Qiongying

Qiu Qiongying, better known as Qiongying, is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. She is the South Pacifying Vanguard General serving under the rebel leader, Tian Hu, one of the antagonists and enemy of the 108 Liangshan heroes.

Nicknamed "Hail of Arrows Qiong", Qiongying is one of the few female warriors in the tale, but she is not officially one of the 108 Liangshan heroes. She meets Liangshan's "Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing and falls in love with him and marries him. She defects over to join the Liangshan forces later and helps them in eliminating Tian's rebel force. Both Qiongying and Zhang Qing earn the highest credit for the victory over Tian Hu. Qiongying bears Zhang Qing a son, Zhang Jie (張節).

Biography

The Water Margin describes Qiongying as an extraordinary young lady warrior who possesses wisdom, courage and beauty. She is the stepdaughter of Wu Li, one of Tian Hu's generals, and holds a princess title. In a mystical dream she had one night, she met a divine warrior who taught her a "flying stones" technique, which allows her to fling stones and pebbles at enemies with extreme force and accuracy. Over the years, many men have proposed marriage to her, but she rejected all of them, saying that she wants to find the warrior who taught her the skill.

Qiongying makes her first appearance in chapter 98, when the Liangshan heroes are sent on a military campaign by Emperor Huizong of Song to eliminate Tian Hu's rebel force. She is part of Tian Hu's vanguard army, sent to face the Liangshan forces. Qiongying defeats Liangshan's Wang Ying, Hu Sanniang and Sun Xin with her "flying stones" technique and even Lin Chong is forced to retreat by her.

Liangshan's strategist Wu Yong comes up with a plan to send An Daoquan and "Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing as undercover agents to Tian Hu's side. An takes on the alias "Quan Ling", while Zhang Qing accompanies him as his younger brother, "Quan Yu". They infiltrate Wu Li's residence, where An Daoquan pretends to heal Wu's arrow wounds. Zhang Qing encounters Qiongying there and Qiongying is stunned when she recognizes Zhang Qing as the "divine warrior" she has been looking for. They fall in love and are eventually married. On their wedding night, Zhang Qing reveals his true identity to Qiongying, but to his surprise, she reveals that she hates Tian Hu, because her parents were murdered by him. Qiongying is actually pretending to serve Tian Hu, to gain his trust, and reorganize her own forces to take her revenge. The couple later join forces to cripple Tian Hu's rebel force and pave the way to victory for the Liangshan heroes.

Zhang Qing is killed in action later during the campaign against Fang La. Qiongying is heartbroken when she receives news of her husband's death. She travels to Dusong Pass, the place where Zhang Qing died, to recover his remains and give him a proper burial at his hometown of Zhangdefu. Qiongying dedicates the rest of her life to bringing up their son, Zhang Jie. Zhang Jie would become a heroic military general like his father in future and serve his nation by fighting invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty.

External links

• (Chinese) Qiongying on Baidu Baike