Cai Jing
| Cai Jing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 蔡京 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 蔡京 | ||||||||
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Cai Jing (1047–1126), style name Yuanchang (元長), was a government official and calligrapher who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai Jing is also featured as one of the antagonists and nemesis of the 108 Liangshan heroes in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
Biography
Cai Jing was a native of Xianyou, Xinghua (present-day Putian, Fujian). In 1070, he participated in the imperial examination and was a jinshi (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, 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 (章惇) revive the New Policies of reformist chancellor Wang Anshi, 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's written work.[1]
During the reign of Emperor Huizong, Cai Jing was impeached and ordered to retire in Hangzhou. Cai Jing collaborated with the eunuch-general Tong Guan to win back his place in the imperial court. After rising to prominence in politics and becoming chancellor at one point, Cai Jing introduced the policy of huashigang (花石綱), 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.
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 (王黼), Tong Guan, Zhu Mian (朱勔), Li Yan (李彥), and Liang Shicheng (梁師成), with Cai as the group's leader. Cai Jing was stripped off his official post and banished to Lingnan (present-day Guangdong) after Emperor Qinzong came to the throne. He starved to death along the journey at Tanzhou (present-day Changsha).
In fiction
| Cai Jing | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Imperial Tutor (太師) of Imperial Court | |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Xianyou, Xinghua (present-day Putian, Fujian) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 蔡京 |
| Traditional Chinese | 蔡京 |
| Pinyin | Cài Jīng |
| Wade–Giles | Tsai Ching |
In the Water Margin, Cai Jing is depicted as a corrupt and treacherous government official, who wields considerable political power as the Imperial Tutor (太師). Together with Gao Qiu, Tong Guan and others, Cai Jing frames many loyalists for treason and other crimes, forcing some of them to join the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh. His son-in-law, Liang Shijie, is the Grand Secretary (中書), while his son, Cai Jiu, is the governor of Jiangzhou (present-day Jiangxi). This further illustrates nepotism in Chinese politics of that time.
Cai Jing and Gao Qiu strongly oppose Emperor Huizong's decision to grant the Liangshan outlaws amnesty, after the outlaws attempt to ask the emperor to redress their grievances and grant them an opportunity to serve the country. Eventually, with help from righteous and honest officials, the outlaws are granted amnesty and sent on military campaigns to eliminate the Liao invaders in the north and suppress rebel forces in China (Fang La, Tian Hu and Wang Qing). After the campaigns, the surviving heroes return to the imperial court to report their victory. They are granted official posts by the emperor in recognition of their contributions. However, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu later have some of them framed and killed on false charges of treason or other "reasons".
Despite his villainy, Cai Jing is portrayed as a master of Chinese calligraphy. He is named as one of the best calligraphers of his time, along with Su Shi (Su Dongpo), Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu. In one chapter, the Liangshan heroes have to recruit the scholar Xiao Rang, who holds a reputation for his ability to imitate the handwriting of famous calligraphers, to forge a letter in Cai Jing's handwriting to authorize Song Jiang's release from prison.
References
- ^ Sivin, Nathan (1995). Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing. III, 44.
External links
- Cai Jing and his Calligraphy Gallery at China Online Museum