A tribute to honesty
As soon as I walked into the temple, I saw a golden sculpture of Bao. And besides that, there were three hay cutters that were used to punish members of the royal family who committed crimes, corrupt officials and normal criminals, respectively, implying the uprightness of Bao.
In some way, Bao is more known in legend than in history since legends about Bao started to spread from the Song Dynasty.
Shi Yukun in the Qing Dynasty wrote a famous wuxia novel The Three Heroes and Five Gallants with Bao Zheng as the hero based on folklore, and it was adapted for film and TV later.
Due to the influence of literature and TV, Bao is now an incorruptible master detective with a black face and a crescent on his head in many people's minds. And he worked with swordsman Zhan Zhao, adviser Gongsun Ce and others to crack complicated criminal cases and correct wrong judgments.
He is also famous for his integrity since he did not hesitate to punish criminals who had a high social status.
