Surprising truth about the death of Bao Thanh Thien

Regarding the life of many legends of Bao Chan, there are many anecdotes that are still handed down to this day.
“Phu Khai Phong has Bao Thanh Thien, an impartial face and strict judgment”. Those are two familiar lines in the movie “Bao Thanh Thien” about the famous and strict Bao surname in the Song Dynasty.

There is a theory that the official died suddenly, not due to illness, but was actually poisoned by the Emperor himself. Is that true or not? If that was the case, then what was the reason why a famous and benevolent king like Tong Nhan Tong was so merciless with his righteous courtiers like Bao Chan? The thrilling anecdote about the death of Bao Thanh Thien: Eliminated by the Emperor for committing a taboo? Bao Chan (999 – 1062), commonly known as Bao Thanh Thien or Bao Cong. He served as a mandarin for the Northern Song Dynasty, held many important positions in the court and was also known for his integrity, integrity and righteous judgment. Bao Thanh Thien served as mandarin during the reign of Emperor Tong Nhan Tong – the fourth king of the Northern Song Dynasty. As recorded in the old history, Tong Nhan Tong is famous for being a benevolent man, so historians always give favor to this Emperor with a lot of praise. Even at the time of his death, even the Emperor of Lieu could not help but mourn his tears. However, according to Qulishi, Tong Nhan Tong had an irreparable flaw in his life. That is, there is no son to follow. For men in ancient times, especially for an emperor like you, this is indeed a somewhat embarrassing and regrettable affair. But in the end, the king still faced a very difficult problem. It is a choice of a successor. Because he did not have a son to follow, he could only accept the 13th son of Boc An Y Vuong as a reserve. However, the anecdote about the king poisoning Bao Che said that the mandarin of the Bao surname was somewhat dissatisfied with the Emperor’s action. Bao Che wanted the king to return the throne to the descendants of Trieu Khuong Dan. This reached the final boundary of the Emperor. Stemming from suspicion and fear, Tong Nhan Tong took the opportunity of Bao Chan to get sick and sent medical staff to give him medicine. As a result, shortly after taking the king ban medicine, Bao Chan quickly passed away. The time from when the sick became sick to the time this official passed away was only 13 days. Because of that, the supporters of this hypothesis believe that Tong Nhan Tong was behind the death of Bao Thanh Thien, not some kind of “sickness” as history often records. The death of many doubts of Bao Thanh Thien The excavation of Bao Thanh Thien’s remains also clarifies a truth that posterity has mistaken for a long time: Bao Cong only owns a 1m65 tall, not big, imposing body like on the film. Regarding the last years of Bao Chan’s life, Bac Tong history only recorded a few lines: “In the sixth year of Gia Huu in the North Song Dynasty (in 1061), Bao Chan was appointed as the deputy envoy area”. This official position is on par with the Deputy Prime Minister, also the highest position he has ever held. Also according to this main historical document, in May of the following year, Bao Chan passed away from illness, “in the city, everyone is in grief, sighs from the big street to the small alley can be heard. In the 70s of the last century, the burial population of the Bao family was unearthed by Chinese archaeologists. Tomb and remains of Bao Thanh Thien were also included in the study. In this population of tombs, people have discovered an epitaph in the tomb that has recorded the life of Bao Cong. On it was written a few lines about the cause of his death: “In May, the seventh Gia Huu year (1062) suddenly got sick while he was working, so he had to return to the palace. His Majesty gave precious medicine, and on the day of Tan Mui, I could not wake up.” Specifically, the time of Bao Cong’s death fell on May 20, 1062. The reason for his death was declared to be due to illness. It is worth mentioning that, the time from the time he fell ill to his death was only 13 days. Illustration. The anomalies surrounding Bao Thanh Thien’s rapid death aroused many doubts of contemporaries and posterity in the future. The fact that some documents mention the precious remedy that Tong Nhan Tong bestowed upon Bao Cong made this king one of the most questioned people. (Illustration). Among them, the most questioned figure was Emperor Tong Nhan Tong – the king in office during Bao Chan’s time as a mandarin. There is even a theory that affirms that, during the period of his illness, Bao Cong only used the “precious medicine” given by His Majesty, then quickly passed away. Therefore, it is possible that the remedy given to him by King Song was not used to cure illnesses, but was actually a poison that took the life of that integrity official. Is Tong Nhan Tong the culprit behind Bao Thanh Thinhay’s death? If that was true, what was the motive for that Emperor to eliminate such a righteous and righteous god by his side? The real cause of Bao Cong’s death In 1973, the excavation of Bao Cong’s mausoleum opened up the posterity of the truth related to the death of this integrity official. According to experts, the assumption that Tong Nhan Tong poisoned Bao Chan is completely unfounded and unreliable. Not to mention that Song King had no motive to eliminate Bao Cong, just looking at the historians’ judgment was enough to remove suspicions against this emperor. Because, Tong Nhan Tong is considered a rare intelligence in Chinese history. How could such a monarch mercilessly bring down the powerful spirit at his side? There is also a theory that his departure is related to the “tonic” that His Majesty gave indirectly. This theory suspects that the physicians, due to jealousy of Bao Cong, should intentionally add toxic ingredients to the drug, making his illness worse. Regarding the mysteries surrounding the death of Bao Thanh Thien, the results of bone analysis from the remains of this official have partly revealed the truth of the matter. Chinese scientists coordinated with Anhui Provincial Museum to test bone fragments believed to be Covered by the method of synchronizing radiation with the Electron-Positron Collider. The results showed that the content of mercury, iron and calcium elements in Bao Thanh Thien’s bones was much higher than that of modern humans. Meanwhile, the content of lead and arsenic is lower than that of ordinary people. According to expert Ho Han Dan, director of the Anhui Provincial Museum at that time, this result preliminary excludes the possibility that “Bao Dai” is acutely poisoned by taking drugs containing arsenic. Regarding the problem of high mercury content in Bao Cong’s bones, the scientists gave two possibilities. One was when he was buried, people put in the coffin many robes to keep the body. This substance invades bones leading to high levels of mercury. Second, Bao Cheng used to take drugs or eat foods containing small amounts of mercury, causing chronic poisoning. Prof. Trinh Nhu Phong, expert Van – Su, Vice President of Bao Cong Research Association in Hefei City, said that through the test results, we can conclude that Bao Cong did not die from poisoning. Most likely, he had a heart disease or stroke that resulted in his illness and died so quickly. However, which illness led to the death of this famous historical judge is probably still a mystery.