Cao Zheng is a fictional character in ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish t ...

in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Knife Wielding Demon", he ranks 81st among the

108 Stars of Destiny The 108 Heroes are the main characters of the Ming dynasty classic Chinese novel the ''Water Margin'', which was written in the 14th century and usually attributed to Shi Nai'an. The heroes are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly F ...

and 45th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

Cao Zheng is a butcher from Dongjing (東京; present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), the imperial capital of the

Song Empire The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. Due to his slick skill in slaughtering and cutting up animals, he is nicknamed "Knife Wielding Demon". He has learnt fighting skill from

Lin Chong Lin Chong is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They ...

when the latter was martial arts instructor of the imperial troops. After losing everything in a business attempt in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, Cao Zheng settles down there, unable to afford the trip home. He marries a local woman and runs an inn not far from Yellow Mud Ridge (黃泥崗; believed to be somewhere in present-day

Yuncheng County Yuncheng () is a county in the southwest of Shandong province, China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Heze. It borders the Yellow River and Henan (Taiqian County and Fan County) to the north, Liangshan ...

, Shandong) with his wife.

Becoming an outlaw

After being robbed at Yellow Mud Ridge of the valuables he was escorting to Dongjing which were birthday gift for Grand Tutor

Cai Jing Cai Jing (1047–1126), courtesy name Yuanchang (), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the Northern Song dynasty of China. He is also fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four G ...

, Yang Zhi deserts the escort party for fear he would be punished. He wanders in despair and comes to Cao Zheng's inn. When he, penniless, tries to leave without paying Cao's wife for his meal, the butcher rushes out from the kitchen to block his way. As they are fighting, Cao suddenly breaks off realising that Yang is no ordinary man. He is delighted to learn that the man is Yang Zhi, who is reputed to be a highly-skilled fighter. Cao Zheng recommends Yang Zhi join the outlaw band led by DengLong at Mount Twin Dragons () in

Qingzhou Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...

. When Yang is approaching the hill, he runs into

Lu Zhishen Lu Zhishen is a fictional character in '' Water Margin'', one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. He is the main character in the first segment of the novel, which spans about six chapters. Nicknamed "Flowery Monk", he ra ...

, and the two, assuming the other is hostile, fight each other to a standstill. They finally think it is wiser to know the other's identity. Lu, who is running away from arrest by Grand Marshal

Gao Qiu Gao Qiu (1076?–1126) was a government official who lived during the Song dynasty of China and served in the court of Emperor Huizong. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and a nemesis ...

for having thwarted his plot to murder Lin Chong, tells Yang that Deng Long would not accept him and has barricaded the only way up the hill. The two head to the inn of Cao Zheng, who proposes a plan to get into the stronghold. Cao Zheng and Yang Zhi take a tied-up Lu Zhishen to Mount Twin Dragons, claiming that they have caught him after he got drunk and are delivering him for a reward. Glad to hear that Lu, who has overwhelmed him in their fight, is captured, Deng Long orders the group be let in. Upon seeing Deng, Lu Zhishen breaks free and hacks him to death. Lu and Yang take over the stronghold. Cao Zheng joins them later.

Joining Liangshan

After being beaten in his military attack on

Liangshan Marsh Mount Liang (, often referred to in Chinese as ) is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong, China which rises to 197.9 metres above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 Heroes in the classic Chinese novel ''Water Margin ...

, the imperial general

Huyan Zhuo Huyan Zhuo is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Double Clubs", hə ranks eighth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits (天罡), the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny ...

flees to

(in present-day

), where he volunteers to wipe out all the local bandits to redeem himself. Concluding that Huyan is a tough opponent, Mount Twin Dragons and two other strongholds in Qingzhou request help from Liangshan.

Song Jiang A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

comes to Qingzhou with a force and captures and wins over Huyan. The bandits of Mount Twin Dragons, including Cao Zheng, are absorbed into Liangshan.

Campaigns and death

Cao Zheng is appointed as the chief butcher of Liangshan after the

came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He is in charge of the slaughtering of pigs, cattle and poultry. He participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan. In the battle of Xuanzhou (宣州; present-day

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

) in the campaign against

Fang La Fang La (; died 1121) was a Chinese rebel leader who led an uprising against the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and nemeses of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He is sometime ...

, Cao Zheng is killed by a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

References

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