Cai Jing
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cai Jing (1047–1126),
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Yuanchang (), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the
Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
of China. He is also fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists 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 ...
of Chinese literature.


Life

Cai Jing was from
Xianyou Xianyou (; Puxian Min: ) is a county in the municipal region of Putian, in eastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Administration The county seat is in Licheng Subdistrict (). Towns (镇, ''zhen'') * Linan, Xianyou Linan () is ...
, Xinghua (present-day
Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the nor ...
,
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
). In 1070, he participated in the
imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
and was a ''
jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...
'' (a successful candidate). He served as a civil official in Qiantang before moving on to work in the Grand Secretary's office. In 1086, Cai Jing was posted to the administrative office in
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 ...
, the capital. He supported the conservative faction in the imperial court, headed by Sima Guang, and won the praise of Sima. In 1094, Cai Jing became the Minister for Revenue. He helped Zhang Dun () revive the New Policies of reformist
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Wang Anshi Wang Anshi ; ; December 8, 1021 – May 21, 1086), courtesy name Jiefu (), was a Chinese economist, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. He served as chancellor and attempted major and controversial socioeconomic reforms k ...
, although he set out on a campaign of attrition to destroy or radically alter the written work of his predecessors and especially conservative enemies, thereby probably also purging much of
Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen wa ...
's written work.Sivin, Nathan (1995). ''Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections''. Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing. III, 44. During the reign of Emperor Huizong, Cai Jing was
impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
and ordered to retire in
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
. Cai Jing collaborated with the
eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
-general
Tong Guan Tong Guan (1054–1126), courtesy name Daofu (), was a Chinese court eunuch, military general, political adviser, and state councillor to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', Tong Guan is fictionalise ...
to win back his place in the imperial court. After rising to prominence in politics and becoming
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
at one point, Cai Jing introduced the policy of ''huashigang'' (), for officials to focus on offering precious gifts and tribute to the emperor. In 1102 and 1113, he introduced reforms to the taxation laws on tea and salt trading, as well as increasing human labour. Cai Jing's policies were unpopular among the common people and led to corruption in the government. Cai Jing and Tong Guan were two of the officials Emperor Huizong asked in 1115 to evaluate the proposal that the Song ally themselves with the Jurchen against the Liao. Huizong was not interested at first, and continued "to get mixed reports from his officials... n 1118 Tong Guan, in a memorial that has not been preserved, proposed taking advantage of the disorder in Liao to regain Yan and Yun wo former Song territories...Huizong wanted Cai Jing's opinion of Tong Guan's proposal and several times sent a eunuch to ask Cai Jing what he thought of it. It was not until Huizong kept Cai Jing after an audience and asked him directly, however that Cai Jing was willing to express his opinion. He told Huizong that he did not have confidence in Tong Guan." Despite other warnings, Huizong disregarded Cai Jing's concerns. "Not long afterwards, in 1120/6, Cai Jing retired, quite possibly because Huizong was tired of his resistance to the new alliance etween the Song and the Jurchen, who later betrayed their Song allies" In 1125, Imperial Academy official Chen Dong submitted a report to Emperor Huizong, denouncing six "traitors" in the imperial court, deemed responsible for the government's decline. The six were Cai Jing, Wang Fu (),
Tong Guan Tong Guan (1054–1126), courtesy name Daofu (), was a Chinese court eunuch, military general, political adviser, and state councillor to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', Tong Guan is fictionalise ...
(), Zhu Mian (), Li Yan (), and Liang Shicheng (), with Cai as the group's leader. Cai Jing was stripped of his official post and banished to Lingnan (present-day
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
) after
Emperor Qinzong Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and heir apparent of Empe ...
came to the throne. Song Scholar Ebrey devotes an appendix in her biography of Huizong reporting how it "is not uncommon to find modern historians who portray Cai Jing as a strong supporter of the alliance" and hence a traitor. She concludes, however, that this was untrue and the result of An Yaochen's 1118 memorial directed against Tong Guan and Cai Jing. Later, "Huizong told the eunuch Liang Shicheng that Cai Jing was the only one who consistently had argued against the northern campaign." Cai Jing starved to death along the journey at Tanzhou (present-day
Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
,
Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
) "as merchants reportedly refused to sell him food. Ill and over eighty, he died within ten days on his way to his site of banishment. On the same day, it was ruled that no future amnesties would lighten the exiles of twenty-three of issons and grandsons ho had also been banished"Ebry, p. 446


See also

* List of Water Margin characters


References

* * * * * * * *


External links


Cai Jing and his Calligraphy Gallery
at China Online Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Cai, Jing 11th-century births 1126 deaths 12th-century Chinese calligraphers Artists from Fujian Politicians from Putian Song dynasty calligraphers Song dynasty chancellors Song dynasty politicians from Fujian