Xi of Yan

Xi, King of Yan (燕王喜) (? - ?) (ruled 255 BC – 222 BC) was the last sovereign of the state of Yan in the last days Warring States period of Chinese history. He was the son of King Xiao of Yan (燕孝王). He was born as Ji Xi (姬喜), the same name of King Lie of Zhou (周烈王) and Count Yi of Cao (曹夷伯).

In the 28th year of his reign (227 BC), the State of Qin began its conquest of Yan, and his army approached Yishui (易水), modern-day Yi County, Hebei. Seeing the deep situation in which Yan was in, Crown Prince Dan, King Xi's son, sent an assassin Jing Ke, Qin Wuyang and others to kill the Qin king Ying Zheng, under the guise of presenting him with a map of Dukang (督亢) and the severed head of the Qin general Huan Yi. As Jingke unrolled the map in front of the king, the dagger was revealed, but the assassination failed. This failure only helped to fuel the rage & determination of the king, and he increased the number of troops to conquer the state of Yan and order Wang Zhan to destroy Yan. The bulk of the Yan army was at the frozen Yishui River, Ji (薊) fell the following year and the ruler, King Xi, fled to the Liaodong Commandery. To appease the King of Qin, King Xi had his own son executed by decapitation, and his head presented to the king.

In 222 BC Pyongyang fell as well, and Yan was totally conquered by Qin under the general Wang Ben (王賁), the son of Wang Jian. King Xi of Yan was captured alive, and his fate is not known. Yan was the third last state to fall, and with its destruction the fates of the remaining two kingdoms were sealed.

All except King Xi were featured in the Chinese period epic The Emperor and the Assassin.