Zhan Zhao 展昭
Zhan Zhao earned the nickname Imperial Cat after demonstrating his agility before the emperor. That same occasion won him a post at court, while the nickname itself sparked a feud with the Brocade Rat Bai Yu-Tang. Viewers raised on the Judge Bao series tend to remember Zhan best as the judge's right-hand man. He accompanies the judge wherever the evidence requires scaling a wall or fighting sword in hand.
Zhan Zhao (展昭) first appeared in Shi Yukun's stories about Judge Bao, published in 1879 and later known as "Three Heroes and Five Gallants." In the book he is called the Southern Hero. He meets the judge before entering government service, when he rescues Bao at the Jinlong Temple. The story is set during the Song dynasty, and the encounter with the swordsman is part of the literary legend that grew up around the real official Bao Zheng.
Emperor Renzong himself wants to see what Zhan can do. The swordsman demonstrates his skill on the palace tower, and after this test the emperor names him his Cat and makes him a fourth-rank imperial guard. To Bai Yu-Tang, one of the five heroes known as the Rats, this sounds like a challenge. Zhan still has time to warn Bao of Bai Yu-Tang's arrival in the capital, and then finds himself trapped on Xiankong Island. Later the rivals serve side by side.
In King Cat (1967), Zhan Zhao was played by Chang Yi. In the Taiwanese Justice Pao (1993) he was played by Kenny Ho, who later returned to the role, notably in the series Bao Qing Tian Zhi Qi Xia Wu Yi. In Young Justice Bao (2000) with Ashton Chen, Zhan is still a boy, while in Cat Vs. Rat (1982) Adam Cheng plays the grown swordsman, who has almost no time for investigations because of Bai Yu-Tang.
