Liu Jin (劉瑾; 1451 – 1510) was the leader of the Eight Tigers, a group of powerful eunuchs who served the Zhengde Emperor in China. He was betrayed and implicated on charges of treason by the other Tigers—all members of the Chinese Rite of the Templar Order—and executed via lingchi.
Biography[]
Serving under the Zhengde Emperor of the Ming dynasty, Liu Jin amassed enormous power and wealth. He was a corrupt eunuch who used his influence to siphon money to himself. In time, he came to lead the Eight Tigers, a group consisting of seven other eunuchs who shared in his abuse of power.[2]
Because the Emperor indulged in a life of luxury and neglected his duties, Liu Jin held virtually complete control over the nation. However, unbeknownst to him, his right-hand man Zhang Yong had joined the Templar Order, soon followed by the rest of the Tigers. As Zhang Yong sought to take control of the Empire in the name of the Templars, he soon began plotting how to best get rid of Liu Jin.[2]
In court, Liu Jin clashed with the minister Wang Yangming, and in 1506, managed to have the Neo-Confucian expelled from the capital after he insulted him. Unbeknownst to Liu Jin or the other Tigers at the time, Yangming was a Master Assassin of the Chinese Brotherhood and, in 1510, organized the Prince of Anhua rebellion to counter Liu Jin's power. With his tremendous resources, the eunuch was easily poised to defeat it, but Yangming's involvement was not discovered.[2]
His victory meant little, for later that same year, Zhang Yong finally put in motion his plan to overthrow Liu Jin.[2] The eunuch was implicated on charges both real and fabricated; among them, the theft of nearly a decade's worth[1] of national income in gold and silver from taxes, and a plot to assassinate the Emperor.[3]
Upon his conviction, Liu Jin was sentenced to death by lingchi, a slow and torturous form of execution, and died two days after it had commenced,[2][3] by which time he had suffered a total of 3,357 small cuts.[1] A young Shao Jun, then only four years old,[4] was one of the witnesses of his agonizing demise, and the scene became forever etched in her memory.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
Liu Jin is a historical character first mentioned in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. Although both the game and Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide give the year of his death as 1510, the original Japanese release of the manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun has it occurring in 1507; this error has been rectified in the English version.
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (first mentioned) (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun (first appearance) (flashback only)
Non-canonical appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm (mentioned only)
References[]
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