Assassin - Biography of Assassins

Author: Zhang Cheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: This is a book that narrates the lives and deeds of assassins in history. When the author was young, he once considered an assassin as a profession. At that time, his imagination of an assassin was like Jing Ke, a heroic figure. They were strong, agile, and chivalrous. These mysterious individuals moved like shooting stars, roamed the martial world, and skillfully wielded various weapons in a magical manner, often defeating enemies without them even realizing it, making villains tremble. Assassins should also be a group full of wisdom. They could discern loyalty from treachery, turn danger into safety, and leave behind legends that shone with the light of their thoughts. As the author grew older, he realized that such heroic assassins did exist, but they did not represent the whole. More assassins did not necessarily possess strong physiques, and they were not necessarily martial artists. The deeper common characteristic of assassins should be firm determination. For the sake of their goals, they could endure hardships for decades, live incognito for life, or even harm their own bodies to pursue their aspirations. Assassins were completely absolute spiritual strongmen. Most assassins only took one "job" in their lifetime. Whether the job was successful or not, it could make them immortal in history. Such a job was assassination. We, the later generations, should not view assassination as a mere means of political struggle. For assassins, any existing injustice or inequality that law and custom could not resolve could only be decided by knife and blood. Such assassinations could be non-political and purely spiritual. When they manifest as a resolute challenge by the just and weak against the evil and powerful, they can more easily attract the attention and respect of later generations. Throughout Chinese history, assassins and assassination incidents have been numerous. What people pay attention to are the assassinations in political and military struggles. Especially during times of regime change and social progress, famous assassins and sensational assassination incidents repeatedly appear. At the same time, Chinese history also records many assassinations based on personal feuds and beliefs, not instigated by political forces. Many legendary assassinations were tragic personal acts. This book hopes readers, while paying attention to the former, will pay more attention to the heroic deeds of the latter. We firmly oppose the assassinations of terrorism and the indiscriminate killing of civilians for the sake of creating a scene. On the contrary, assassins who, for the sake of ideals and beliefs, would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives even at the cost of being dismembered, fully deserve our respectful remembrance.