Peng Gong Case

Author: Tan Meng Dao Ren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-01-01
Features: Peng Gong was one of the famous upright officials in ancient China, widely celebrated by the people. His stories of solving cases have been passed down through the ages and remain popular. The cases he handled ranged from life-and-death matters to trivial disputes, and after his judgments, people were always pleased. Even today, people still remember this "Bao Qing Tian." This book collects some of his case stories, hoping to inspire and benefit the readers. Peng Gong's Cases follows Peng Peng as he becomes the magistrate of Sanhe County, is promoted to the Governor of Shaoxing, appointed as the Governor of Henan, and later becomes the Minister of War, handling various affairs. It narrates how a group of heroes like Li Qihou, Huang Santai, Yang Xiangwu, and Ouyang De assist him in punishing evildoers, suppressing traitors, and quelling rebellions. The endings are always the same: the upright official gains the favor of the emperor, and the heroes are rewarded. In the early days of the Republic of China, artist You Shaotai adapted the same-named novel by Tan Meng Dao Ren for performance.
The story tells of the heroic Huang Santai from Shaoxing Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty, who heard that the Emperor Kangxi was ugly and wanted to see him. He went to the capital and, with the help of Wu Qi, the Flying Tiger Commander of the Nine Gates, he pretended to be a military official and accompanied the emperor on a hunt. When Kangxi encountered a tiger, Santai saved him with a golden spear, earning the imperial yellow riding coat as a reward. Upon returning home, Santai invited fellow heroes to celebrate. Yang Xiangwu, however, felt (unimpressed), sneaked into the palace, stole the Nine Dragon Cup, and intended to bring it to Shaoxing to challenge Santai's reputation. However, he was robbed of the cup by the thief Wang Boyan in a inn in Maozhou. Wang sold the cup to a retired official, who was later robbed by Yuan Long and Yuan Hu from Erlang Mountain, and the cup ended up with Zhou Yinglong, the owner of the Yiyao Village in Yangzhou.
When Kangxi lost the cup, he ordered the imperial envoy Peng Peng to investigate. Peng went to Santai's place and invited various heroes to search for the cup. Yang and Wang revealed the truth, and the heroes went to Yangzhou to persuade Zhou Yinglong to return the cup. Zhou refused, so Yang stole the cup again, and the heroes defeated the Yiyao Village, forcing Zhou to flee to Zijin Mountain in Henan. Peng and Huang accompanied Yang back to the capital to return the cup and apologize. The Prince of Xun did not believe Yang had the skill to steal the cup, so he ordered Yang to steal it from his palace. Yang stole the cup three times, avoiding punishment. To investigate Zhou's refusal to return the cup, the heroes broke into Zijin Mountain and captured Zhou.
The owner of Beixing Village, Hua Deyu, was causing trouble in the area. Peng Peng led the heroes to break into the village and eliminate Hua. Hua's brother Delei fled to Datong and took over Xihuang Village. Peng Peng went to Datong for a secret investigation but was recognized and imprisoned by Delei, who wanted to avenge his brother. The heroes disguised themselves as actors and infiltrated Xihuang Village, killed Delei, and rescued Peng Peng. The female thief Jiu Hua Niang set up an enchanting brothel to lure young men, but Peng Peng sent people to investigate and exposed it. Jiu Hua Niang fled to Jianfeng Mountain and married the fifth son of the village head, Jiao Zhenyuan, Jiao Xin. Huang Santai and Zhu Biao persuaded Jiao Zhenyuan to give up Jiu Hua Niang, but he refused, so the heroes broke into Jianfeng Mountain, captured Jiao's father and son, and Jiu Hua Niang.
The thief Han Deng from the Flying Dragon Island kidnapped Peng Peng and imprisoned him. The heroes broke into Flying Dragon Island to rescue Peng Peng and then defeated Qing Shui Tan and Lianhuan Castle. Bai Qige from Helan Mountain set up a wooden sheep formation, and the heroes were ambushed, with more than half of them killed or injured. After discovering the formation's layout, they broke through it. Peng Peng returned to the capital to report to the emperor. The book was passed down by Zhu Yaoliang, Hu Tianru, and others. Pan Boying also adapted the novel for performance in early years, with his disciple Tang Junlin continuing the tradition.
In narrating the story of Peng Peng solving cases, the book portrays many characters with distinct personalities. For example, the proud and skilled hero Huang Santai, the rebel who was forced to become a bandit and was brave but not greedy for wealth, Dou Erdun; the cunning bandit Wu Taishan, who ruled a mountain and robbed homes. These characters are vividly depicted, bringing the story to life.