Peng Qi

Peng Qi is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 43rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 7th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "General of Heavenly Vision".

Background

Peng Qi is from Dongjing (present-day Kaifeng). He descends from a family of military generals and serves the imperial court. He excels in martial arts and wields a special saber in combat. He is nicknamed "General of Heavenly Vision".

Becoming an outlaw

Grand Marshal Gao Qiu is furious with the Liangshan outlaws after they captured the city of Gaotangzhou (present-day Gaotang County, Shandong) and killed his cousin Gao Lian. He requests the emperor to send an army to quell the outlaws. The emperor appoints Huyan Zhuo in charge of the army, with Peng Qi and Han Tao serving as Huyan Zhuo's deputies and leaders of the vanguard army. Peng Qi fights with Liangshan's Hu Sanniang and falls into her trap and is captured. Song Jiang treats Peng Qi with respect and succeeds in persuading him to join the Liangshan cause of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf". Peng Qi reveals the weakness of Huyan Zhuo's chain-linked armoured cavalry formation and helps the Liangshan outlaws defeat Huyan's army. He also helps to persuade Han Tao and Ling Zhen to join Liangshan as well after they are captured.

Campaigns and death

Peng Qi 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, he is assigned to lead the attack on the enemy city of Changzhou together with Han Tao. He is shocked to see his close friend die at the hands of the enemy generals Gao Keli and Zhang Jinren. He rides forth to challenge them and avenge his friend. He is caught off guard by Zhang Jinren and stabbed in the side and dies.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 87. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.