Wei Yu
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Wei Yu (魏羽) was the leader of a group of youxia operating in early Qin dynasty China. In 210 BCE, he assassinated Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, with a spear. For this act in fighting tyranny and preserving the welfare of the people, he became legendary among the Assassin Brotherhood and was posthumously honored as one of their own.[note 1]
Biography
Journey to Ionia
In 215 BCE, Wei Yu travelled to Ionia in order to retrieve an Isu relic from a Roman commander who was engaged in a battle with Hannibal Barca's Carthaginian soldiers. With the help of the misthios Kassandra, he made his way across the battlefield and killed the commander. After, Kassandra handed him and ornate dagger and a set of scrolls detailing one of his disciple's current unusual circumstances.[1]
Assassination of Qin Shi Huang
The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was a tyrannical ruler with ties to the Order of the Ancients.[2] In order to protect the people, Wei Yu resolved to free the land from Qin Shi Huang's oppression.[3] On 10 September 210 BCE, during one of the Emperor's imperial tours,[4] Wei Yu struck the Emperor with his spear, killing him.[3]
Legacy
By the time of the Renaissance, a tomb dedicated to Wei Yu was located on the top floor of the Torre Grossa in San Gimignano, Italy. The Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore explored the tomb and took the hidden seal from the tomb's sarcophagus, which later allowed him to obtain the Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's set of armor sealed in the Sanctuary beneath Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.[5]
Behind the scenes
Wei Yu was introduced in Assassin's Creed II as one of seven legendary Assassins commemorated with a statue in the Sanctuary of the Villa Auditore.
In Chapter 34 of Assassin's Creed: Dynasty, the protagonist Li E is shown the Assassins' secret Northern Treasury Under Heaven beneath the Mohist village in Qinghe by the community's leader, Pei Min. The vault is a repository of Assassin arms and equipment collected for safeguarding through the ages. After Pei Min tells Li E that is welcome to take any weapon he likes, a powerful spear catches the Hidden One's eyes. The elder explains that the spear dates to the Qin period and that it is named "Jing Ke" after the fabled Assassin who, according to Sima Qian's Record of the Grand Historian, is said to have lost his life in a failed assassination attempt against Qin Shi Huang. The context behind the spear strongly implies that it belonged to Wei Yu and is the same spear used to kill the First Emperor, but to date, this can only be inferred and has not been explicitly confirmed.[6]
Gallery
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Wei Yu's statue and sarcophagus -
The Seal of Wei Yu -
Wei Yu's Insignia -
Statue in the Sanctuary -
Drawing depicting the Wei Yu statue in the Sanctuary of Monteriggioni.
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed II (sculpture only)
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm (non-canon, mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Jade (first appearance)
Notes
- ↑ Wei Yu being posthumously honoured as an Assassin is based on information from two sources, Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Origins. In Assassin's Creed II, he and six others are commemorated as legendary Assassins in the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore. However, Assassin's Creed: Origins establishes that the Assassins, originally known as the Hidden Ones, were not founded until 47 BCE in Egypt—after Wei Yu's time—rendering Wei Yu's status as an Assassin posthumous. Additionally, Assassin's Creed: Dynasty establishes that, to the Chinese, "Assassin" became more than just the name of an organization but also a mantle that xiake could inherit in the fight for the common people. The Chinese translation of Assassin (حشاشين) being Cìkè (刺客), the term used to refer to five noteworthy heroes in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, the two identities melded together so that legendary Cike of Wei Yu's era also became remembered as Assassins.
References
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Jade – A Mediterranean Expedition
- ↑ Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed II – Floating conversations: Unlocking Monteriggioni's Secrets
- ↑
Qin Shi Huang on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Torre Grossa's Secret
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – The Hidden Ones (Part 2)
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