Cai Fu
| Cai Fu | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| First appearance | Chapter 62 |
| Nickname | "Iron Arm" 鐵臂膊 |
| Rank | 94th, Level Star (地平星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Chief executioner of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Prison warden and executioner |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Daming Prefecture (present-day Daming County, Hebei) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 蔡福 |
| Traditional Chinese | 蔡福 |
| Pinyin | Cài Fú |
| Wade–Giles | Ts'ai Fu |
Cai Fu is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Iron Arm", he ranks 94th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 58th among the 72 Earthly Fiends. He shares the same nickname as Zhou Tong, who according to folklore is the martial arts teacher of a number of Liangshan heroes including Lu Junyi and Lin Chong.
Background
Cai Fu and his younger brother Cai Qing live in Daming Prefecture (大名府; present-day Daming County, Hebei). He is the chief warden of the city's prison and doubles as chief executioner while his brother is a jailer who also assists him when he performs a beheading job. Cai Fu is nicknamed "Iron Arm" because he can chop off a head with just one swing of the sword saving the condemned unnecessary pain.
Joining Liangshan
Lu Junyi, a squire of Daming, is arrested and jailed after his housekeeper Li Gu, who is having an affair with Lu's wife, reports him to the authorities that he has ties with the bandits of Liangshan. Lu has earlier been lured to Liangshan, which tried in vain to make him join them.
Li Gu bribes Cai Fu, who is in charge of Lu Junyi in prison, to murder the squire. However, Liangshan's Chai Jin also visits Cai Fu and offers him an even larger sum of money to ensure Lu is safe and sound. Not wanting to antagonise either, Cai Fu is in a bind. Cai Qing advises him to bribe officials to sentence Lu Junyi to exile on Shamen Island (沙門島; present-day Changdao County, Shandong), thereby washing his hands of the case.
However, Li Gu bribes the guards escorting Lu Junyi to kill him along the way. Although his loyal servant Yan Qing kills the escorts and saves him, Lu, weak from days of torture, is captured again when Yan goes look for food. This time, he is immediately sentenced to death with Cai Fu as the executioner. Just when Cai is about to decapitate Lu, he is gladly stunned by Shi Xiu of Liangshan, who storms the execution ground in a lone attempt to save the squire. The Cai brothers subtly loosen the ropes on Lu and allow Shi Xiu to drag him away. But the two are still overwhelmed by the soldiers and captured. Grand Secretary Liang Shijie, the governor of Daming, decides to keep them alive as they could be bargaining chips should Liangshan mount an attack. The Cai brothers take good care of Lu and Shi, who are locked up under them.
Liangshan could not take Daming despite winning a few battles. Wu Yong, Liangshan's chief strategist, comes up with the plan of sending a number of chieftains to infiltrate the city on the night of the Lantern Festival. As the chieftains make havoc in the city prompted by a fire set by Shi Qian, Chai Jin visits the prison to coerce the Cai brothers to free Lu Junyi and Shi Xiu. Knowing they have no choice, the Cai brothers release the two prisoners and follow the outlaws back to Liangshan.
Campaigns and death
Cai Fu is appointed the chief executioner of Liangshan after the 108 Stars of Destiny came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in Song territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan.
In the battle of Qingxi County (清溪縣; present-day Chun'an County, Zhejiang) in the campaign against the rebel leader Fang La, Cai Fu is critically injured. He later dies from the wounds.
References
- Buck, Pearl S. (2006). All Men are Brothers. Moyer Bell. ISBN 9781559213035.
- Ichisada, Miyazaki (1993). Suikoden: Kyoko no naka no Shijitsu (in Japanese). Chuo Koronsha. ISBN 978-4122020559.
- Keffer, David. "Outlaws of the Marsh: A Somewhat Less Than Critical Commentary". Poison Pie Publishing House. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- Li, Mengxia (1992). 108 Heroes from the Water Margin (in Chinese). EPB Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.
- Miyamoto, Yoko (2011). "Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits". Demystifying Confucianism. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- Shibusawa, Kou (1989), Bandit Kings of Ancient China, Koei
- Zhang, Lin Ching (2009). Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House. ISBN 978-7506344784.