Perhaps in recent years, Di Renjie’s popularity has surpassed that of Bao Qingtian. Whether in movies or TV dramas, Di Renjie’s figure can be seen, and his image as a detective has gradually taken root in people’s hearts. Is the real Di Renjie really a detective? Maybe we need to put a question mark on this. After all, solving a case is easy to mythologize a person, but if you read it carefully, there are many areas that cannot withstand scrutiny. However, in history, Di Renjie still had real abilities and a good reputation. Below we will introduce the life of Di Renjie, of course, from the perspective of official history.
In recent years, there have been many film and television works about Di Renjie, which has led to his increasing popularity. The latest movie
Di Renjie in “The Four Heavenly Kings of Di Renjie” is not only a skilled detective, but also proficient in pharmacology and toxicology, and has experience in illusions, which is quite impressive. So what exactly did Di Renjie look like in history? Who exactly is his master?
When Di Renjie was born, it was at the beginning of the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, during the Zhenguan period. Di Renjie’s family was well-off, but his understanding of the classics and history may not be comprehensive enough. Therefore, he took the Ming Classics exam,
A method of imperial examination, which includes posting scriptures and adding meanings. Simply put, it is similar to the fill in the blank and Q&A questions we have today. However, for the Jinshi examination, the content tests poetry, prose, and strategic analysis, which are relatively difficult.
Di Renjie’s first official position was related to criminal investigation. At that time, he was a judge assistant in Bianzhou, equivalent to a judge’s assistant. Today, he is roughly equivalent to the deputy director of the county public security bureau. From this moment on, Di Renjie began his legendary detective story.
Di Renjie comes from a commoner background, and without meeting Bole, he would never have been able to make a name for himself in his lifetime. At this time, Yan Liben, the magistrate of Henan Province, went to Bianzhou to inspect the quality of officials. Someone falsely accused Di Renjie of being corrupt and illegal. However, Yan Liben investigated and found that Di Renjie not only did not violate the law, but also strictly enforced the law without any omissions, making him a rare and good official. Yan Liben highly appreciated Di Renjie and took him as his disciple, recommending him to be appointed as the legal officer of the Bingzhou Governor’s Office.
Everyone knows that Yan Liben was a great painter, but he was also a talented ruler. The portraits of the meritorious officials in Lingyan Pavilion were all painted by Yan Liben, and his painting skills did not prevent him from becoming a good official. Later, Yan Liben rose to the position of Right Prime Minister. He believed that his outstanding painting skills had led to misunderstandings about his ability to become an official, so he ordered his descendants not to learn painting anymore. Yan Liben left this world at the age of 72.
It was not until several years after Yan Liben’s death that Di Renjie, who had worked diligently in the local area for more than 20 years, was finally transferred to the capital to take up the position he held in the movie, Dali Temple Magistrate. At the Dali Temple, Di Renjie once again impressed people. In just one year, he dealt with more than 17000 long-standing cases at the temple, and there was not a single appeal after the verdict was pronounced, which shows that these cases were flawless. Di Renjie’s talent is actually more due to his years of experience in solving cases.
Di Renjie’s talent fully bloomed at the Dali Temple, and most of the official positions he held afterwards were related to criminal investigation, supervision, inspection, etc. Received the appreciation of Empress Wu Zetian, and during the Tianshou period, Di Renjie was promoted to prime minister. However, Di Renjie also experienced ups and downs. In the first year of Jiushi (700 AD), Di Renjie was appointed as an internal historian and passed away in the same year.
