| Tong Meng | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "River Churning Clam" (翻江蜃) |
| Rank | 69th, Retreating Star (地退星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Navy leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Salt trader |
| Hometown | Xunyang River bank |
| First appearance | Chapter 37 |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 童猛 |
| Traditional Chinese | 童猛 |
| Pinyin | Tóng Měng |
| Wade-Giles | T'ung Meng |
Tong Meng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 69th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 33rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "River Churning Clam".
Contents |
Tong Meng and his older brother, Tong Wei, live on the bank of the Xunyang River. They are excellent swimmers and boatmen. The brothers trade salt for a living. They are close friends of Li Jun and live with him.
When Song Jiang is exiled to Jiangzhou (present-day Jiangxi), he passes by Jieyang along the way and rests in Li Li's inn. Li Li knocks Song Jiang out by serving him drugged wine. When Song Jiang is unconscious, Li Li wants to rob and kill him. Just then, Li Jun and the Tong brothers return and they stop Li Li. Li Jun introduces Song Jiang to Li Li and Li Li apologises for his earlier act and they become friends.
Li Jun and the Tong brothers save Song Jiang again from the Mu brothers (Mu Hong and Mu Chun) and Zhang Heng when Song Jiang is almost killed by them in a misunderstanding. Li Jun introduces Song Jiang to the Mu brothers and Zhang Heng and they apologise to him and become friends as well.
The outlaws from Liangshan Marsh storm the execution ground in Jiangzhou to rescue Song Jiang after he is framed and sentenced to death. The outlaws fight their way out of Jiangzhou and retreat to White Dragon Temple on the riverbank, where they are besieged by pursuing soldiers. At that critical moment, Li Jun and his friends arrive on boats and ferry the outlaws safely back to Liangshan. The Tong brothers follow the party back to Liangshan.
Tong Meng becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan navy 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, he sneaks into the enemy city of Suzhou with Li Jun and his brother and they successfully carry out an espionage mission and aid the Liangshan forces in capturing the city.
The Tongs are among the few survivors of Liangshan after the campaigns and will be rewarded with appointments in the government service by the emperor in recognition of their contributions. However, Li Jun and the Tongs see corruption in the government and are unwilling to be involved in politics. Li Jun feigns illness on the return journey and the Tong brothers stay behind to take care of him until he recovers. Li Jun and his companions eventually leave China and set sail from Taicang into the open sea. They arrive in Siam (present-day Thailand) and Li Jun becomes the king of Siam while the Tongs become his subjects.
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