Knights or scoundrels? In his history, Sima Qian distinguishes between knights-errant and swordsmen. Swordsmen such as Jing Ke used their blades for their own benefit, unlike knights-errant, who used them selflessly for the general good.
尤其太史公將遊俠與刺客分開立傳，荊軻之流的刺客，為了報知遇之私恩行刺，只能說是「刺客」，與為公忘私的遊俠全然不同。