He was known for his honesty and justice, and was known as "Bao Qingtian" by later generations, and the people worshipped him as a god. Chinese folk beliefs say that he was the reincarnation of Wenqu Xing, and after his death, he became one of the kings of Yan Luo in the fifth hall of hell, also known as the Lord of the Senluo Hall and the Heavenly Son of Yan Luo, Chitose of Baofu, Wenqu Xingjun, and Ma Guogong.
He was Bao Zheng, who had served as the Tianzhangge To Be System, known as the "Bao Waiting System"; later entered the LongtuGe Zhi Bachelor, so the descendants were also called "Bao Longtu". In addition, its image is said to be black-faced, so it is also known as "Bao Kuroko" and "Bao Black Charcoal".
Bao Zheng was known for his honesty and integrity in the current dynasty, and was still respected by posterity in later generations.
Zhu Xi called Bao Gong: "Restored to Jing Yin, ordered to be forbidden, and established a strong and resolute dynasty." Ouyang Xiu called Bao Gong: "Qing Jie Mei Xing, from the poor and lowly, slandering the right theory, smelled in the imperial court." Liu Chang called Bao Gong: "Clear and energetic, straight and not scratching; cold and cold." Sima Guang, who was instructed to compile the Zizhi Tongjian, also praised Bao Gong: "During the Ren Song Dynasty, Bao Zheng was the most upright. "History of the Song Dynasty": "The public nature is steep, the evil officials are harsh, and the servants are generous, although they are jealous and loyal, they do not hesitate to be loyal and forgive." Do not agree with people, do not be pleasant to people, live in peace and selfless books, the old people and pro-party are absolutely extinct. Although expensive, clothes, utensils, and food are like cloth clothes. Hu Shi said that Bao Gong "is an arrow-like figure", and folk legends shoot all kinds of case-breaking stories at him. Hu Shi said in the "Preface to the Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" that the "History of Song" only records Bao Zheng's case of "cutting the tongue of the cow".
Although Bao Zheng in the main history is clean and straight, he is known for his thickness. Later legend has it that Bao Zheng used torture when trying the case, which may be confused with the deeds of his ninth grandson Bao Hui.
One of the four novels, Water Margin, once pointed out that Bao Gong was the reincarnation of Wenqu Xing, and he and Di Qing created the heyday of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The ancient novel "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness" features Bao Gong as the protagonist. According to legend, he was the reincarnation of Wenqu Xing, because he was selfless as the Grand Duke, had an iron-faced face like ink to intimidate the courtiers, and hung a pale bright moon on his forehead, so he had the title of "Bao Kuroko". But in history, his skin is not black, just to create an image of iron-faced selflessness, and the play only turns its face black, and now many people think that he was originally black. Folklore says that during Bao Gong's tenure as The Governor of Kaifeng, he was supported by the "Four Great Famous Catches" (Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu) and the resourceful Gongsun Ce and the Nanxia Zhan Zhao, who was known as the "Royal Cat", and was the right to "cut first and play later", and even the emperor of the dynasty, Song Renzong Zhao Zhen, had to fear him for three points. Therefore, whether it is the royal nobility, the officials and eunuchs of the government and the opposition, or even the common people and the pawns of the traffickers, justice can be done and the "son of heaven violates the law and the common people commit the same crime." In the lobby of Kaifeng Province, there are permanent three-mouthed knives: the dragon head (fire dragon) specializes in the relatives of the emperor who have no way to rebel, the tiger head is dedicated to the greedy and evil officials, and the dog head (inuyasha) is dedicated to the common people who are extremely vicious, and the three-mouthed knife also has the right to behead first and play later. The cases passed on include "The Case of GongMei (铡驸驸馬)", "Tanuki Cat for Prince (Dragon Robe)", "Gong Pang Yu", "Wu Peng Case", "Gong Bao Mian", "Judge Of Zhen", "Chen Zhou Rice", etc. In the story, the methods of the people to appeal to Bao Gong are: blocking the road and shouting injustice (taking advantage of Bao Gong's sedan to go out on patrol), beating the drum and sounding the injustice (there is a drum in front of the Kaifeng Fu Gongtang, and after anyone beats the drum, Bao Gong will ascend to the church to listen to the grievances of the wrongdoers).
Legend has it that Bao Zheng's trial of cases is not divided into day and night: night trial yin, day trial yang, that is, his soul is out of the dark at night, to the yin division to judge the ghost, so the folk portrait of Bao Zheng is painted with a string moon on the forehead. There is a legend in South China that Bao Zheng was crowned as the King of Senluo of the Five Halls of The Ten Halls of Yan Luo after his death. In Taiwan, Bao Gong is called "Yan Luo Tianzi" and "Bao Fu Chitose", and the most famous temple dedicated to Bao Gong is in the Haiqing Palace of Sanjo In Sihu Township, Yunlin County, and the tenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is its Christmas Andiqiu every year.
However, Bao Zheng also has some negative records, according to the Northern Song Dynasty notes "Smelling the Former Record", Zhang Huan, who was admitted to the Jinshi, lived in the elder's house while waiting for office, had an affair with the concubine of the elder and was broken, and when he stepped on an old woman when he came out of the wall, he was arrested and sued. Bao Zheng saw that Zhang Zheng was a new branch of the jinshi, and pitied him for studying hard for many years, so he was not convicted, and only wrote Zhang Zheng to compensate the old woman for his private interests. Only ask about the case of trampling, not about the adultery case. According to the Song Law, adultery with an elderly wife and concubine was convicted of at least two years' imprisonment. In addition, Wang Shanggong, a subordinate who was deeply appointed by Bao Zheng, served as a zhi county in Wuyang County under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Province. On a single occasion, a commoner petitioned Wang Shanggong for favoritism and harming the people, and asked Bao Zheng to be the master. When Bao Zheng learned that the complainant was Wang Shanggong, he sent someone to expel the people.