Hai Rui (1514-1587) was a native of Qiongshan, Guangdong, which is now Hainan Island. His courtesy name was Ruxian and his nickname was Gangfeng. The meaning of his taking this name is that he must be upright in everything and remain upright throughout his life. Therefore, people respectfully call him Mr. Gangfeng.

Hai Rui was a famous upright official during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Because he had the courage to speak out, punish evil and promote good, and devoted himself to the benefit of the people, he was revered by the people as Hai Qingtian and Nan Bao Gong. His reputation has been passed down to this day.

Although Hai Rui was born into a bureaucratic family, his family was not well-off during his childhood. Unfortunately, his father died of illness when he was only four years old. He and his mother depended on each other and lived an extremely poor life. The mother is very strong, diligent and thrifty, and teaches her children well. She "works hard, provides food and clothing, saves money, and supervises schools in Ruixi." Under her personal supervision, Hai Rui has been reciting books such as "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" since he was a child. Coupled with the guidance and strict requirements of his mother's mentors, Hai Rui received a good tutoring and cultural education, which made him Hai Rui had the idea of ??serving the country and loving the people very early.

In the third year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1569 AD, Hai Rui was promoted to be the censor of Youqiandu, the imperial envoy, the governor of grain roads, and the governor of Yingtian Shifu, which is now both sides of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou, etc. The land is a very wealthy place. However, after Hai Rui took office, he found that the people were living in extreme poverty under the oppression of heavy taxes and evil and corrupt officials. If there was a flood that year, half of the fields would still be submerged in water until the winter solstice. Food prices have skyrocketed, and people will starve to death if they don't beg for food. Therefore, Hai Rui decided to combine flood control and disaster relief to benefit both the present and the future. Later, it was finally discovered that the cause of the disaster was due to the siltation of the Wusong River connecting Taihu Lake to the sea. Hai Rui gathered the hungry people and started dredging the Wusong River and its tributaries during the winter slack season. After submitting a request, some of the food that should be handed over was left to solve the problem of feeding the victims. This mobilized the enthusiasm of the people, and the project was completed quickly. The local people were very grateful to Hai Rui.

In order to protect the interests of farmers, Hai Rui further punished the bullies and returned the land that had been taken away. But Xu Jie, who was kind to him, occupied the most land locally. Xu Jie was afraid that it wouldn't work if he didn't retreat at all, so he retreated a little symbolically. Hai Rui wrote a letter to advise him to set an example and withdraw more land, and at the same time persuaded his son to correct his mistakes. Many officials in the capital interceded for Xu Jie, who had retired and returned to his hometown, but Hai Rui still united with some officials to force Xu Jie to withdraw half of his land. In accordance with the law, Hai Rui sent Xu Jie's two illegal sons into the army. Seeing this, the other landowners hurriedly returned the over-occupied fields.

Hai Rui also reduced the people's burden in terms of taxes. At that time, taxes in the south of the Yangtze River were very chaotic. Landowners with land often did not pay or paid less, while farmers with less land had to bear heavy taxes. In fact, the heavier part was paid on behalf of the landlords and was shared equally by local officials. On the heads of the people. This undoubtedly increases the burden on the people. Hai Rui organized people to inventory the land, simplify the tax system, and reduce the burden on the people. The landlord class jointly accused him of supporting Japanese pirates. Soon, Hai Rui was dismissed from office.

When Hai Rui was the governor of Yingtian, he not only loved and cared for the people, but also eliminated harm and made profits for the people. However, he himself lived a frugal and miserable life. No drums or music are allowed to greet guests wherever they go, and they are not allowed to live in luxurious residences. There was a big banquet in the place to welcome him, but he stipulated that in places with high prices, each meal should not exceed three denarii, and in places with low prices, it should not exceed two denarii. He spent much of his life idle at home, living off only a little bit of land left by his ancestors. He did not buy any land. He only bought a cemetery with the help of others after his mother passed away and buried her there.

A few days before his death, Hai Rui returned the extra seven coins sent by the Ministry of War. His wife and son had died long ago, and others had taken care of the funeral. His only belongings were eight taels of silver, a piece of coarse cloth and a few sets of old clothes. With the help of his colleagues, his coffin was able to be transported back to his hometown. When the boat sailed on the river, people on both sides of the strait took the initiative to wear mourning and cry to see him off. The shops also closed and the line to see him off was hundreds of miles long. Today, Hai Rui has become a symbol of justice in the hearts of the people, and there are more than a dozen local operas in various places singing his story.