Sun Erniang

Sun Erniang (literally: Second Sister Sun) is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. She ranks 103rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 67th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. She is nicknamed "Female Yaksha".

Background

The Water Margin describes Sun Erniang as a fierce woman with a vicious and murderous look on her face. She has strong arms and legs that resemble clubs. She is well dressed and uses heavy cosmetics, which makes her resemble a yaksha and earns her the nickname "Female Yaksha". She is highly skilled in martial arts.

Sun Erniang's father passes by Cross Slope one day and Zhang Qing attempts to rob him. Sun Erniang's father defeats Zhang Qing in the fight. He recognises Zhang Qing's talent for martial arts and accepts Zhang as a disciple and marries his daughter to him later.

Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang run a tavern at Cross Slope in Mengzhou. They lure unwary travelers into their tavern for drinks and knock them out using drugs. They kill their victims and rob them of their valuables. They also make meat buns with human flesh fillings from their victims and serve them to customers. Sun Erniang attends to the tavern most of the time while her husband travels around and mingles with other pugilists.

Meeting Wu Song

Lu Zhishen passes by Cross Slope after seeing Lin Chong safely to Cangzhou and he stops at the tavern for a rest. He is served with drugged wine by Sun Erniang and becomes unconscious. Zhang Qing returns home and he saves Lu Zhishen from his grisly fate. They become sworn brothers.

In a later chapter, Wu Song passes by Cross Slope on his way to exile in Mengzhou and he stops at the tavern for a break. The unsuspecting guards are knocked out after drinking the drugged wine. Wu Song is more wary and he sees through Sun Erniang's designs. He pretends to be unconscious as well. He awakes and attacks Sun Erniang when she is about to kill him. Wu Song defeats Sun Erniang in a fight easily. Just then, Zhang Qing returns home and he stops the fight. Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang apologise to Wu Song and Zhang becomes sworn brothers with Wu as well.

Wu Song flees from Mengzhou after killing Jiang Zhong and Inspector Zhang. He reaches the tavern at Cross Slope and receive help from Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang. They disguise him as a traveling priest and recommend him to join the outlaw band on Mount Twin Dragons. The couple join them later. They follow the outlaws back to Liangshan Marsh after the great battle at Qingzhou (in present-day Shandong).

Campaigns and death

Sun Erniang becomes one of the scout leaders of Liangshan after the Grand Assembly and stationed in the tavern west of Liangshan. She is tasked with making preparations to receive the imperial envoy from the emperor, who grants the outlaws amnesty. Subsequently, she follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces. She is killed in the battle of Qingxi County by the enemy general Du Wei during the Fang La campaign, who threw his flying daggers at her. She is posthumously granted the honorific title of "Lady of Jingde Prefecture" (旌德郡君) by the emperor in recognition of her contributions to the nation during the campaigns.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 207. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.