Cai Fu is a fictional character in ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish ...

in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Iron Arm", he ranks 94th among the

108 Stars of Destiny The 108 Heroes are the main characters of the Ming dynasty classic Chinese novel the ''Water Margin'', which was written in the 14th century and usually attributed to Shi Nai'an. The heroes are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly F ...

and 58th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

Living in Daming Prefecture (大名府; present-day

Daming County Daming County is a county under the jurisdiction of Handan City in far southern Hebei Province, China. It was formerly one of the capitals of the Northern Song. History left, 150px, Song China It was formerly known as Beijing under the Norther ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

), Cai Fu is the chief warden of the city's prison and also its chief executioner assisted by his younger brother Cai Qing. Cai Fu is nicknamed "Iron Arm" because he can chop off a prisoner's head with just one swing of the

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...

saving the person unnecessary pain.

Joining Liangshan

Lu Junyi Lu Junyi is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Jade Qilin", he ranks second among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. In some Chi ...

, a squire of Daming, is arrested and jailed after his housekeeper Li Gu, who is having an affair with Lu's wife, reports him to the authorities that he has ties with the bandits of Liangshan. Lu has earlier been lured to Liangshan, which failed to persuade him to join them. Li Gu bribes Cai Fu, the warden in charge of Lu Junyi in prison, to murder the squire. However, Liangshan's

Chai Jin Chai Jin is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Whirlwind", he ranks 10th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Backgro ...

also visits Cai Fu and offers him an even larger sum of money to ensure Lu is safe. Not wanting to antagonise either, Cao Fu is in a bind. Cai Qing advises him to bribe officials to exile Lu to a faraway place, thereby washing his hands of the case. However, Li Gu bribes the guards escorting Lu Junyi to Shamen Island (沙門島; present-day

Changdao County Changdao County ) was a county in Yantai, a prefectural area of Shandong in the People's Republic of China. It consists of the Changshan Islands within the Bohai Strait, directly north of Penglai. They were known for their sandy beaches and pi ...

, Shandong) to murder him along the way. Lu's servant

Yan Qing Yan Qing is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "''Langzi''" (浪子; meaning "the Wanderer" or "the Prodigal"), he ranks last among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the fir ...

kills the escorts and saves Lu when they are about to finish him off in a wood. But Lu, who is weak from days of torture, is captured again at an inn when Yan goes look for food. This time, he is immediately sentenced to death. Just when Cai Fu is about to swing his sabre to chop off Lu's head at a public execution ground, the brothers are gladly stunned by

Shi Xiu Shi Xiu is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Daredevil Third Brother", he ranks 33rd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. B ...

of Liangshan, who storms towards them in a lone attempt to save the squire. The brothers, who do not want to be in the black book of Liangshan, subtly loosen the ropes on Lu and allow Shi Xiu to drag him away. But the two are overwhelmed by the soldiers and captured. Grand Secretary Liang Shijie, the governor of Daming, decides to keep them alive as bargaining chips should Liangshan mount an attack. The Cai brothers take good care of Lu and Shi in prison. Liangshan could not break into Daming despite winning a few military battles. After a respite that caused Daming to become less vigilant, Wu Yong, Liangshan's chief strategist, sends a number of chieftains to infiltrate Daming on the night of the

Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...

. When they unleash havoc in the city cued by a fire set by

Shi Qian Shi Qian is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Flea on a Drum", he ranks 107th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 71st among the 72 Earthly Fiends. Background Shi ...

, Chai Jin visits the prison to coerce the Cai brothers to free Lu Junyi and Shi Xiu. Knowing they have no choice, the Cais release the two prisoners and follow the outlaws back to Liangshan.

Campaigns and death

Cai Fu is appointed Lianghsan's chief executioner after the

came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan. In the battle of Qingxi County (清溪縣; present-day

Chun'an County () is a county of Zhejiang Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, containing the well-known Qiandao Lake and bordering Anhui province to the northwest. It has a lan ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...

) in the campaign against the rebel leader

Fang La Fang La (; died 1121) was a Chinese rebel leader who led an uprising against the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and nemeses of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He is sometimes ...

, Cai Fu is critically injured. He later dies from the wounds.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cai, Fu 72 Earthly Fiends Fictional executioners Fictional prison officers and governors Fictional characters from Hebei