Chen Da (Water Margin)

Chen Da is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 72nd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 36th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Stream Leaping Tiger".

Background

Chen Da is from Ye (in present-day Hebei). He is as strong as an ox, impatient, fiery-tempered and has a loud booming voice. He excels in martial arts and wields an iron spear in combat. He is nicknamed "Stream Leaping Tiger".

Chen Da becomes one of the leaders of a bandit group on Mount Shaohua together with Zhu Wu and Yang Chun. The local government is afraid of them. Once, the stronghold lacks provisions and the bandits decide to raid and loot the nearby Huayin County for supplies. They have to pass by Shi Jin's village along the way. Zhu Wu has reservations about the attack as Shi Jin has a reputation for being a powerful fighter and he may stand in their way. Chen Da ignores Zhu Wu's warning and leads his men to attack Shi Jin's village. He is defeated by Shi Jin and captured.

Zhu Wu and Yang Chun travel to Shi Jin's village and plead with him to release Chen Da. Shi Jin is moved by their strong sense of brotherhood and he releases Chen Da. The three bandit leaders become friends with Shi Jin and they visit and send gifts to each other often. The hunter Li Ji discovers Shi Jin's relationship with the outlaws and he reports to the magistrate for a reward. The magistrate sends soldiers to surround the village and arrest the four men. Shi Jin burns down his village and joins the three outlaws in fighting their way back to Mount Shaohua.

Joining Liangshan

Later, Lu Zhishen goes to invite the four outlaws to join the band at Liangshan Marsh. He learns that Shi Jin has been captured by Prefect He and attempts to rescue Shi but fails and he is captured as well. Zhu Wu notifies the Liangshan outlaws, who come to the rescue. After the victory, Zhu Wu, Chen Da and Yang Chun follow the outlaws back to Liangshan.

Chen Da becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan calvary after the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Chen Da is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Yuling Pass with Shi Jin and another four heroes. Shi Jin is killed by the enemy general Pang Wanchun and the rest of them are killed by dozens of arrows fired at them.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 145. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.