The Emperor and the Assassin (Chinese: 荊軻刺秦王; pinyin: Jīngkē cì qínwáng; lit.

'Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin'), also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998–1999 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.

[2] The film covers much of Ying Zheng's career, recalling his early experiences as a hostage and foreshadowing his dominance over China.

The story consists of three main incidents: the attempt by Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng in 227 BCE; the (fictitious) rumour of a Chief Minister's having sired the latter before transferring his concubine to become the Queen Dowager; and the story of an official having sired children by the Queen Dowager herself.

The Emperor and the Assassin won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and was in competition for the Palme d'Or.