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Ding Zhaohui
''The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants'' (忠烈俠義傳), also known by its 1883 reprint title ''The Three Heroes and Five Gallants'' (三俠五義), is an 1879 Chinese novel based on storyteller Shi Yukun's oral performances. The novel was later revised by philologist Yu Yue and republished in 1889 under the title ''The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'' (七俠五義), with the story essentially unaltered. Set in 11th-century Song dynasty, the story detailed the rise of legendary judge Bao Zheng to high office, and how a group of ''youxia'' (knights-errant)—each with exceptional martial arts, martial talent and selfless heroism—helped him fight crimes, oppression, corruption and rebellion. It was one of the first novels to merge the gong'an fiction, ''gong'an'' (court-case fiction) and the ''wuxia'' (chivalric fiction) genres. Praised for its humorous narration and vivid characterizations, the novel has enjoyed huge readership: it spawned two dozen sequels by 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bao Zheng
Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extreme honesty and uprightness, with actions such as sentencing his own uncle, impeaching an uncle of Emperor Renzong's favourite concubine and punishing powerful families. His appointment from 1057 to 1058 as the prefect of Song's capital Kaifeng, where he initiated a number of changes to better hear the grievances of the people, made him a legendary figure. During his years in office, he gained the honorific title Justice Bao () due to his ability to defend peasants and commoners against corruption or injustice. Bao Zheng today is honored as the cultural symbol of justice in Chinese society. His largely fictionalized ''gong'an'' and ''wuxia'' stories have appeared in a variety of different literary and dramatic mediums (beginning with ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
