Liu Tang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liu Tang (刘唐) is a character in the epic Chinese novel the Water Margin.
Liu Tang was from Dongluzhou. He had a dark complexion, a wide face, with a red birthmark on the side of his face, with strands of yellow hair growing out from the birthmark. Thus he was nicknamed the 'Red-Haired Devil' (赤发鬼). He had a muscular body, and excelled in using the sabre.
Liu Tang was the first person to hear about the convoy of birthday gifts for Cai Jing, which was being escorted by Yang Zhi and his soldiers. He rushed off immediately to tell his friend, Chao Gai, but got too drunk on the way and fell asleep inside a temple. The constable Lei Heng arrested Liu Tang, mistaking him for a wanted bandit. Luckily, Chao Gai lied to Lei Heng that Liu Tang was his nephew, asking for Liu Tang's release. Lei Heng kindly obliged.
Liu Tang, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng and the three Ruan brothers disguised themselves as traveling traders and at Huangni Ridge, they drugged Yang Zhi and his soldiers with wine from Bai Sheng. Then, they escaped with the birthday gifts worth a huge sum. He Tao led government troops with him to arrest the seven men, but was defeated by them. Chao Gai and his friends sought refuge on Liangshan after that.
On Liangshan, Wang Lun refused to allow the seven men join his band. Lin Chong killed the weak and incompetent Wang Lun after Wu Yong's urging. Chao Gai then became the chief of the Liangshan heroes, with Liu Tang in the 5th position.
Chao Gai wanted to thank Song Jiang for informing them about the danger, and sent Liu Tang with a hundred gold pieces to thank him. However, the gold pieces became the cause for Song Jiang killing Yan Poxi. Song Jiang was arrested and exiled to Jiangzhou, where he got into deeper trouble by writing a poem urging rebellion against the government. The Liangshan heroes stormed the execution ground and rescued Song Jiang, who was about to be executed.
In the battle of Dongchangfu, Liu Tang fought with Zhang Qing, the 'Featherless Arrow' but was stunned by Zhang's stones and fell off his horse. Liu Tang was captured by Zhang Qing and thrown into prison. Later, the Liangshan heroes conquered Dongchangfu and rescued Liu Tang.
Liu Tang became one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry and 36 Heavenly Spirits and followed the heroes as they went on expeditions against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels. During the Fang La campaign, Liu Tang was assigned to attack the Houchao Gate of Hangzhou. He saw that the gates were wide open, and so he charged in, not knowing it was a trap. Liu Tang was killed by a falling beam from the gate.
