| Xie Bao | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Twin-tailed Scorpion" (雙尾蠍) |
| Rank | 35th, Crying Star (天哭星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Hunter |
| Hometown | Dengzhou (in present-day Shandong) |
| First appearance | Chapter 49 |
| Weapon | Bronze forked spear (渾鐵點鋼叉) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 解宝 |
| Traditional Chinese | 解寶 |
| Pinyin | Xiè Bǎo |
| Wade-Giles | Hsieh Pao |
Xie Bao is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 35th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Twin-tailed Scorpion".
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The Water Margin describes Xie Bao as seven chi tall, with a round face and a dark complexion. He sports a pair of flying yaksha tattoos on his legs and dresses in a similar manner to his older brother Xie Zhen. He has a reputation for being brave and daring. He can travel in harsh conditions, scale mountains and climb dangerous cliffs. He is highly skilled in martial arts and carries a bronze forked spear as his weapon. He is nicknamed "Twin-tailed Scorpion".
The Xie brothers are the best hunters in Dengzhou (in present-day Shandong). Once, the magistrate orders them to hunt a ferocious tiger within three days. On the third night, the brothers track down the tiger and fire poisoned arrows at it. The wounded tiger falls off the cliff and lands in the backyard of Squire Mao's residence. The brothers go to claim the tiger but Squire Mao has already sent his servants to bring the dead tiger to the magistrate to claim his reward. He accuses them of attempting to rob him and the brothers are arrested and imprisoned. Mao bribes the magistrate to sentence the brothers to death.
The jailer Yue He is a relative of the Xie brothers' cousin-in-law Sun Li and he goes to seek help from Sun. Sun Li, Sun Xin, Gu Dasao, Zou Run and Zou Yuan raid the prison and succeed in rescuing the Xie brothers. They kill Squire Mao and his family for revenge and flee to Liangshan Marsh to join the outlaw band there.
The Xie brothers join Sun Li and they act as spies for Liangshan during the battle with the Zhu Family Village. They help the Liangshan forces capture the village by causing chaos inside. They become leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the Grand Assembly.
Xie Bao 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, the Xie brothers offer to scout the enemy territory of Black Dragon Ridge. They disguise themselves as hunters and scale the mountain but are discovered by enemy soldiers, who attempt to capture them with hooks. Xie Zhen attempts to free himself but fails and falls to his death while Xie Bao is killed by the boulders and other debris thrown down by the enemy.
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