Crown Prince Dan () was a crown prince of the

State of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xia ...

during the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

of ancient China. He was also called Yan Dan (). He lived in the

State of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

as a hostage, but returned to Yan in 232 BC. He sent Jing Ke to assassinate King Zheng of Qin, who later assumed the title

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

and became the first

Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...

, but Jing failed. King Xi of Yan, Dan's father and the last king of Yan, ordered the execution of Dan to please Qin after the Yan capital Ji fell to Qin. Invasion of Qin did halt for few years, during which time the states of Wei and Chu were conquered. Meanwhile, the King Xi of Yan moved to the Liaodong Commandery. The state of Yan was conquered in 222 BC and King Xi was captured. All except King Xi were featured in the Chinese period epic '' The Emperor and the Assassin''. Prince Dan is also featured in the 2004 TV series '' Assassinator Jing Ke''.

References

Zhou dynasty nobility Chinese princes People of Yan (state) Chinese crown princes who never acceded 226 BC deaths {{China-royal-stub