During his years in office, he gained the honorific title Justice Bao due to his ability to help peasants overcome corruption. Bao Zheng today is honored as the cultural symbol of justice in Greater China. His largely fictionalized gong'an and wuxia stories have appeared in a variety of different literary and dramatic mediums, and have enjoyed sustained popularity. In mainstream Chinese mythology, he is often portrayed wearing a judge miter hat and a crescent moon on his forehead. Some Chinese provinces later deified Judge Bao, equating him to the benevolent war god Guan Gong. Bao Zheng was born into a scholar family in Luzhou. Bao's family was in the middle class. Though Bao's parents could afford to send him to school, his mother had to climb up mountains to collect firewood just before she gave birth to him. As Bao grew up among low working class, he well understood people's hardships, hated corruption and strongly desired for justice.
Publication Information
- Historical : Bao Zheng
- Chinese : 包拯
- Known As :
- Justice Bao
- Bao Gong
- Lord Bao
- Xīrén
- Xiàosù
- Reign : Song Dynasty
- Born : 11 April 999, Hefei, Song Empire (Today's Feidong County near Hefei, Anhui)
- Died : 20 May 1062 (aged 63), Kaifeng, Song Empire (Today's Kaifeng, Henan)
- Resting place : Monument at Luyang District, Hefei, Anhui 31°51′27.17″N 117°17′56.39″E
- Spouse :
- Lady Zhang
- Lady Dong
- Lady Sun
- Children :
- Bao Yi : With Lady Dong
- 2 daughters : With Lady Dong
- Bao Shou (Son) : With Lady Sun
- Type : Judge
As magistrate of Tianchang
After his parents' demise, Bao Zheng, then 39, was appointed magistrate of Tianchang County not far from his hometown. It was here that Bao first established his reputation as an astute judge. According to an anecdote, a man once reported that his ox's tongue had been sliced out. Bao told him to return and slaughter the ox for sale. Soon another man arrived in court and accused the first man of privately slaughtering a "beast of burden", an offense punishable by a year of penal servitude. Bao bellowed: "Why did you cut his ox's tongue and then accuse him?" In shock, the culprit had to confess.
As prefect of Duanzhou
In 1040, Bao Zheng was promoted to the prefect of Duanzhou in the south, a prefecture famous for its high-quality inkstones, a certain number of which were presented annually to the imperial court. However, Bao discovered that previous prefects had collected far more inkstones from manufacturers than the required tribute — several dozens of times more — in order to bribe influential ministers with the extras. Bao abolished the practice by telling manufacturers to fill only the required quota.[5] When his tenure was up in 1043, Bao left without a single inkstone in his possession.
As investigating censor
Bao Zheng returned to the capital and was named an investigating censor in 1044. For the next 2 years in this position, Bao submitted at least 13 memoranda to Emperor Renzong of Song on military, taxation, the examination system, and governmental dishonesty and incompetence. In 1045, Bao was sent to the Liao dynasty as a messenger. During an audience, a Liao official accused the Song of violating the peace by installing a secret side door in the border prefecture of Xiongzhou, so as to solicit defectors from Liao for intelligence. Bao retorted: "Why is a side door required for intelligence?" The Liao subject could not respond. In the following years, Bao held the following positions:
- Fiscal commissioner of Hebei
- Vice Director of Ministry of Justice
- Auxiliary in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies
- Vice Commissioner of Ministry of Revenue
In 1057, Bao was appointed the magistrate of the capital city of Bian. Bao held the position for a mere period of one year, but he initiated several material administrative reforms, including allowing the citizens to directly lodge complaints with the city administrators, thereby bypassing the city clerks who were believed to be corrupt and in the pay of local powerful families.
Although Bao gained much fame and popularity from his reforms, his service after the tenure as Magistrate of Bian was controversial. For example, when Bao dismissed Zhang Fangping, who concurrently held three important offices, Bao was appointed to these offices as Zhang's successor. Ouyang Xiu then filed a rebuke against Bao. Bao had also been the Minister of Finance. Despite his high rank in the government, Bao led a modest life like a commoner.
Death
Bao died in the Capital City of Bian. It was recorded that he left the following warning for his family: "Any of my descendants who commits bribery as an official shall not be allowed back home nor buried in the family burial site. He who shares not my values is not my descendant." Built in 1066, his burial site in Hefei contains his tomb along with the tombs of family members and a memorial temple.
Family
Bao Zheng had two wives, Lady Zhang and Lady Dong. He had one son, Bao Yi, born 1033, and two daughters with Lady Dong. His only son Bao Yi died in 1053 at a relatively young age while being a government officer, 2 years after his marriage to Lady Cui. Bao Yi's son, Bao Wen Fu, died prematurely at the age of five. However, when a young maid Lady Sun in Bao Zheng's family became pregnant, Bao dismissed her back to her hometown. Lady Cui, Bao Yi's wife, knowing that the maid was pregnant with her father-in-law's son, continue to send money and clothing to her home. Upon the birth of Lady Sun's son named in 1057, Lady Cui secretly brought him to her house to foster him.
The following year, she brought him back to his biological father. Much to Bao Zheng and his wife rejoiced, they rename their new son to Bao Shuo, thus enabling the continuation of Bao's family line. Bao Yi's wife Lady Cui was greatly praised in the official sources for her devotion to the protection of family line. This story was very influential to the formation of the legend that Bao Zheng was raised by his elder sister-in-law, whom he called "sister-in-law mother".
Literary traditions
Bao Zheng's stories were retold and preserved particularly in the form of performance arts such as Chinese opera and pingshu. Written forms of his legend appeared in the Yuan Dynasty in the form of Qu. Vernacular fiction of Judge Bao was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A common protagonist of gong'an fiction, Judge Bao stories revolve around Bao, a magistrate, investigating and solving criminal cases. In the Yuan Dynasty, many plays have featured Bao Zheng as the central character.
Famous cases
- The Case of Executing Chen Shimei
- Executing Bao Mian
- Civet Cat Exchanged for Crown Prince
- The Case of Two Nails
- The Case of the Black Basin
