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天伤星行者 武松 Wu Song Wǔ Sōng (武松) was a hero in the Water Margin, one of the four most famous classical works of Chinese literature. He also appeared in Jin Ping Mei, a spinoff of Water Margin. He was famous for his slaying of a tiger with bare hands, and his avenging the murder of his older brother. According to legend, he was a student of Zhou Tong, the archery teacher of General Yue Fei. Wu Song was from Qinghe Prefecture. He was good-looking, with eyes which shone like stars, thick eyebrows, a wide chest and a muscular body. He stood at 8 feet and gave people an impressive bearing. Once, he knocked out a person cold in a drunken fit. Misunderstanding that he had killed that person, he fled to Chai Jin's home for security and met Song Jiang there. The two later became sworn On his way home, Wu Song passed by Jingyang Ridge and killed the fierce tiger there with his bare hands. Thus he became famous and was offered the post of a chief constable in Yanggu Prefecture. By chance, he met his elder brother Wu Dalang, nicknamed the 'Three-inch nail' for his short stature, who moved here a bit earlier. According to The Oral Traditions of Yangzhou Storytelling, several popular folktales about Wu Song, from the "Wang School" of Yangzhou storytelling (Chinese: 扬州评话), state he killed the tiger “in the middle of the tenth month” of the “Xuanhe year [1119]" (the emphasis belongs to the original author).[1] So he killed the tiger in the middle of the tenth lunar month of 1119. This is, however, a fictional date. Wu Dalang brought his brother home and introduced his wife Pan Jinlian to Wu Song. Pan was pretty and her marriage to the ugly Wu Dalang was commonly described as 'a rose placed on a pile of cow dung'. Pan tried to seduce the handsome and heroic Wu Song but Wu did not fall for her. Later Wu Song accepted an assignment to transport gold to Kaifeng from the Yanggu District Magistrate so he could escape Pan’s adulterous advances. He returned home after exactly two months and found his brother dead. Wu found out that Pan Jinlian had committed adultery with Ximen Qing and the pair of adulterers murdered his brother with poison. Wu Song went to the county office to present his case, with a bone from his brother's cremated body as evidence that his brother was poisoned, as well as a neighbour as a witness. The judge had been bribed by Ximen Qing so he just dismissed the case. Wu Song was furious and decided to take matters into his own hands. He confronted his sister-in-law and her lover and killed the pair of adulterers. Then, he went to the county office to surrender himself. Wu Song was exiled to Mengzhou and passed by Shizipo on the way. He got to know Zhang Qing and his wife Sun Erniang. Later, Wu Song became fast friends with the Mengzhou prison governor's son, Shi En. Shi treated Wu Song well and Wu Song decided to repay Shi's kindness. Wu Song confronted Jiang Zhong, a hooligan who took over Shi En's restaurant after beating him up. Wu Song defeated Jiang in a fierce fight and got back the restaurant for Shi En. Jiang was furious after being beaten up and he ganged up with Governor Zhang to frame Wu Song. Wu Song was charged with theft and exiled to Enzhou. The guards escorting him there were bribed to finish him at Flying Cloud Pool. However, Wu Song had sensed the plot earlier and managed to kill the guards. He went back to Mengzhou and killed Governor Zhang and his family, as well as Jiang-the-Doorgod. He fled from Mengzhou and passed by Shizipo once again. Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang disguised Wu Song as a priest to avoid arrest from government troops. Thus, Wu Song earned the nickname "The Priest (行者). Wu Song went to Erlong Mountain to join Lu Zhishen, and later joined the Liangshan heroes after the battle of Qingzhou. He became one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry and 36 Heavenly Chieftains. Wu Song followed the Liangshan heroes on their campaigns against the Imperial Army, Liao Tartars and southern rebels, making great contributions. However, when the Liangshan heroes were at war with Fang La at Muzhou, Wu Song's left arm was sliced off by Bao Daoyi. Luckily, he was saved by Lu Zhishen in time. After Fang La had been defeated, Wu Song refused an official post despite his great contributions. He went to Liuhe Pagoda to practice Buddhism and died peacefully at the age of 80. Information from Wikipedia. Bottle painting by Li Yaming |