Kong Ming (Water Margin)

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Kong Ming (孔明), not to be confused with Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms, is a character in the novel Water Margin.

Kong Ming was from Qingzhou, and his father was a squire. He was nicknamed “Curly-Haired Star” (毛头星) and had a younger brother named Kong Liang, nicknamed “Lonely Fiery Star.” Once, their father sent them to Chai Jin’s home to fetch Song Jiang to their manor. Both the Kong brothers were fond of martial arts and so they were willing to be students under Song Jiang and let Song instruct them.

Another time, Wu Song fled to the Kongs’ manor after killing the governor of Mengzhou. He had a quarrel with Kong Liang and knocked out Kong during the quarrel. Then, Wu Song threw the unconscious Kong Liang into the river. When Kong Liang regained consciousness, he and his brother gathered a group of 20–30 men and caught up with Wu Song. Wu Song was drunk at that time so he could not resist so many people at the same time. The Kong brothers tied Wu Song to a tree and had him severely whipped for revenge. In the end, Song Jiang recognised Wu Song and freed Wu Song.

Later, the Kong brothers had a quarrel with a wealthy landlord and they killed the landlord and his family in anger. They became bandits and set up a stronghold on Baihu Mountain, with 700 troops under their command. Not long after that, the Kong brothers’ uncle was thrown into prison by Governor Murong of Qingzhou. The Kong brothers led their troops to rescue their uncle but were no match for Huyuan Zhuo and Kong Ming was captured by Huyuan in battle. Kong Liang fled to Liangshan to seek help and in the end, the Liangshan heroes managed to conquer Qingzhou and rescue Kong Ming. The Kong brothers then followed the Liangshan heroes back to Liangshan to deliver justice on heaven’s behalf.

Kong Ming became one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry and 72 Earthly Warriors. After Song Jiang had obtained amnesty from the emperor, Kong Ming followed the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels. During the Fang La campaign, Kong Ming fell ill after the battle of Hangzhou. On the verge of victory against Fang La, Kong Ming died of illness and did not live to see the final victory.