The figure of Bao Gong (Judge Bao)--based on the Song dynasty official Bao Zheng (999-1062)--is an exemplary and longstanding representative of the "pure official" in Chinese popular literature, dispensing justice with intelligence (or supernatural intervention) and with incorruptible disregard to the position or connections of those who appeared before him, which needless to say is not necessarily characteristic of the lived experiences of the Chinese audiences that embraced him. Knowledge of the early development of Bao Gong in Chinese popular literature had been limited by a lack of primary sources until the 1967 discovery of a set of shuochang cihua ("ballad stories for narrating and singing") that were originally printed ca. 1465-1487, although the date of composition can probably be placed during the previous two centuries, according to Idema (Chinese literature, Harvard U.), who here presents English translations of the eight of these ballad stories that feature Bao Gong as the major character. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
