Chief Wang

Chief Wang is the recipient of a letter central to Xiao Feng’s attempt to identify the man called the “leading big brother.” The letter’s handwriting conflicts with a calligraphic scroll attributed to Duan Zhengchun, reopening doubts about the accusation that had driven Xiao Feng’s pursuit of revenge. Chief Wang is also named in Bai Shijing’s confession about the pressure placed on Ma Dayuan to disclose the secret of Xiao Feng’s birth.

Identity and Position

Chief Wang is identified as the leader of the Beggar Society and the addressee of the letter written by the figure known as the “leading big brother.” The evidence does not establish his personal history or describe his response to the letter; his significance here lies in the document addressed to him and the political secret it concerns.

The Letter and the Disputed Attribution

While preparing to bury A'Zhu, Xiao Feng notices a calligraphic scroll attributed to “Duan the Second of Dali.” Its flowing, carefully spaced writing differs sharply from the angular handwriting of the letter to Chief Wang that Xiao Feng had seen in the Apricot Forest outside Wuxi. Although Xiao Feng has little command of written characters, the contrast is pronounced enough for him to recognize that the two texts were not written by the same person.

The distinction unsettles the identification he had accepted. Venerable Zhiguang had removed and swallowed the letter’s signature, leaving Xiao Feng unable to identify its writer by name, but its handwriting remained clear in his memory. Xiao Feng reasons that Duan Zhengchun, whose own writing is elegant, would have had no evident reason to delegate either an important letter to Chief Wang or an amorous poem intended for his lover. The scroll therefore becomes material evidence against the assumption that Duan Zhengchun wrote the letter.

Connection to Ma Dayuan's Death

The letter’s subject is linked to the secret of Xiao Feng’s birth. Bai Shijing, desperate to shift blame, says that Madam Ma had secretly read Chief Wang’s will and repeatedly urged Ma Dayuan to reveal that secret. Ma Dayuan, according to Bai Shijing, was unwilling; Madam Ma then devised a scheme that led to his death, with Bai Shijing also implicated.

This confession gives the letter’s recipient a place in a larger chain of concealment and accusation: Chief Wang’s will, the disputed letter, Ma Dayuan’s refusal, and the effort to expose Xiao Feng’s origins all converge around the Beggar Society’s leadership. Xiao Feng understands that the evidence against Duan Zhengchun may have been misread, but the available account does not reveal who actually wrote the letter or resolve who the “leading big brother” was.