Judge Bao and the Rule of Law: Eight Ballad-Stories from the Period 1250-1450

✍ Scribed by Wilt L. Idema

• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 454
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Pure, orthodox and incorruptible, Judge Bao has been serving as the preeminent embodiment of justice in China for almost a thousand years, so much so his court cases have been adapted as stories, novels and plays over the centuries. Now, for the very first time a series of eight ballad-stories on Judge Bao, dating from the period 1250-1450, are offered in a complete and annotated translation. These texts will provide the reader a reflection of the legend of Judge Bao in its earliest phase of development, with an extended introduction placing the ballad-stories in context with the development of the Judge Bao legend. These ballad-stories, in contrast to past plays dating from the same period, present abuse of power and corruption as endemic in the courts and bureaucratic service, and show Judge Bao imposing the rule of law even on the emperor.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Note on the Translations
Chapter One: The Tale of the Early Career of Rescriptor Bao
Chapter Two: Judge Bao Selling Rice in Chenzhou
Chapter Three: The Tale of the Humane Ancestor Recognizing his Mother
Chapter Four: Dragon-Design Bao Sentences the White Weretiger
Chapter Five: Rescriptor Bao Decides the Case of the Weird Black Pot
Chapter Six: The Tale of the Case of Dragon-Design Bao Sentencing the Emperor’s Brothers-in-law Cao
Chapter Seven: The Tale of Zhang Wengui. Part One
The Tale of Zhang Wengui. Part Two
Chapter Eight: The Story of How Shi Guanshou’s Wife Liu Dusai on the Night of the Fifteenth, on Superior Prime, Watched the Lanterns. Part One
The Story of the Judgment of Dragon-Design Bao in the Case of Prince Zhao and Sun Wenyi. Part Two
Glossary
Bibliography