Yao Li (要离) was an assassin hired by King Helu of the Wu state in ancient China.
The story of Yao Li is recorded in the chapter "Biographies Of The Assassins" of the
Shi Ji,
the famous book by Sima Qian,
an imperial historian who lived more
than 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty of ancient China.
After King Liao of the Wu state (吴王僚) was assassinated by
Zhuan Zhu (专诸), King
Helu (阖闾) learned that King Liao's son, Prince Qing Ji (庆忌),
was in the state of Wei (卫) plotting to avenge his father's
death.
Yao Li, another swordsman recommended by Wu Zixu (伍子胥),
was tasked by King Helu to assassinate Prince Qing Ji.
In order to go undercover as a criminal, Yao Li killed his
wife and his mother, and as punishment, King Helu cut off
Yao Li's right hand and expelled him from the Wu state.
Yao Li fled to the Wei state and sought refuge with Prince
Qing Ji. Prince Qing Ji welcomed Yao Li because they shared a
common enemy (or so he thought). Later, Yao Li managed to get
on the same boat with Prince Qing Ji. As the boat reached the
middle of the river, he stabbed Prince Qing Ji and was killed by
the prince's men.
In another version of the story, Yao Li managed to escape,
but later committed suicide because he was too ashamed of
himself for killing his own family.
Yao Li was not included in Sima Qian's Ci Ke Lie
Zhuan, but I am including his story in my Swords Of The
Assassins, because it's no less interesting than the others.
Zhuang Zhu and Yao Li were both hired by King Helu of Wu, both
were recommended by Wu Zixu, and both sacrificed their lives for
their missions.
(Wu Zixu seemed to be very well connected. He was the one
who recommended the military strategist, Sun Wu (孙武), more famously known as Sun Zi (孙子), to King
Helu. Sun Zi wasn't famous yet at the time, so he had to
present his newly written "Sun Zi's Art Of War" (孙子兵法) to King Helu as
proof of his credentials. After winning several wars for King
Helu, Sun Zi started to have a bad feeling about working for the
guy, so he decided to quit his job and return to a life of
seclusion. His friend Wu Zixu, on the other hand, stayed on with
King Helu, and later met with a tragic end, being forced to commit suicide.)
Some 70 years later, the assassin
Yu Rang (豫让) appeared in the
state of Jin.
© 2007 Koh Chuen Ferng
