Zheng Banqiao (Volume 1 and Volume 2)

Author: Zidu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Zheng Banqiao was one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" and was famous for painting bamboo. He was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu, and his name was Xie, with Banqiao as his pseudonym. Because he always signed his paintings and calligraphy with "Banqiao Zheng Xie," people gradually started calling him Zheng Banqiao. In the 10th year of the Yongzheng reign (1732 AD), with the help of his friends, Zheng Banqiao went to take the imperial examination and passed, becoming a jinshi. Five years later, in the first year of the Qianlong reign (1736 AD), he passed the imperial examination again and was appointed as the magistrate of Fanxian County in Shandong. Fanxian County was located on the northern bank of the Yellow River, with a population of 100,000, but the county seat had only about 40 to 50 households, smaller than even a village. On the day he took office, Zheng Banqiao came up with a strange idea: he had holes drilled into the walls of the county office. Others didn’t understand and asked him about it. He said it was to get rid of the bad habits and vulgarity of his predecessor. Five years later, Zheng Banqiao was transferred to serve as the magistrate of Weixian County in Shandong. To get closer to the people, he never carried the signs of "" () and "" () when he went on inspections and forbade the use of gongs and drums to clear the way. Sometimes, he even wore simple clothes and straw sandals, visiting the poor and asking about their hardships. Once at night, he heard the sound of reading coming from a thatched hut. He found that it was a poor young man named Han Mengzhou studying hard. Zheng Banqiao gave him some of his own silver to help him, and later, Han Mengzhou passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi.
Because he lost his only son, Zheng Banqiao often sought out orphans and helped them wholeheartedly. When children from the county school couldn’t go home during rainy days, he had them sent food. He also thought about how the children’s shoes would get ruined walking through mud and had old shoes collected for them. During times of famine, Zheng Banqiao reported the situation truthfully and strongly advocated for relief for the people. He even ordered wealthy households to take turns providing porridge to feed the hungry. He also donated his own salary. He carved an inscription on a seal that read: "I wish to fill the hunger of the world." During severe famines, he boldly decided to open the government granaries to provide food to the people in emergency. His subordinates advised him to be cautious, as opening the granaries without approval could lead to punishment. Zheng Banqiao said, "By the time the approval comes, the people will have starved to death. I will take full responsibility for this!" His decisive actions saved many lives. After the autumn harvest, if the people couldn’t repay the grain due to another famine, Zheng Banqiao simply had the bonds burned. The people were deeply grateful to him for his compassion and love for the people.
Zheng Banqiao didn’t care about ostentation when serving as a magistrate, which also brought him trouble. Because he often went to the countryside to understand the people’s situation, higher authorities sometimes couldn’t find him during inspections, leading to reprimands. In the 17th year of the Qianlong reign, a major disaster struck Weixian County, and because he applied for relief, he offended his superiors and was dismissed from office. Before leaving, the people of Weixian came to bid him farewell. Zheng Banqiao hired three donkeys—one for himself, one for someone to lead the way in front, and one to carry his luggage. Having served as a magistrate for 12 years with such integrity, the people who saw him off were deeply moved and reluctant to part. Zheng Banqiao gave paintings to the people of Weixian as a keepsake, inscribing a poem on one:
"I cast aside my official hat, not for office,
My pockets empty, my sleeves cold.
I paint a slender bamboo,
To fish on the autumn river."
From then on, Zheng Banqiao returned to his hometown and lived a life of poverty but great integrity, earning his living by painting bamboo. He painted only orchids, bamboo, and stones. He believed that orchids never withered, bamboo remained green in all four seasons, and stones stood firm for ten thousand years. This perfectly matched his stubborn and unyielding personality. His paintings usually featured only a few stalks of bamboo, a piece of stone, and a few strokes of orchid. The composition was simple, but the layout was cleverly arranged, with varying shades of ink to create a sense of depth. The leaves of the orchid and bamboo were all painted in one stroke, though only in black, yet they conveyed the vitality of the plants.
This book includes 260 works by Zheng Banqiao.