he was eventually bested by Zhang Yong, who impaled him with his sword.

As Zhang Yong took the Precursor box from the dying Wang, Shao Jun, alerted to the Templars' ambush, tried to rescue her Mentor, but arrived too late. After telling his student to keep fighting for peace and order, Wang died in her arms and Shao Jun apologized for her failure to save him.

Behind the scenes

Wang Yangming is a historical character introduced in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China.

In Chinese, Wáng Yáng​míng's name is written as 王陽明. Wáng (王) is a common Chinese surname that means "king". The personal name is composed of two characters. Yáng​ (陽) is the positive, active principle of the duality yin and yang in Chinese philosophy, and it can also refer to the sun. Míng (明) means "bright and clear". Together, his personal name can be interpreted as "the sun's brightness".

Gallery

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  Development concept
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  Design sketches
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  Design sketches
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  Wang Yangming in the Helix database
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  Wang and Shao Jun observing the Macau fires
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  Wang and Shao Jun arriving in Nan'an
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  Wang's final moments

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun

Non-canonical appearances

• Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm
• Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty

References

ru:Ван Янмин zh:王守仁 [[Category:Individuals who held Pieces of Eden