Beijing

Beijing (北京) is the capital city of the .Joseph, William A. "Chapter 1: Studying Chinese Politics". Politics in China: An Introduction, 2nd edition, 3–38. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. A notable city for much of Chinese history, it was previously known as Fanyang (范陽) during the Tang dynasty, when it was also the seat of the Fanyang Commandery (范陽郡).Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Beacon Fire (Part 3) Under the Ming dynasty, the city became China's capital.Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013. The Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins' headquarters was also located in Beijing during this period, for which reason the guild was alternatively known as the Beijing Brotherhood.Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide
==History==
===Tang dynasty===
Fanyang was the base of the jiedushi An Lushan when he rebelled against the Tang in 755. After raising an army and assembling the Yeluohe, An Lushan departed from Fanyang and left the commandery under the care of Shi Siming.
===Ming dynasty===
In the early Ming period, Beijing became the new capital of China following the construction of the Forbidden City, which served as the Imperial family's residence.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Forbidden City During this period, Fang Xiaoru trained many of the Assassins in the city, including Li Tong's parents. In 1402, the Templar ally Emperor Zhu Di ordered the execution of all those he claimed to be Assassins, with Xiaoru and Li Tong's parents counted among the dead. Though Li Tong escaped with an apprentice and an Apple of Eden, the Assassins in Beijing were eradicated.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discover Your Legacy
In the early 16th century, both the Chinese Assassins and Chinese Templars operated out of Beijing. In 1506, the Neo-Confucian philosopher and Master Assassin Wang Yangming was banished from the capital after clashing in court with Liu Jin, the leader of a group of powerful eunuchs known as the Eight Tigers who were secretly members of the Templar Order. Four years later, Liu Jin was executed via lingchi after his lieutenant Zhang Yong implicated him on charges of treason.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Liu Jin
Under Zhang Yong's leadership, the Tigers' influence in the Imperial court grew and, following the Zhengde Emperor's death in 1521,Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 5 they began making plans to install a puppet Emperor on the throne and purge all their enemies from Beijing. By chance, the Imperial concubine Shao Jun discovered this plot and alerted Wang Yangming, who by then was the Chinese Brotherhood's Mentor.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 6 Yangming called his best Assassins into the Forbidden City to thwart the Templars' plans but they were ultimately defeated.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 7
Capitalizing on this critical victory, the Templars used the momentum to enact a city-wide purge, capturing and executing many Assassins, their allies, and any innocents with tangential ties to them. In the wake of this disaster, Wang Yangming ordered the Chinese Brotherhood and any remaining allies to withdraw from Beijing entirely. Shao Jun was among those who managed to escape, thanks to the help of her tutor Hong Liwei,Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Homecoming and subsequently joined the Assassins.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 8
By 1524, the Templars managed to have Zhu Houcong crowned as the Jiajing Emperor and influenced him into launching what became known as the Great Rites Controversy.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 9 The Templars exploited the resulting chaos to hunt the remaining Assassins across China,Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 10 and the Tiger Wei Bin was placed in charge of capturing and executing the few Assassins still hiding in Beijing.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Wei Bin
Due to his status as a well-known opponent of the Tigers, Wang Yangming was forced to go into hiding, and Zhu Jiuyuan was appointed Mentor in his place. Despite the risk, Jiuyan and Shao Jun decided to infiltrate the Forbidden City to rescue the remaining concubines whom she had grown up with, only to learn that the Jiajing Emperor had executed most of them.Assassin's Creed: Embers Before fleeing the palace, Shao Jun visited her old friend Zhang Qijie, hoping to convince her to escape with her, but she declined to be rescued.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Scroll 11
In 1530, the Tigers Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju used Zhang Qijie, now Empress, to set a trap for Shao Jun in the Forbidden City. They forced the Empress to issue a secret message to Shao Jun alleging to have information on the whereabouts of Zhang Yong, whom the Assassin was hunting.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – An Old Friend Despite falling into the Templars' trap, Shao Jun managed to slay Qiu Ju and escape the Imperial Palace alongside Empress Zhang after the Assassin's duel against Qiu Ju caused the chamber they were in to catch fire.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Demon FireAssassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – To Each Her Own Arena
===Qing dynasty===
Following the ' conquest of China and establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644, Beijing retained its role as the Imperial capital.
==Behind the scenes==
Beijing, primarily its Forbidden City, first appeared in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China as the setting of a few memories. It later appeared in the game's 2019 manga adaptation, Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, although in this version, Shao Jun's fight against Qiu Ju takes place at the Inner Palace Flower Garden Villa rather than the Imperial Palace.
==Gallery==
ACC China Environment Concept 2.jpg|Concept art of the Forbidden City in Beijing
ACCEarlyScreenshot2.jpg|Shao Jun freerunning across Beijing's rooftops
AC Blade of Shao Jun - Beijing.png|Beijing in Blade of Shao Jun
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discover Your Legacy 
*Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China 
*Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan
*Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
*Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm 
*Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty 
*Assassin's Creed: Dynasty
==References==
zh:北京
fr:Pékin
Category:Cities in China
Category:Commanderies of China
Category:Capital cities