Judge Bao was a historical figure who lived in Northern Song Dynasty China and was known for his unparalleled honesty and fairness in government. He is remembered as the personification of justice. Some of his most famous cases involved outwitting criminals through clever means, such as detecting a thief who stole a boy's coins by seeing which coin caused an oil bloom in a basin of water. Judge Bao's determination to fight corruption, even if it involved punishing members of the imperial family, made him a beloved folk hero in Chinese culture.

1. Judge Bao
Book Day Presentation
Frances Fu / Chinese Teacher
Horace Mann School New York
2013
Resources Link: http://padlet.com/wall/y07j5mlw3g
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2. 包拯
 Bao Zheng, better known for his title of
"Lord Bao" or "Justice Bao," was a
historical figure and government official
who lived in the Northern Song Dynasty
(960-1127).
 However, due to his unparalleled
honesty, fairness, integrity, Bao is
remembered today mostly as the
personification of justice and an icon of
all honest and upright officials.
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3. 安徽省合肥縣
 Bao was born into a scholar's family in today's
Hefei, Anhui Province in eastern China.
 Bao was a gifted child and he studied very
hard. Since his father was a close friend of the
local county officer, the boy became interested
in trying cases and showed his talent in
reasoning and judgment.
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4. 進士 孝順
 In 1027, Bao passed the highest-level
imperial examination and obtained the title
of Jinshi which qualified him to become a
government official.
 However, in order to take care of his aging
parents, he didn't begin his career until 10
years later, after his parents died and he
had properly observed all the mourning
rituals.
 For this, Bao earned a high reputation for
his filial piety. Photo used from google’s images and used for presentation only

5. 百家龍圖公案 七俠五義
 Bao held a number of offices in his legendary
career, which was later dramatized in many
novels,
 Beijing operas and later movies and TV
dramas.
 Some most popular portrayals of this historical
figure could be found in the detective novel
"Cases of A Hundred Families Judged by
Dragon-Design Bao," written in the Ming
Dynasty (1368- 1644) and the novel "Seven
Heroes and Five Gallants," which was created
in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
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6. 河南 開封
 Most of these stories depict Bao as
honest and upright. They also focus on
his determination to fight government
corruption and matchless wisdom in
settling complicated cases.
 Many happened during the time when
he served as the judge of Kaifeng,
capital of the Song Dynasty.
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7. 尚方寶劍
 According to the stories,
 Bao was granted a golden rod and an
imperial sword by the previous
emperor, which gave him the
authority to execute convicted
criminals without prior approval from
the emperor.
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8. 龍頭鍘 虎頭鍘 狗頭鍘
 He had also been given three levels of
knives from the emperor to execute
criminals:
 one decorated with a dog's head for
commoners,
 one with a tiger's head for government
officials,
one with a dragon's head for nobles.
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9. 陳世美案
 Once, Bao used the dragon-head knife to execute a son-in-law of
the emperor.
 The famous case was about an originally poor scholar who, after
winning first place in the imperial examination, married one of the
princesses by hiding the fact that he had left behind a wife and
two children in his hometown.
 In order to prevent his secret from being disclosed, he sent
someone to kill his own family.
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10. 不怕皇親國戚
 Bao tried the case and eventually convicted and executed
the scholar despite interference and pressure from the
imperial family.
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11. 一百個銅錢
 One story about Bao, which is popular among
children,
 According to the story, a young boy earned about
100 copper coins after selling his fried dough
sticks in the market.
 Then he took a nap on a rock in the market. But
when he woke up,
 his 100 coins were gone.
 The boy began to cry because the money was
needed to pay for medical treatment of his sick
mother.
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12. 偷錢的賊
 Bao, as a local official, happened to pass through
the market ,
 after learning of the case, ordered everyone in the
market to each put a coin into a basin filled with
water.
 When a coin created an oil bloom in the water,
 Bao caught the man who dropped it and accused
him of stealing the boy's coins.
 He then explained that he had found out the boy was
the only one selling oily products in the market and
the caught man's coin was the only one that
generated an oil bloom in the basin.
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13. 新月胎記
 Today, Bao's black face with a white crescent-
shaped birthmark on his forehead is an icon
loved by all common people who yearn for a
clean, fair and righteous government.
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