During the late Warring States period, the state of Qin, with its effective governance, grew increasingly powerful, posing a significant threat to the other kingdoms.
To assassinate Qin King Ying Zheng (later known as Qin Shi Huang), Crown Prince Dan of Yan searched far and wide for a warrior of unmatched skill, eventually finding a champion named Jing Ke.
In 228 BC, the Qin army annihilated Zhao and threatened Yan's borders. Crown Prince Dan, deeply anxious, urged Jing Ke to depart immediately. Jing Ke replied, "To assassinate the King of Qin, we must first find a way to approach him. If we could offer him the southern lands of Yan he covets, along with the head of his enemy Fan Yuqi, the task would be much easier."
Fan Yuqi, once a great general of the Qin state, had offended the King of Qin and fled to the state of Yan. When Prince Dan heard Jing Ke say he needed Fan Yuqi's head, he felt reluctant. So Jing Ke went to Fan Yuqi himself and said, "The King of Qin is ruthless, having slaughtered your entire family. Isn't this a deep vengeance you've long yearned to settle? Now I plan to assassinate the King of Qin and wish to borrow your head to present to him, so I can get close and strike. What do you think?"
Fan Yuqi, upon hearing Jing Ke's words, drew his sword without hesitation and said, "I dream of revenge day and night, my heart is nearly worn out. Only today have I received your guidance."
With that, Fan Yuqi drew his sword and slit his own throat. When Crown Prince Dan heard the news, he was overcome with grief. He ordered Fan Yuqi's head placed in a wooden box and, together with a map of southern Yan, handed both to Jing Ke. The prince also arranged for a young assistant, Qin Wuyang, to accompany him on the mission.
On the day of departure, Jing Ke wanted to go with a friend who lived far away, so he delayed setting out. Crown Prince Dan thought Jing Ke had changed his mind and asked him, "The sun has already set. Do you still intend to leave?"
Jing Ke said, "I was just waiting for a friend. Since you say so, let's go now!"
Prince Dan and the others knew Jing Ke could not escape Qin alive, so they all wore white robes and saw him off at the Yi River. To the accompaniment of his friend Gao Jianli's zhu (an ancient instrument), Jing Ke sang with solemn passion: "The wind rustles, the Yi waters chill; a brave man leaves, never to return!"
Everyone present was moved to tears by his song.
After finishing his song, Jing Ke set off on his mission without looking back. Later, his assassination attempt failed, and he was killed by the King of Qin in the Qin court.
Later, people used the idiom "Gone Never to Return" to refer to something that leaves and never comes back.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Assassins"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "一去不复返" came to describe how something leaves and never comes back.