The story of Jingke Killing The Qin Emperor took place in 227BC during the Warring States Period (475-221BC). At the time, six rival kingdoms were at war with Ying Zheng, ruler of the Qin Kingdom. To improve relations between Yan and the mighty Qin, the king of Yan sent his son to Qin as a hostage, promising not to side against the Qin. But the prince fled home in 232BC, which greatly aggravated relations between the two kingdoms. To resist the mighty Qin attack, the prince sent a warrior, Jingke, to assassinate the Qin king, who failed in his mission. Finally Qin defeated all the other six kingdoms, including Yan, and succeeded in uniting the land into one mighty empire.

This stone relief was named after its subject: Jingke Killing the Qin Emperor. Using techniques of intaglio and shallow relief, the sculptor entrusted rhythmic and integral effects into sculpture. Built on traditional Chinese stone-engraving techniques, a new sculpture school came into effect. This distinctive, artistic style manifested the mentality of the feudal government and the aesthetic ideality and perspective revealed the people's temperament and tastes of the period well. The primitive, simple shapes give people a deep impression and aesthetic enjoyment, which engendered much imagination towards the long history and the ancient sculptors. Different from the Greek Sculpture-in-the-round, the technique of Chinese stone relief of Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) mainly used intaglio and shallow relief. Intaglio refers to chiseling designs on a polished stone surface, while shallow relief involves carving figures from a rough stone surface.

The Han Dynasty stone relief works fully demonstrate the high achievements of Chinese ancient sculpture and are a witness to the long-standing Chinese culture. Their wide range of subjects and elegant compositions laid down a foundation for subsequent paintings and sculptures.