Cai Jing

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

Template:Chinese name Cai Jing (1047–1126), style name Yuanchang (元長), was a Chinese government official and calligrapher who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai 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 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 was posted to the administrative office in Kaifeng, the capital city. He supported the conservative faction in the imperial court, headed by Sima Guang, and won the praise of Sima. In 1094, Cai 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.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong, Cai was impeached and lost his official post and was ordered to retire in Hangzhou. Cai 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 introduced the policy of Huashigang (花石綱), which was for officials to focus on offering precious gifts and tribute to the emperor to win his favour. In 1102 and 1113, he introduced reforms to the taxation laws on tea and salt trading, as well as increasing human labour. Cai'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, 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 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).

Role in Water Margin

In the Water Margin, Cai 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 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), further illustrating nepotism in Chinese politics of that time.

Cai and Gao strongly oppose Emperor Huizong's decision to grant the Liangshan outlaws amnesty, after the outlaws attempt to tell the emperor that most of them were forced to become outlaws because of corruption in the government. Nevertheless, with help from righteous and honest officials, the outlaws are eventually 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 Liangshan 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 and Gao later have some of them framed and killed on false charges of treason or other "reasons".

Despite his villainy, Cai 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's handwriting to authorize Song Jiang's release from prison.

External links

• Cai Jing and his Calligraphy Gallery at China Online Museum