than being an aspect of his upbringing that he subsequently dropped (as a
counterexample, see Xiang Yu, discussed later).
Jing Ke was enlisted in a plan to assassinate the Qin king by Tian Guang,
while Jing was living in the kingdom of Yan. Tian was summoned to consult
with Dan, Heir of Yan, about Dan’s desire for personal revenge against the
Qin king. The motivation for assassinating the Qin king was not noble,
and Dan demonstrated his lack of character in his interaction with Tian
Guang. Tian had formerly been a man of daring and wisdom, but he was
now past his prime and recommended that Dan contact Jing Ke. As Tian
was leaving Dan to inform Jing Ke, the Yan Heir warned Tian not to speak
to anyone else about the matter they had discussed. Tian asked Jing Ke to
see Dan, but he warned him that Dan was not of good character:
I have heard that the actions of a man of honor do not cause other men to doubt
him. Today the Heir told me“What we have spoken of are crucial affairs of state,
I beg you not to let them be known, Venerable Sir.”Thus the Heir doubts me. When
his actions cause other men to doubt him, this is no high-principled gallant.^5
Tian Guang urged Jing Ke to see Dan and inform him that Tian had killed
himself so he could not speak of the matter. He then cut his own throat. The
contrast here between men of high character and those of low character is
striking. Good men trust others and are therefore trustworthy; they respect
the wisdom of good men to know what is and is not correct. When Dan
admonished Tian Guang to keep quiet, he directly insulted Tian, either
feeling he was too foolish to know he should keep quiet or incapable of
doing so. The only way to prove his own trustworthiness was to kill himself.
Tian Guang’s suicide was a direct expression of a severe ethical code that
prized honor and reputation above all else.
This willingness to kill oneself to prove one’s honor was then recapitu-
lated and advanced by Fan Wuqi, a Qin general who had offended the Qin
king andfled to the sanctuary of Yan. Jing Ke agreed to assassinate the Qin
king and was showered with gifts from Dan, but he pointed out that he
would be unable to get close enough to kill him without a significant token.
Jing suggested using as tokens General Fan’s head, since the Qin king had
placed a bounty on it, and a map of a particular piece of Yan territory.
Presenting the map was a symbol of surrendering that land, and it would
provide a place for Jing to conceal a poisoned dagger. Dan refused to violate
the sanctuary he had given General Fan, however, so Jing went directly to the
general and explained the situation to him.
General Fan cut his own throat to enable Jing Ke to get close enough to
the Qin king to kill him. Again, we see a warrior who is willing and able to
58 The Qin and Han Dynasties