[ShanXiYan]

I didn't find a thread just for Bao Zheng, so I hope I'm not repeating anything. Maybe someone knows a bit about this guy and could help me out a little.

As to Bao Gong's nickname, "Qing Tian," does anyone know exactly what it means? Is it "clear" or "blue" sky? (or green, which I doubt? ) Is that a common title for justices/magistrates?

Are justices and magistrates the same thing? If they aren't, which one was he?

Was Kaifeng "Fu" the name of the courthouse/tribunal that he worked at, or his home? Or were they one and the same?

Thanks!

[naruwan]

ShanXiYan, on Jul 14 2005, 03:39 PM, said:

I didn't find a thread just for Bao Zheng, so I hope I'm not repeating anything.  Maybe someone knows a bit about this guy and could help me out a little.

As to Bao Gong's nickname, "Qing Tian," does anyone know exactly what it means?  Is it "clear" or "blue" sky? (or green, which I doubt? )  Is that a common title for justices/magistrates? 

Are justices and magistrates the same thing?  If they aren't, which one was he? 

Was Kaifeng "Fu" the name of the courthouse/tribunal that he worked at, or his home?  Or were they one and the same?

Thanks!

It means blue sky. But since the sky normally's only blue when it's clear, it also means clear sky..... (I hope I never see the day when there are blue clouds)

Fu means courthouse.

[clio001]

ShanXiYan, on Jul 14 2005, 03:39 PM, said:

I didn't find a thread just for Bao Zheng, so I hope I'm not repeating anything.  Maybe someone knows a bit about this guy and could help me out a little.

As to Bao Gong's nickname, "Qing Tian," does anyone know exactly what it means?  Is it "clear" or "blue" sky? (or green, which I doubt? )  Is that a common title for justices/magistrates? 

Are justices and magistrates the same thing?  If they aren't, which one was he? 

Was Kaifeng "Fu" the name of the courthouse/tribunal that he worked at, or his home?  Or were they one and the same?

Thanks!

Bao Zheng is the most famous judge in China who lived during the Song dynasty. He is often portrayed as upright and would not hesitate to mete out punishment to anyone found guilty. even the highest ranking officials and the imperial family were not spared if found guilty. His nickname "qing tian" literally means clear sky and has thus become a metaphor for justice till this day. i doubt it's a common title for justices/magistrates though (correct me if i am wrong). i believe he was a magistrate in bianliang(kaifeng), the capital of song dynasty. kaifeng is located in present-day henan province. till this day, he is revered for his upright personality. hope that helps...

[ShanXiYan]

Thanks for the replies! I know the general, everyday info about Bao Zheng, just wasn't sure about those questions.

I asked about "qing tian" because in some stories I've seen people terming whatever magistrate/judge "qing tian lao ye" and didn't know if that was a common phrase of the people, or maybe even came about because of Bao Gong.

About "Fu", isn't that the same word as the one for "manor"? I guess in this case it just means courthouse then...

[naruwan]

ShanXiYan, on Jul 14 2005, 09:14 PM, said:

Thanks for the replies!  I know the general, everyday info about Bao Zheng, just wasn't sure about those questions.

I asked about "qing tian" because in some stories I've seen people terming whatever magistrate/judge "qing tian lao ye" and didn't know if that was a common phrase of the people, or maybe even came about because of Bao Gong.

About "Fu", isn't that the same word as the one for "manor"?  I guess in this case it just means courthouse then...

To be honest I don't know if people used Qing Tian to refer to judges before Bao Zheng. But for sure it is because of Bao Zheng that it has become such common usage.

Fu is manor, but when it is usedwith a title, it can become an official place. Take 總統府 for example, it means president's office.

[general_jiang]

What was the name of Song capital at that time? Kaifeng or Bianliang? ( is BianLiang = Bianjing? )

[snowybeagle]

general_jiang, on Feb 22 2006, 03:27 PM, said:

What was the name of Song capital at that time? Kaifeng or Bianliang? ( is BianLiang = Bianjing? )

During the Northern Song Dynasty (北宋), the city of Kaifeng (开封) was known as BianLiang, the Eastern Capital (东京汴梁).

BianLiang was also known as BianJing (汴京), the word Jing being a designation for the capital.

Apart from BianLiang, there were three other cities designated as capitals:
(1) LuoYang, the Western Capital (西京洛阳)
(2) DaMing, the Northern Capital (北京大名) - present day DaMing county in HanDan Municipality in Hebei Province (河北省邯郸市大名县).
(3) ShangQiu, the Southern Capital (南京商丘) - present day ShangQiu Munipicality in Henan province (河南省商丘市).

ShangQiu had the distinction of being the capital of the State of Song (宋国) during the Zhou Dynasty-Spring Autumn era. It was also known as YingTian (应天府) during the JingDe (景德) reign of Emperor ZhenZong of Song Dynasty (宋真宗).

Generally, the primary capital was BianLiang, where the emperor resided.

[orchid_dreams]

ShanXiYan, on Jul 15 2005, 05:14 PM, said:

Thanks for the replies! I know the general, everyday info about Bao Zheng, just wasn't sure about those questions.

I asked about "qing tian" because in some stories I've seen people terming whatever magistrate/judge "qing tian lao ye" and didn't know if that was a common phrase of the people, or maybe even came about because of Bao Gong.

About "Fu", isn't that the same word as the one for "manor"? I guess in this case it just means courthouse then...

qing tian meaning clear sky means that bao zheng is justicial.