Bao Zheng (999–1062), was a much-praised official who served during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song China. Bao is culturally a well-respected figure in Chinese history, and is today invoked as the symbol of justice in China. After passing the imperial examination in 1027, Bao deferred embarking on his official career for a decade in order to care for his elderly parents and faithfully observe proper mourning rites after their deaths. From 1037 until his death in 1062, Bao successively held several offices at court and in provincial locations. In his lifetime, Bao was renowned for his filial piety, his stern demeanor, and his intolerance of injustice and corruption. Due to his fame and the strength of his reputation, Bao's name became synonymous with the idealized "pure official" and quickly became a popular subject of early vernacular drama and literature. Bao was also associated with the Buddhist god Yama and the "Infernal Bureaucracy" of the Eastern Marchmount, on account of his supposed ability to judge affairs in the afterlife as well as he judged them in the realm of the living. The fictionalized Bao Zheng was known variously as "Lord Bao" or "Judge Bao" (Chinese: Bao Gong), Rescriptor-in-waiting Bao (Chinese: Bao Daizhi), Bao of the Dragon Image (Chinese: Bao Longtu), and "Blue-Sky Bao"/"Unclouded-Sky Bao" (Chinese: Bao Qingtian). From the middle of the Song Dynasty to the present day, the character of Judge Bao has appeared in a variety of different literary and dramatic genres, and has enjoyed a sustained popularity by audiences of all ages.
Bao's Legendary Allies
- In most of the stories, Bao is always accompanied by his trusted bodyguard Zhan Zhao, a man with superhuman strength and unmatched skills in the martial arts. In some legends, he is seen as a companion and equal to Bao, as he represents the Wu (martial) aspect while Bao represents the Wen (civil) aspect, which is considered the two features of a perfect and complete person.
- Besides Zhan Zhao, Bao is often accompanied by his adviser or personal secretary, known in the stories as Gongsun Ce. Gongsun like Zhan Zhao is often portrayed as loyal and devoted to Bao's causes, in contrast to the advisers to the magistrate portrayed in most stories as usually conniving and unscrupulous characters who are masterminds of corrupt activities in the yamen. While Zhan Zhao serves as Bao's enforcer, Gongsun is often portrayed as the intelligent and merciful advisor who helps Bao by offering him advice. The relationship between Bao and the characters of Zhan Zhao and Gongsun is very similar to that between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Yun in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
- Other than Zhan Zhao and Gongsun, Bao is often seen with his four enforcers (includes Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu) who are usually under the orders of Zhan Zhao, and when a hearing is in session, two of them are always on Bao's right and two of them are always on his left. Like Zhan Zhao and Gongsun, the enforcers are presented as righteous and incorruptible. This type of portrayal is often done on purpose to show the contrast of Bao's court which is from top to bottom morally upright and impartial, while corrupt officials tend to employ and associate with morally flawed characters.
Bao Qingtian was born into a scholar family in Hefei, Anhui province, where the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao is still located near the city center. It was built in 1066 close to his tomb. At the age of 29, he passed the highest-level imperial exams and became qualified as a Jinshi. He was a magistrate in Bian (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song dynasty.
He is famous for his uncompromising stance against corruption among the government officials at the time. He upheld justice and refused to yield to higher powers including the "royal father-in-law", who was also appointed as the Grand Tutor and was known as Grand Tutor Pang (Chinese: Pang taishi). He treated Bao as an enemy. Although Grand Tutor Pang is often depicted in myth as an archetypical villain (arrogant, selfish, and cruel), the historical reasons for his bitter rivalry with Bao remains unclear.
Bao had conflicts with other powerful members of the imperial court as well, including the Prime Minister, Song Yang. He had 30 high officials demoted or dismissed for corruption, bribery, or dereliction of duty. He also had Zhang Yaozhuo, uncle of the high-ranked imperial concubine impeached 6 times. In addition, as the imperial censor, he avoided punishment despite having many other contemporary imperial censors punished for minor statements.
Tomb of Bao Zheng, entrance to burial chamber
Bao Zheng also managed to remain in favor by cultivating a long standing friendship with one of Emperor Renzong's uncles, the Eighth Imperial Prince (Chinese: Ba Wang Ye). His burial site in Hefei contains his tomb along with the tombs of family members and a memorial temple.
In opera or drama, he is often portrayed with a black face and a white crescent shaped birthmark on his forehead. In most dramatization of his stories, he used a set of guillotines, given to him by the emperor, to execute criminals. The one decorated with a dog's head was used on commoners. The one decorated with a tiger's head was used on government officials. The one decorated with a dragon's head was used on royal personages. He was granted a golden rod by the previous emperor which he was authorized to chastise the current emperor with. He was also granted a precious sword from the previous emperor (Chinese: shang fang bao jian) as a license to execute any royals before reporting to the emperor to get approval first (from where arose the idiom "execute first, report later"). In these works he was often helped by 12 deputies and detectives, collectively known as seven "knights"(Xia) and five "honorable men"(Yi). His name became synonymous with justice, with the clear blue sky (qing tian) became a popular metaphor to justice in the Chinese-speaking world. Due to his strong sense of justice, he is very popular in China, especially among the peasants and the poor. He became the subject of literature and modern Chinese TV series in which his adventures and cases are featured.
There are many legends and stories about Bao and his wit as both a detective and judge. Some famous examples include:
- The story about Bao executing Chen Shimei, who abandoned his previous wife (and later tried to have her killed) in order to marry royalty.
- The story of a plot to discredit a concubine by swapping her son (the new born crown prince) with a civet, in which Bao disguised as Yan Luo to try Guo Huai. Guo supported Bao in front of the Emperor early in his career, making the case personally difficult for the judge. The perpetrator confessed when he thought he was in hell.
