Gongsun Ce is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...

in the Chinese novel '' The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants''. Highly intelligent and very familiar with

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logica ...

, he was an able assistant to the upright official Bao Zheng.

Background

Proficient in Chinese classics with a sharp mind, Gongsun Ce nevertheless failed 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 ...

multiple times. (Although not clearly stated, the novel implied his failures were due to other candidates bribing corrupt chief examiners like Pang Ji.) He found refuge at a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

and was treated well by the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

, who eventually recommended him to the newly appointed

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 N ...

prefect Bao Zheng. After reading the abbot's reference letter and interviewing him, Bao took Gongsun as his assistant.

Familiarity with medicine

As Gongsun Ce studied medicine, he was able to investigate cases by disguising himself as a wandering doctor carrying a medicine kit and a quack's banner. If he was invited to a patient's family, he would ask questions related to the case during the diagnosis. He would also personally perform

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...

when needed for his investigations. According to the novel, Gongsun Ce was able to correctly diagnose a woman's pregnancy as well as depression by taking her pulse. He prescribed her a prescription to prevent miscarriage and invigorate circulation. Gongsun Ce also cured a madman with his "Five-wood Decoction": boiled water containing woods from mulberry, elm, peach, pagoda trees and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

. The patient was put in the decoction bath, covered with blankets except for his face, and after perspiring all over recovered from his insanity.

Inventions

Gongsun Ce designed a set of three guillotines for Bao, decorated with a dog's head, a tiger's head and a dragon's head to execute commoners, government officials and imperial personages respectively. Using his knowledge of anatomy, Gongsun Ce also invented a torture instrument called "Apricot Flower Raindrops". It was a large flat piece of iron studded with small buttons. When made red-hot, the buttons would burn the skin of an accused placed on the instrument; however, the injuries would not be fatal.

Portrayal in films and TV series

* Fan Hung-hsuan in '' Justice Bao'' (1993), ''Justice Bao'' (1995

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), '' Justice Bao'' (2008), and '' Justice Bao'' (2010-2012) * Fung Kwok in '' Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family'' (1994) and '' The Great General'' (1994) * Liu Kai-chi in ''Justice Bao'' (1995 TVB) * Miao Haizhong in ''

Cat and Mouse Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse ...

'' (2003) * Raymond Cho in '' Justice Bao: The First Year'' (2019 TVB) * I
@zh-Hans Intern Female Constable (实习女捕快)
(2020 Youku)

References

*
三俠五義 (''The Three Heroes and Five Gallants'')
The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants characters Fictional traditional Chinese medicine practitioners {{novel-char-stub