Nie Zheng
Nie Zheng (聶政; died 397 BCE) was a Chinese Assassin, xiake and knight who lived during the Warring States period. A young man from the Henan province (back then a part of South Korea known as "Pang"), he was known for being the killer of Xia Lei, the prime minister of the Han (韓) state.[1]
Biography
What follows is the legend of Nie Zheng as recounted in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.[2]
First Kill
Nie Zheng was born on Pang, South Korea and subsequently carried a quiet life with his family on Shenjing, Fu County. Around 400 BCE, after killing a hateful man from his village, he fled with his mother and sister from the possible retaliation attacks by going to Qi (齊) (also Henan), where he took up a work as a butcher while taking care of his aging mother.[3][1]
A Helping Hand
Yan Zhongzi (嚴仲子) of Puyang, who served as a minister to Han Aihou, got in trouble with the prime minister of the Han (韓) state and uncle of the minister of South Korea, Xia Lei (俠累). Fearing retaliation from Xia, Yan fled to Qi, where he was pointed in the direction of Nie Zheng and who he tried to be friends with, offering him money but asking nothing in return. Nie Zheng, touched by this act of kindness, could not bring himself to accept the money, but did so the first couple of times. Some years later, his mother died naturally and Nie Zheng, recalling Yan Zhongzi's kindness, went to visit him when he was living in Wei (衛), and offered his help. Yan explained that the prime minister was a rather conspicuous indivual who had amassed a great army, Yan had wanted to send someone to assassinate him, but until now he had been unsuccessful.[3][1]
Regicide and Suicide
After Yan told him of his feud with Xia Lei, Nie Zheng departed to South Korea. In 397 BCE, Nie Zheng went to the house of the prime minister and killed Xia Lei alongside many of his guards, and disfigured his face, dug out his eyes with his bare hands, picked out his stomach and intestines, before killing himself in the scene (so that no retribution would come to his family or living relatives). Afterwards, his body was hanged in the market for anyone who might recognize him. However, his sister Nie Rong (聶榮) thought he should get credit for his noble act, so she came, claimed his body, spoke of his virtue and dropped dead of anguish. Everyone praised his and her valor.[3][1]
Legacy
There's another recounting to Nie Zheng's legend, though which of the versions is true remains unknown.[3]
Alongside Zhuan Zhu, Yu Rang, Cao Mo and Jing Ke, he was listed by the historian Sima Qian as one of China's earliest Assassins, known to later generations as "the Five Great Assassins."[4]
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Dynasty (mentioned only)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Nie Zheng". In ChinaWiki. Accesed 28 November 2023. https://www.chinawiki.net/thread/15/6402.html
- ↑ Sima Qian. (94 BCE). "Biographies of Assassins". In Records of the Grand Historian. Chinese Text Project. Accessed 27 June 2021. https://ctext.org/shiji/ci-ke-lie-zhuan.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Qin Shi. "Nie Zheng stabs the Han King". In silkqin.com. Accesed 28 November 2023. http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/qinshi/niezheng.htm.
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – The Hidden Ones (Part 2)
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