Cai Qing
| Cai Qing | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| First appearance | Chapter 62 |
| Nickname | "Stalk of Flower" 一枝花 |
| Rank | 95th, Harm Star (地損星) 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 | 蔡庆 |
| Traditional Chinese | 蔡慶 |
| Pinyin | Cài Qìng |
| Wade–Giles | Ts'ai Ch'ing |
Cai Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Stalk of Flower", he ranks 95th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 59th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
Background
Cai Qing and his elder brother Cai Fu live in Daming Prefecture (大名府; present-day Daming County, Hebei). He is a jailer of Daming's prison who doubles as assistant when Cai Fu, the city's chief executioner, performs a beheading job. Cai Qing, who has large eyes and thick eyebrows, is nicknamed "Stalk of Flower" because he likes to stick a flower in his hat.
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, Cao 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 saves him and kills the escorts, Lu, who is 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 assisted by Cai Qing. Just when Lu is about to be decapitated, the Cai brothers are 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 Daming on the night of the Lantern Festival. When 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 Cais release the two prisoners and follow the outlaws back to Liangshan.
Campaigns and death
Cai Qing is appointed as assistant to Cai Fu, 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.
Cai Qing is one of the Liangshan heroes who survive all the campaigns. He is conferred the title "Martial Gentleman of Grace" (武奕郎) and a position in Daming, where Guan Sheng is also posted to.
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. 193. 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.