Wei Yu

Wei Yu (魏羽) was the leader of a group of youxia operating in early Qin dynasty China. In 210 BCE, he assassinated Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, with a spear. For this act in fighting tyranny and preserving the welfare of the people, he later became legendary among the Assassin Brotherhood and was posthumously honored as one of their own.Wei Yu being posthumously honoured as an Assassin is based on information from two sources, Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Origins. In Assassin's Creed II, he and six others are commemorated as legendary Assassins in the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore. However, Assassin's Creed: Origins establishes that the Assassins, originally known as the Hidden Ones, were not founded until 47 BCE in Egypt—after Wei Yu's time—rendering Wei Yu's status as an Assassin posthumous. Additionally, Assassin's Creed: Dynasty establishes that, to the Chinese, "Assassin" became more than just the name of an organization but also a mantle that xiake could inherit in the fight for the common people. The Chinese translation of Assassin (حشاشين) being Cìkè (刺客), the term used to refer to five noteworthy heroes in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, the two identities melded together so that legendary Cike of Wei Yu's era also became remembered as Assassins. 
==Biography==
===Journey to Ionia===
In 215 BCE, Wei Yu traveled to Ionia in order to retrieve an Isu relic from a Roman general who was engaged in a battle with Hannibal Barca's . With the help of the misthios Kassandra, he made his way across the battlefield and killed the general, acquring the relic: a stone tablet. Afterwards, Kassandra handed him a set of scrolls detailing one of his disciples' current unusual circumstances, along with an ornate dagger as a gift for the disciple.Assassin's Creed: Jade – A Mediterranean Expedition 
===Assassination of Qin Shi Huang===
The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was a tyrannical ruler with ties to the Order of the Ancients.Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia In order to protect his people, Wei Yu resolved to assassinate the Emperor, hoping to liberate China from his oppression.Assassin's Creed II – Floating conversations: Unlocking Monteriggioni's Secrets On 10 September 210 BCE, during one of Qin Shi Huang's , Wei Yu struck the Emperor with his spear, killing him.
===Legacy===
Wei Yu's feats earned him legendary status among the Assassins who, centuries after his death, honored him as one of their own. By the time of the Renaissance, a tomb dedicated to Wei Yu had been built on the top floor of the Torre Grossa in San Gimignano, Italy. The Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore explored the tomb and took the hidden seal from its sarcophagus, which later allowed him to obtain the Armor of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad sealed in the Sanctuary beneath Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni, where a statue of Wei Yu, alongside other celebrated Assassins, had been erected.Assassin's Creed II – Torre Grossa's Secret
==Behind the scenes==
Wei Yu was introduced in Assassin's Creed II as one of seven legendary Assassins commemorated with a statue in the Sanctuary of the Villa Auditore.
In Chapter 34 of Assassin's Creed: Dynasty, the protagonist Li E is shown the Assassins' secret Northern Treasury Under Heaven beneath the Mohist village in Qinghe by the community's leader, Pei Min. The vault is a repository of Assassin arms and equipment collected for safeguarding through the ages. After Pei Min tells Li E that is welcome to take any weapon he likes, a powerful spear catches the Hidden One's eyes. The elder explains that the spear dates to the Qin period and that it is named "Jing Ke" after the fabled Assassin who, according to Sima Qian's Record of the Grand Historian, is said to have lost his life in a failed assassination attempt against Qin Shi Huang. The context behind the spear strongly implies that it belonged to Wei Yu and is the same spear used to kill the Chinese emperor, but to date, this can only be inferred and has not been explicitly confirmed.Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – The Hidden Ones (Part 2)
==Gallery==
Wei Yu 1 v.png|Wei Yu's statue and sarcophagus
Wei Yu 2 v.png|The Seal of Wei Yu
Torre Grossa's Secret 9.png|Wei Yu's Insignia
Wei Yu ACoP.png|Statue in the Sanctuary
File:Wei Yu.png|Drawing depicting the Wei Yu statue in the Sanctuary of Monteriggioni.
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed II 
*Assassin's Creed: Initiates 
*Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm 
*Assassin's Creed: Dynasty 
*Assassin's Creed: Jade 
==Notes==
==References==
fr:Wei Yu
ru:Вэй Ю
zh:魏羽
Category:Individuals
Category:Qin people
Category:Han Chinese
Category:Assassins
Category:Chinese Assassins
Category:Regicides
Category:Wei (魏) lineage
Category:Animus hosts