How did such revered folk heroes become immortalized, and what are their stories? This series on China’s folk heroes begins with Bao Zheng, one of the most popularized figures in folktales, regional operas, films, and television.

According to the History of Song (宋史), Bao Zheng (993–1062) was an official during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song (宋仁宗). He attained the highest level, jinshi (进士), in the imperial civil-service examination in 1027. Over his 25-year career in a wide range of official posts, Bao consistently demonstrated integrity, sound judgment, compassion for the common people, and the courage to speak truth to power. His two-year tenure as prefect of the Song capital, Kaifeng (开封府尹), was the only period during which he formally adjudicated court cases. He eventually rose to become second-in-command of the Shumi Yuan (枢密院), roughly equivalent to a modern central office for military strategy. Today, Bao Zheng—honorifically known as Bao Gong (包公)—is revered as a symbol of justice, endowed in popular imagination with an almost supernatural ability to resolve the most difficult cases.

How did a conscientious official become a folk hero and achieve cultural immortality? Soon after Bao Gong’s death, fictionalized accounts of his court cases gained popularity among storytellers and were adapted into ballads and theatrical performances. These stories continued to evolve and flourish over the centuries. By the 19^th century, during the Qing Dynasty (清朝), Bao Gong had become the central figure in a sprawling narrative that unified disparate tales into a coherent adventure. This took literary form in the novel The Three Heroes and Five Gallants (三侠五义, 1879), which combined courtroom drama with chivalric romance. The novel was later expanded into The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (Qi Xia Wu Yi, 七侠五义), the version familiar to nearly every Chinese reader today.

In these stories and operatic adaptations developed over centuries, Bao Gong is depicted presiding over more than forty challenging cases, highlighting his unwavering commitment to justice and his readiness to confront corruption—even when it involved powerful officials or members of the imperial family. In Peking Opera (京剧), Bao Gong is instantly recognizable by his distinctive black lianpu (脸谱, opening image) and a white, crescent-shaped birthmark on his forehead, symbolizing moral purity and integrity. This visual iconography embodies the Chinese idiom “iron-faced impartiality” (铁面无私). The first image below shows a Peking Opera performance featuring Bao Gong accompanied by his law-enforcement officers. Lianpu (second image below) refers to the art of facial makeup in Peking Opera, used to visually signal a character’s personality and moral qualities.