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, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the Chinese novel ''

The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants ''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 n ...

''. Highly intelligent and very familiar with

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an 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 logical mechanism of action ...

, he was an able assistant to the upright official

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 extr ...

Background

Proficient in

Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

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 Pang Ji (died 202), courtesy name Yuantu, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Pang Ji was criticised by Cao Cao's advisor Xun Yu as "brave but heedless of other's opinions ...

.) 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 which ...

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. The fem ...

, 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 Nort ...

prefect

. 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 di ...

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 Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Dec ...

": boiled water containing woods from

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

, peach,

pagoda tree ''Styphnolobium japonicum'', the Japanese pagoda tree (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. ''Sophora japonica'') is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It was formerly included with ...

s 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 s ...

. 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 Fan Hung-hsuan ( born 5 September 1946) is a Taiwanese actor who achieved regional fame in East Asia and Southeast Asia for his portrayal of Gongsun Ce in the 1993 TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced ...

in '' Justice Bao'' (1993), ''Justice Bao'' (1995 ATV), '' Justice Bao'' (2008), and '' Justice Bao'' (2010-2012) * Fung Kwok in ''

Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family (碧血青天楊家將) is a 30-episode 1994 Hong Kong TV series produced by ATV, based on the legendary '' Generals of the Yang Family''. Plot In a fierce battle against the invading army of its neighboring cou ...

'' (1994) and ''

The Great General The Great General (碧血青天珍珠旗) is a 30-episode 1994 Hong Kong TV series produced by ATV. It is the sequel to the series '' Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family'', featuring mostly the same cast. Plot Long existed the legend that one can ...

'' (1994) *

Liu Kai-chi Dick Liu Kai-chi (, 30 September 1953 – 28 March 2021) was a Hong Kong actor, best known for his everyman supporting roles. His career spanned over 40 years, with appearances in over 90 television series and 70 films. He earned eight nomina ...

in ''Justice Bao'' (1995

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

) * 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

) * 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