Everyone knows Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty was an iron-faced, impartial official, strict in handling cases and fair in enforcing the law. Beneath his coal-black face lay a warm heart. When the court first appointed him magistrate of Jianchang County, he declined because both his parents were elderly and frail. Later reassigned to Hezhou as a salt tax official, his parents refused to travel with him, so Bao Zheng resigned and returned home to care for them. Years later, after both parents passed away, he spent days mourning at their graves, too grief-stricken to leave. Fellow villagers came to comfort and encourage him to pull himself together. Only after a long time did Bao Zheng finally take up the post of magistrate of Tianchang County.
It is said that Bao Zheng once served as the magistrate of Duanzhou, where he strictly punished corrupt officials and treated commoners with kindness. Duanzhou was famous for its fine inkstones, yet Bao never used them to curry favor with superiors. When he left office, someone offered him an inkstone as a keepsake, but he firmly refused. His own nephew was sentenced to death for a crime—a story widely told. Even more famous is how he defied the powerful, executing the ungrateful imperial son-in-law Chen Shimei with the dragon-head guillotine.
When Bao Zheng served as an official in the capital, he was known for his unwavering integrity, directness, and decisiveness, never bending the law for personal gain. The high-ranking officials and imperial relatives found him impossible to manipulate; anyone who committed a crime under his jurisdiction was left helpless, and even the mere mention of his name made them tremble with fear and respect. People compared Bao Zheng's smile to the Yellow River turning clear—a rare sight, as seeing his face break into a grin was as unlikely as witnessing the river's muddy waters become pristine. Even women and children knew his formidable reputation, calling him "Bao the Imperial Advisor." A popular saying in the capital went: "No need to bribe your way in; there's Lord Bao, the King of Hell, to settle all."
According to the old rules, anyone filing a lawsuit was not allowed to plead their case directly in the main hall. Bao Zheng ignored these outdated customs and always opened the main gate wide during trials, allowing litigants to come straight to the hall and state their grievances. This prevented the minor officials guarding the gate from bullying or extorting those seeking justice. At that time, powerful court officials and nobles often encroached on the Huimin River to build private gardens and mansions, narrowing the waterway and causing frequent blockages. When the capital was hit by floods, Bao Zheng, following the people's wishes, ordered the demolition of these illegal structures, doing real good for the common folk.
Later, the idiom "Laughing is Harder than the Yellow River Running Clear" came to describe someone who rarely smiles.
Source: *History of Song*, "Biography of Bao Zheng"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "笑比河清" came to describe how someone rarely smiles.