In the classic Water Margin, why is Chai Jin called the Chief Officer Chai?

"Big official" is a title of respect for rich and powerful people and wealthy disciples in Song Dynasty. With Chai Jin's social status, he can naturally be called "Chai Daguan".

"Official" was originally used by the ancients to address people with official positions. In Water Margin, Dai Zhong once told Shi Xiu that he would go to Song Gongming on the water margin, "only to be courted by the imperial court, and he would be an official sooner or later". The "official" here refers to people with official positions. But gradually, society began to use "official" as a kind of honorific title for men.

According to the popular compilation written by Zhai Hao, a Qing man, "In the Tang Dynasty, only officials could be called officials, but not in the Song Dynasty. If you look at the past of Wulin carefully, it says,' Four officials in Jin Dynasty wrote chess, one official in Li Dynasty wrote calligraphy and painting, one official in Chen Sanyi wrote history, one official wrote medicine, one official in Deng Si earned money by singing, and one official in Dai Guan wrote snakes'. Wu's Dream also includes Xu Daguan's shop, Zhang Guanwen's shop and Fu's shop for brushing his teeth. There were few officials at that time. These so-called "official people" are not people with official positions. There are painters, businessmen and craftsmen, all of whom are ordinary people. It can be seen that the "officials and people" in the Song Dynasty can be used in a wide range, "there were almost no officials and people at that time".

"Official" is also widely used in Water Margin, and "big official" can be seen everywhere. "Official" is an honorific title for a man with a certain status. Adding a word "big" to "official" further improves the status and respect of men. So Chai Jin, as a well-known rich man at that time, was called "Chai Daguan". Moreover, Chai Jin is devoted to public interests and righteousness at ordinary times, "wholeheartedly recruiting heroes all over the world, and his family is thirty or fifty". He hosted Song Wu, Song Jiang, Lin Chong and others in the manor; He also ordered hotels outside the manor and on the official road: "If there is a rogue, you can invite him to my village and I will help him." Although he was in Cangzhou, the imperial guards in Tokyo praised his name, so Lin Chong heard about it. "When I was teaching the army in Tokyo, I often heard the name of the military attache Chai. It turned out to be here." It can be seen that Chai Jin's name of "big official" is indeed more courageous than the general "official".

Besides Chai Jin, the most famous "big shot" in Water Margin is Ximen Qing. In the 24th chapter of Water Margin, it is recorded that "Wang Po talks about bribery": "Wang Po added:' Madam, do you know this official? "The woman said,' I don't know.' The old woman said,' This big official is a rich man in this county, and the magistrate's "xianggong" also associates with him, so he is called Simon big official. "Wang Po called Ximen Qing a" leading man ",on the one hand, because Ximen Qing is the richest man in the county, rich and powerful, on the other hand, because Ximen Qing bribed Wang Po. So Wang Po also tried to curry favor with Ximen Qing.

In the Water Margin, except Chai Jin and Ximen Qing, the owner of Dulonggang Dongzhuang is also called "Li's Hero". Zheng Tu, the "rich man" who runs a butcher's shop in Weizhou, is called "Zhen Xi Zheng Daguan". In the water margin, there are many people who can be called "officials", even like Lu Da, the bartender of Panjia restaurant called him "an official with jurisdiction".